Cebu inmate impersonator sad over Jackson’s death

MANILA, Philippines - Of all the Michael Jackson impersonators, Crisanto “Dodong" Niere must look the least like the iconic singer.

He doesn’t have Jackson’s chalk-like complexion or his long curls during the height of his fame in the ‘80s. In fact, Dodong barely has hair left on his head and has an almost toothless grin.

But when Dodong performs in the small arena along with 1,400 inmates in Cebu’s Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, he fires up the dance floor like the “King of Pop".

As the whole world is coming to grips with the shocking news of Jackson’s death on Friday (Manila time), the CPDRC’s star performer is deeply saddened.

"He is sad his idol died," an official from the CPDRC who spoke with Dodong told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. The official said the inmates heard of Jackson’s untimely death in the news, casting a cloud of sorrow all over the prison cells.

Dodong used to be a dancer himself before he was jailed for drug charges several years ago.

In 2007, the whole world tuned in on Youtube to watch more than 1,400 Cebu inmates – jailed for crimes ranging from drug-trafficking to murder – moonwalk to Jackson’s iconic “Thriller" song. [See: Cebu inmates take to dancing as exercise]

Wearing something reminiscent of Jackson’s red jacket, Dodong does one nasty dance impersonation.

"We forget our problems here (in jail) and with our families," he told GMA Network’s Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho in 2007.

The 4-minute video has now generated 23 million views, which is expected to increase in the coming days as fans scurry online to reminisce about their idol. The inmates have become known worldwide, the CPDRC now conducts performances every last Saturday of the month to more than 400 tourists for free.

"For now there’s no word yet how tomorrow’s performance will be affected with the news," the CPDRC official said. - GMANews.TV