If you’ve been on the Internet at all for the past few weeks, you’ve probably encountered this guy:



His name is Dante Gulapa, a guy who likes to post videos of himself dancing online, and he’s here to bring some joy to your otherwise mundane social media existence. Why is Dante Gulapa trending? Well, social media works in very mysterious ways and meme culture is most likely to blame for that. People love sharing things that make us seem like we’re interesting people, and what’s more interesting than flooding other people’s news feeds with The Same Filipino Guy Dancing To Different Songs? Nothing. Nothing is more interesting than this.




Gulapa has come a long way. What started off as something that catered to an obscure and peculiar interest suddenly became a part of the mainstream consciousness thanks to huge TV programs like KMJS (Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho) doing features on him. 



Usually, this kind of exposure would kill a meme because of the many people who would be seeing it. A meme needs a certain level of exclusivity to maintain the quality of media that will be produced from it. In simpler terms, a meme becomes corny once people milk it for every drop of creativity and fun it's worth.

But something different happened to the meme known as Dante Gulapa.


He became real.


From Kerbie Ramirez's Facebook Page


Dante Gulapa, the person, became the Big Papa of social media and his presence has given birth to some of the most creative content we've seen from the Internet in a while.

From comics to inspirational posts (that weren't even cringey), wholesome content from #Gulapanatics slowly overtook the toxicity that we've become so accustomed to reading on social media.


From Bry Cepe's Facebook Page



From Titans Underground Internet Cafe



From Kgie Germedia's Facebook Page


Seriously, this is some of the most impressive work we've seen in a while. The fact that something that was once a meme could bring forth such amazing art and the coming together of some of the best artists in the Philippines is so good. It's just so damn good for everyone to have something to hold onto and be genuinely happy about, especially when news of our idols dying, of children being harassed, and of the depressing state of the country are so common nowadays.


From Rocketsheep Studio


Dante Gulapa is good for the  Internet. His online existence pulled us up from the downward spiral of negativity that social media has been for we can't remember how long. He gives us a chance to realize that people can do awesome things when they put their mind to it. He showed us that it's possible to be able to do a belly wave while balancing on one leg if we practiced enough. He showed us that we could make other people happy by just being ourselves and doing what we love.

Dante Gulapa made the Internet a happier place. Now, what's next? 


Special credits to the animators featured in the Rocketsheep Studio Video:
kebkebabJoshua Panelo Jether Amar Art,  Ariel MantaringEko999Oko Francisco  Arkin Bello . KWAN, Sherluck Denise Dee, Gleennnn   , Mister Avid Draws, Paolo Crisologo Seen, Rob Cham, Mauricé Risulmí Art, Patty Pura, Notxela, Kim Samson, Ara Chawdhury, Recycle Bean, Jaye Jacinto, Creativepieceofblob, Straight from the Archives,Toto Madayag, Mervin Malonzo, with the participation of Jethro Razo, organized by Rocketsheep Studio.