Immortalizing a meme: Cristopher Diwata, the man behind 'what hafen vela,' is back on your feed

Sporting a leather jacket and a gel-slicked hair, Cristopher Diwata hopped onto the stage of a popular noontime show with a swagger of someone hoping to impress a crowd.

- By DAWN SOLANO

Little did he know, he was moments away from blurting out a line that would haunt him 12 years later. It was a sentence that would somehow become the Filipino internet's most beloved meme today.

"What hafen vela?" a slip of the tongue, likely a misfire of nerves, maybe just pure improv, was all it took to transform Cristopher Diwata from Twilight fan to accidental meme legend.

It was 2013, and what started as a light-hearted Showtime appearance for a Kalookalike Jacob Black impersonation has since ballooned into something larger, which is a soundbite that would not fade, shared endlessly across TikTok, Facebook comments section, and even street shoutouts.

He was only told that he looked like Hollywood actor Taylor Laughtner, who played Jacob from Twilight. Quickly, he watched all Twilight movies for himself and connected the similarities he has with the Twilight actor.

Now 35, Cristopher is as surprised as anyone to see his old alter ego trending again.

"Parang natulog lang ako, pagising ko, ito na—boom na. Sikat na naman ako," he told PhilSTAR Tech, half in disbelief and half in amusement.

In the age of algorithm-fed nostalgia and virality, no moment is ever truly forgotten. The internet finds a way to dig and find the most absurd things in the past and turn it into a popular TikTok Sound, a GIF you send to groupchats, and campaign you use to build up your brand.