I got a text message last Saturday night from Obette Serrano, a colleague in the showbiz writing profession.
It was a request of my appearance, together with fellow movie writer Art Tapalla, in the movie "Loyalista" which was being shot in Plaridel, Bulacan.
"Loyalista" is a bio film that tackles singer Imelda Papin's foray into the entertainment field and eventually politics and her alliances with the Marcoses owning up to her being a Marcos loyalist.
According to Obette, our cameo roles in the movie wouldn't be political as we would only play ourselves as movie reporters who would always interview the chanteuse whenever she comes home from abroad.
Obette added that we might as well bring along a tape recorder of yore as prop we used as audio documentation gadget in those days.
I told Obette I'd see because the call slip was to soon on the eleventh hour and I was still in Lopez, Quezon for some family errands.
There were some gray areas to clear out, though, in appearing in Imelda's film.
Did I have qualms in shooting the movie?
My friendship with Imelda Papin dates back in the 70s when she was hailed as the Jukebox Queen of soapy and saccharine ditties.
Imelda Papin (Photo Credit: Imelda Papin’s Facebook)
We were always with Imelda in her concerts, big and small.
I remember very vividly when she had a show in Calauag, Quezon right at the defunct Paraiso Theater when Marcelito Pomoy hadn't discovered yet that he could perform a male-female voice alternately as he was still a boy in Agusan del Norte.
By twist of fate, Marcelito married the daughter of the owner of Imelda's show venue which now stands and runs Pomoy's hardware store in the town.
Shoulder Bag Beauties (yes, we — Lhar Santiago, Roland Lerum, Obette and I — were dubbed as such as we sashayed the coastal road of Calauag with dangling identical bags on our shoulders given by the late talent manager-cum-optometrist Rey de la Cruz) were the retinue of Imelda who we address until now as Mel.
The show was a resounding one-woman performance in the middle of a tragic end of Mel's driver who died in a vehicular road accident in Tiaong, also in Quezon Province, while following his boss on a separate ride hours after we reached Calauag.
We were also around when the late Bong Carreon courted and became her husband in a matrimony at the Manila Cathedral with no less than Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. and First Lady Imelda Marcos as major sponsors.
The Asia's Sentimental Songstress — Imelda Papin's moniker — got endeared to the other Imelda supposedly because of their namesakes and the singer's penchant for getting footsie with other celebs, political and otherwise.
The Shoulder Bag Beauties never let Imelda down and would always be around in any of the Papin family's occasions, especially birthdays.
Even when Mel and Bong founded their recording business with office along Roces Avenue, the Shoulder Bag Beauties plus one peer, the late Arthur Quinto, were always in full force.
We were also there when Maffi Papin Carreon was born and grown into a beautiful lady.
Of course, we were not with Mel when she went with the Marcoses to Hawaii because we took a different political belief.
Just the same, she would send us notes and stories about her shared life with the exile of the Marcoses when Ferdinand was deposed from the presidency by the People Power Revolt in 1986.
When she returned to the Philippines, Mel, through her publicist and discoverer Junne Quintana would drop by ABS-CBN newsroom to provide us with her activities at home with or without interviews.
The Imelda Papin I know is smart and a go-getter.
La Papin knows what she wants and moves heaven and earth to attain them.
Her request for my appearance in her film project was part of her grand design to objectify her biopic in this era of eclectic interpretations.
She knows her life better than anyone else as she knows how to play fairly in this complex game of entertainment and other fields.
That is why I wanted to participate even if it would just be commonplace but my distance.
Sadly, I missed it but Art, Obette and Danny Vibas were there to support Mel.
Shorts: Queen of all Media Kris Aquino has finally ended her romance with Mark Leviste, Batangas Province vice governor, because of long distance relationship. Kris opened up in her IG about her real feelings on letting go her love for Mark. “I gave a cleansed version of why I ended my relationship with Marc. I didn’t lie when I said a long distance relationship is difficult. But I saw he has many dreams to fulfill and many obligations to the people who gave him their vote. Sadly, I’m in the battle of my life precisely because I’m doing all I can to save my life because my two sons still need me. I am realistic enough that Marc has a life beyond trying to help take care of me. I apologize for seeming selfish but will I add stress in my life when I see his posts enjoying himself when I am suffering 80,000 miles away? If we had tried to stay together as a couple the ending would still be the same, tao rin ako na mapipikon at magtatampo dahil mararamdaman kong, hindi ba nya naisip ang hirap na pinagdadaanan ko (I am also a human being who has a short temper and who also sulks in one corner because I would feel and think that he doesn’t mind the pain I’m going through?” noted Aquino in her social media spaces … Original singer of the cult song “Pusong Bato” Aimee Torres hasn’t found a new love after the death of her husband, Claudio Villanueva, Jr. “Bato pa rin po ang puso ko dahil sa pinahihirapan pa ako ng kaso kaso ng pangangalaga sa estate ng asawa ko (My still have a stoned heart because I am still being punished by the slow moving justice on the case of the care of the estate of my husband),” said Aimee … Hollywood star Dolly de Leon, a Filipino actress who was nominated at the 2022 Golden Globe Awards for her sterling performance in “Triangle of Sadness” stars in two 2023 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, namely, “Iti Mapukpukaw” by Carl Joseph Papa and “Ang Duyan ng Magiting” by Dustin Celestino. The 19th Cinemalaya kicks off on August 4-13, 2023 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
Mark Leviste and Kris Aquino
Dolly de Leon in 'Ang Duyan ng Magiting' (Photo Credit: Cinemalaya Foundation)
Aimee Torres (Photo Credit: Aimee Torres’ Facebook)
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