Claudine’s choices: Lessons from art & life

MANILA, Philippines – Let’s face it: This mother of two is a passionate actress whether she is acting on film or in teleserye.

Watch Claudine Barretto in Anak, Dubai, Sukob and lately, Etiquette for Mistresses and you realize she is made of a sterner stuff as an actress.

But if her real-life episodes eclipse her film and teleserye roles, it is because she has been through too much.

Take those early loves (Rico Yan), of turning to someone (Raymart Santiago) to assuage her loss and then finding out later the relationship was destined not to work.

On this noontime encounter, Claudine looks radiant and ready to face the press. She updates us about her true-to-life annulment scenes and about coming to terms with her children’s fate.

She has to tell them the truth: Mommy lives in one house and Daddy has to live elsewhere away from their usual abode.

She is introduced as The Optimum Star and whatever that means, she comes across as one who has come to terms with her life.

One asks her how long she’s been in showbiz after which she takes a long breath and starts counting in her mind.

With her co-stars on the TV5 teleserye Bakit Manipis Ang Ulap: (From left) Cesar Montano, Diether Ocampo and Meg Imperial

As far as she knows, she started acting in Repertory Philippines and then the TV and film offers followed and always to some extent, she was a compelling presence.

Then she goes back to her career timetable and tells this writer: “Come to think of it, I’ve spent some 24 years in showbiz.”

Yes, she has learned a lot from life and she agrees, it is the best teacher one can find when pursuing an acting career.

She reflects: “It’s been a life of both good and bad choices. In the beginning, you hope it will work but somewhere along the way, you find out you are not meant for each other. Every time you fall, you try to get up. You try to make sense of your life and you start asking questions. Sometimes, you get some answers but most of the time, you wonder why it had to happen. Until you see the papers and all your life are in there, you decide there must be a way of starting all over again. So you come to terms about certain aspects of your life. Of late, you can say one failed as a wife but with my former partner, I figured we can at least succeed as parents. Yes, life is a good teacher. When I figure in a scene that pretty much looks like your real life, I pause and take hold of myself and try very hard not to break down. Yes, I derive strength and lessons from my real life’s episodes. If I look real in most of them, it’s probably because I went through all of them in real life.”

Claudine appears in a new TV5 teleserye based on Danny Zialcita’s Bakit Manipis Ang Ulap and she’s happy she is going to be reunited with former co-stars.

Director Joel Lamangan regards Claudine as a first-rate actress and thus far, he has seen how she has evolved as an actress. “Yes, you can say everybody’s life is a teleserye. You learn from your own life and learn from the characters you portray.”

Since Claudine has learned from both worlds, she has an advantage, of course. “That’s when you make use of your so-called negative episodes in order to start life anew.”

She reports on the set on time and as movie scribe Ethel Ramos puts it, she reportedly arrives on the set way ahead of the (emergency) generator.

With her ready smile and graciousness, it is easy to see she has made peace with her past. She is bent on charting a new future in a career that has been her life for as long as she can remember.

For now, she hopes for total acceptance, even total forgiveness and hopefully, she gets what she has yearned for all these months, which is total healing.

Claudine plays Marla Alvarez in the TV remake of Bakit Manipis Ang Ulap, which starts airing Feb. 15 on the Kapatid Network.