Ah, she was much younger then – 18 (she’s 21 now), and all worked up about appearing before the big screen. To her, as it was for others like her, the silver screen represented some-thing novel, glamo-rous, inviting. Most of all, it meant good money for her family, headed by an ailing mom she took care of.
But now, 10 films after, Piel admits she’s tired. The novelty of seeing her flawless skin – lots and lots of it, on the big screen, has worn off. The boldie tag now sticks to her like some unwanted second skin. And Piel Morena feels so bad about it she wants out. "It’s so hard to be branded a bold actress. I know it’s just a job. But I can’t explain everything to everybody," she says.
That’s why her sexy flick, Virgin Wife, could be her swan song in the bold genre. And well could it be. Piel says it is the best sexy film she has done in her whole movie career – with all the ingredients she could ever hope for in a work she is proud of, foremost of which is a good story she herself conceptualized.
As fate would have it, her idea matched with that of her director’s, Jose Carreon, so everything went on smoothly.
"I’m happy with what I did in Virgin Wife. It is the fulfillment of my dreams and I gave it my all," Piel beams.
But the time has come for the self-described "more mature" girl to take over. Piel has turned it over in her head oh so many times: what her future family will say if the bold tag is still attached to her. What will her children say if they find out that their mom bares her body on screen for a living?
Haunted by this, and other questions, Piel has decided to branch out to other fields of acting. She swears she did her best in the nonsexy film, Tabi Tabi Po (produced by her mother company, FLT Films), so moviegoers will notice, not her body, but her acting talent. She will also appear in an action film and FLT has lined up nonsexy assign-ments for their prized talent.
Piel knows switching from sexy to wholesome roles is a big risk, the way others who feel the same way, like Ina Raymundo and Klaudia Koronel, do. But Piel, having gone thus far, is willing to gamble.
"If I was able to risk so many things before, why can’t I do so now?" she reasons out. What moves her – aside from what her future family will think and say, is her other dream: that of being a pediatrician. She is even willing to give up her movie career to become a doctor someday.
A lover of children, Piel dotes over her little nephews and nieces at home. Given enough money, she wants to put up a foundation for abandoned children and pregnant women deserted by their good-for-nothing man.
If she thinks this way, it could be because Piel has her own sob story to tell. It was only last year when she discovered the woman she looks up to as her real mom is only her adoptive mother. Piel’s biological mother gave her away because she was too poor to pay the debt she owed her daughter’s adoptive mom.
At first devasta-ted over this heartbreaking piece of news, Piel has learned to take it in stride. Instead, she has learned to appreciate how her adoptive family has accepted her as their own, even if they are not related by blood.
Like all adopted children, Piel wants to meet her real mother, not to turn her back on her adoptive mom, but just to find out what her roots really are.
It’s an ongoing drama Piel Morena can’t help but watch unfold in bated breath.