Isabel Granada: Ready for the big splash - CONVERSATIONS with Ricky F. Lo

After a considerable splash five years ago when she went "bold" (well, almost!) as a reluctant young prostitute in ReynaFilms’ Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin, Isabel Granada is all set to make an expectedly bigger splash in her latest movie, Regal Films’ Halik ng Sirena (directed by Joven Tan) where she plays a mermaid. Another Dyesebel? No, don’t worry, the similarity starts and ends with the tail.

Although she’s now 24, Isabel is still considered neneng-nene by showbiz-watchers who can’t seem to shake off Isabel’s image as a cute child star (believe it or not but even now that she’s into her late ’40s, a mother of two and a respected public official, Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos is still called "Baby Vi" by many people who can’t dissociate Mayor Vi from the Trudis Liit star circa early ’60s).

Look closely and you’ll find Isabel small but, yes, terrible. The girl has pluck, lots of it. For example, not any girl would have enough guts to fly an airplane, which is what Isabel plans to do after finishing her studies at a flying school.

Also, not many girls would dare confront an unfaithful boyfriend in front of "the other woman." While other "martyr" girls would sulk and suffer in silence, Isabel did what the New Millennium’s "empowered women" are expected to do: Catch her philandering boyfriend "in the act" and dismiss him there and then with a stream of very angry words (served him right!).

In Halik ng Sirena, Isabel shows yet another side of her plucky self by baring her breasts and she justifies her "career move" in the following Conversation:

What made you decide to change your image?

"First siguro. . . well, ‘yung age ko. I’m already 24 and parang I’m still stuck in bagets roles. Until now, they’re still getting me for such roles, pambata. It’s about time naman that I did other, more mature roles. Maganda naman ang role ko as a mermaid."

Is this yet another remaking of Dyesebel?

"No, it’s not. This is different. It just so happens that I’m playing a mermaid, like what Daryl Hannah played in Splash (with Tom Hanks as love interest)."

What then is Halik ng Sirena all about?

"Well, the plot has a lot to do with the halik. Carlos plays David, a womanizer, an incurable babaero. Fisherman siya."

Parang ’yung ex-boyfriend mo (Puerto Rican singer-actor daw Don Stockwell, an Ian Veneracion lookalike).

(Silence, then laughter). "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Anyway, Carlos as David plays around with girls. I would spy him kissing girls at may napi-feel akong love for him. But since I’m not human — only half-human, to be exact — I don’t understand why I feel that way. When we meet and kiss, his outlook in life suddenly changes; he becomes a one-woman man, he starts loving me at nag-stick na siya sa akin. My halik does magic on him."

Didn’t you wish the same thing happened in real life? You know, one little kiss from you and that Puerto Rican casanova would become faithful to just one woman.

(Laughing even harder) "How I wish, how I wish! But then, what happened was a blessing in disguise. At least I found out what kind of person he really was."

Well, back to the movie. . .

". . . well, my character, the sirena, does become human once every 10 years, but only for 10 days. I’m in my human form, complete with a pair of feet and minus my tail, when I meet Carlos’ character. As you can see, the movie is a sex-drama and it’s entirely different from Dyesebel."

How different is your mermaid from that of other actresses?

"Well, I didn’t wear bras; wala namang sirenang naka-bra. Di ba? I wear long hair, all right, pero ‘yung hair hindi naka-plaster sa katawan ko, it flows freely, so inevitably mayroon akong frontal nudity."

What preparations did you do for the role?

"It’s funny because I didn’t take swimming lessons, when I should have. Kasi, mayroon ba namang sirenang hindi marunong lumangoy? Swimming is not really my sport, golf is."

Isn’t swimming required in the flying course you’re taking?

"Oh, yes, it is. Mayroon kaming lesson called Aquatics but I haven’t taken it yet. But I did manage pretty well in the scenes where I’m shown swimming, including those shot underwater. Because of the movie. I learned how to swim, so by the time I take up Aquatics, I won’t have a hard time because I already know how to swim."

What about psychologically? Did you have to condition yourself?

"At first, I did have a tough time deciding. You know, ‘yung mag-frontal is really hard for me because, well, it’s something new, something daring as far as I’m concerned. I simply forgot that I wasn’t wearing bras and just thought that I was really a mermaid; nag-internalize ako. You know, how would a mermaid act, how would a mermaid feel, how would a mermaid move about and swim? Mga ganoon."

Have you watched any mermaid movies?

"Only Splash, but not any of the Dyesebel movies."

Are you more daring in Sirena than you were in Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin?

"I may be more daring in Ligaya, character-wise, because I played a girl forced into prostitution but in Sirena I’m much more daring physical-exposure-wise. In Ligaya, I was supposed to show my breasts in the whorehouse scene where I was forced by an older man to have sex with him pero I asked direk Carlitos (Siguion-Reyna) not to include na lang the breast exposure. In Sirena, I couldn’t help exposing my breasts, especially in the underwater scenes, because it would be unnatural naman if I were to cover my breasts. Hindi naman ganoon ang real mermaids, di ba?"

Ligaya marked the turning point of your career, didn’t it?

"In a way, kaya lang hindi nasundan. Before I accepted the Ligaya role, I thought about it for one month. Direk Carlitos and Tita Midz (Or simply ‘Armida’ as Armida Siguion-Reyna would rather be known for the duration of her campaign for Congressman in Makati City. — RFL) were trying to convince me to do frontal nudity pero hindi nila ako ma-convinced so we compromised. But Ligaya did mark my transition from teeny-bopper roles to more mature roles."

You mean offers didn’t come pouring in after Ligaya?

"In fact, I did several movies, but not ‘bold’ ones, such as Anghel dela Guardia (with Jeric Raval), Batang .45, (Lav Diaz’s) Hubad sa Ilalim ng Buwan, Kidnap (with Gardo Versoza) and another one (yet to be shown) with Lito Lapid."

As a teeny-bopper, how many films did you make?

"A lot! Among the most memorable were Isang Araw Walang Diyos; Shake, Rattle and Roll (Part 2); and Umiyak Pati Langit (directed by Edd Palmos). I was young when I entered showbiz; I was about 9 or 10."

How much of you is Spaniard?

"Seventy-five percent. I’m an only child. I was born in the Philippines but I was raised in El Ferrol del Caudillo, Spain, which is quite far from Madrid. Twenty days after I was born, I was brought by my parents to Spain. My father was half-Filipino and half-Spaniard while my mother is pure Spaniard. Kaya 75 percent Spaniard ako, 25 percent Filipino."

Why did your parents have to bring you to Spain that early?

"It’s like this: my Papa, Huberto Granada, was the chief marine engineer of a luxury liner. He died at age 47 of aneurysm of the brain five years ago during a stopover in Puerto Rico. Si Mama (Isabel Castro) naman ay talagang sa Spain nakatira. Her name is also Isabel; there are many Isabels in our clan and I’m actually the sixth Isabel. They met when Papa went to Spain to have the ship repaired. They fell in love with each other. They came here for a vacation and also for Mama na rin to meet Papa’s parents. They ended up getting married here, too. And then, hayun, I was born."

How was your childhood in Spain like?

"Well, I would call it a normal childhood. I was only three years old when I started going to school. Actually, I spent most of my childhood years in a luxury liner, travelling with Papa and Mama. It was a different kind of childhood, come to think of it, and I remember that some of my childhood friends were Hebrew. That’s why I learned how to speak Hebrew. We went to many places. I even celebrated my birthday once in Japan when the luxury liner docked there."

So your schooling would be rudely interrupted every now and then?

"In a way. But when we came back – I was about 8 or 9 then – I enrolled at O.B. Montessori right away and that’s where I finished elementary and high school. Actually, we came here just for vacation, but we decided to stay. Soon, I was doing commercials and before I knew it, nasa That’s Entertainment na ako."

How did you get into commercials?

"I was then taking jazz lessons in a school at SM Cubao. One time, this lady came up to me and asked me if I wanted to be in a commercial. At that time, wala pa akong masyadong ngipin because it took quite a while for my milk teeth to fall. The lady wanted to get me for a Colgate commercial but then... well, my teeth, you know. But I did VTR and that started me in commercials. In two years, I did more than 30 commercials."

Then came the movies...

"My first movie was for Regal, Bakit Madalas ang Tibok ng Puso, starring Aga Muhlach and Janice de Belen. I played Aga‘s little sister."

Were you brought up the Spanish way?

"My parents were disciplinarian. My Mom came from a conservative family. But when I say ‘conservative,’ it has nothing to do with clothes; it’s more about attitude. You can be conservative and still wear sexy clothes, di ba?"

Wasn’t it lonely growing up an only child?

"Not at all. I have my Mom as my best friend. She’s good company so I don’t get bored. I had playmates in school so I hardly noticed that I didn’t have any brother or any sister at all. My Mom is always there with me and for me. Early on, she and Papa instilled in me good values at dala-dala ko ’yon until now that I’m grown-up."

What about your love life?

"I’m 24 and my Mom knows that I can handle things. I started having a boyfriend when I was 14. Ruben (Manahan, now married to somebody else) was my first boyfriend. Our relationship lasted for five years. We first met while doing a promo for Rejoice Shampoo, giving away sachets from house to house. We met again in That’s at doon kami nagkaroon ng relationship. It was more of puppy love."

What about Chuckie Dreyfus?

"Ay, he’s only my loveteam-mate."

After Ruben came...

"...Richard de Dios. He was with (the GMA soap) Villa Quintana. We went steady for four years. I am for long relationships. When you go steady with somebody that long, para bang you expect him na to be your husband, di ba? But sometimes (shrugging), you’re not meant for each other, so..."

What really happened between you and that Puerto Rican guy (six years Isabel’s senior)?

"Well, there was a third party. It’s true that I caught Don with another woman. I thought he was a good guy. He even wrote a song for me, the lyrics but not the melody, for my album (In The Mood For Love). It’s called Soy Mujer Latina (I’m a Latin Girl). ’Yung nangyari sa amin is the story of the song, although ang ipinalit niya sa akin ay Filipina, hindi naman Latina. A line from the song goes (English translation), I met this Latin guy but I have reasons why I broke up with him."

A portentous song, since Don wrote it when you were still going steady.

"We went steady for seven months. It was my shortest relationship."

How did you catch ("in the act?") that two-timing Latino?

"Well, one month into our relationship, I’d been hearing stories na about him. People were telling me, ‘I saw your boyfriend with this girl and that girl.’ But I just kept quiet. At that time, although I never asked him to, sabi niya he stopped drinking and smoking na raw. He knew that I felt uncomfortable beside somebody smoking. He never told me that he was going out; he just said that he was going home na to sleep. It turned out to be a big lie."

Did you hire a detective to keep track of him?

"On my 23rd birthday (March 9) last year, I went to the Baclaran Church to ask for guidance, since I kept on hearing the tsismis about Don. I was asking for a sign. I couldn’t believe it. My prayer was answered right away. The next day, somebody (a gay) called me; he belonged to Don’s group so he was reliable. The gay told me that Don had this affair with an older lady, siguro 10 years older than he was. The lady daw is married and based in Hong Kong. She’d come to Manila once in a while and she would have a tryst with Don in Makati. Don used to stay in Malate but every now and then he’d tell me he’d be staying in Makati. Now I know why. My Mom and I even went to that Makati condo which, I learned later, was their meeting place."

Then what happened?

"Well, this gay informer told me that Don and the matron were having a dinner date at Le Souffle at The Fort. That day, after our meeting, I asked Kuya Dondon (Monteverde, her manager) to accompany me to The Fort. True enough, Don and the matron were there! Earlier, Don called me pa, saying that he was going out with Paolo (Fabregas) ‘for a bite.’ But I was already suspicious. Nevertheless, I told him pa, ‘Take care; enjoy yourself!’ So that night, Kuya Dondon and direk Joven went with me to The Fort. We communicated by Nextel pa, para kaming mga detectives – you know, ‘O, nandito na sila; si Don is seated beside a woman.’

"So I went inside the restaurant and when Don saw me, he turned pale. He and the matron invited me pa to take a seat. I simply said, ‘Good evening!’ I was already raging mad inside me but I kept my cool. Then I left very quietly and Don followed me and outside the restaurant, he grabbed my arm, holding me very tightly, and I pushed him away and said, ‘F--k off!’ I was so angry already kaya minura-mura ko siya."

In Spanish?

"No. In English."

And then?

"He left me outside the restaurant and, I learned later, he called pa my Mom to find out what happened, bakit daw nagalit ako. They even talked pa in Spanish. I felt betrayed! Then I rushed back to my van where I cried and cried. From the van, I could see through the window Don and the matron laughing and laughing. They were really adding insult to injury. There were three women with him na; they were all laughing and laughing."

Well, you deserve a better guy, not an "undesirable" alien.

"If ever I have another boyfriend, I expect him not only to be faithful but also to be understanding and broad-minded because of the mature roles that I’m doing now."

Maybe another Latino?

"Nationality doesn’t matter as long as he’s faithful."

You have guts and I admire you for that. No wonder you thought of taking up B.S. Aeronautical Engineering in college. Not many woman would be as daring as you are to pursue a flying career.

"Well, in the process I am also showing that women can do what men can, maybe even do it better. But the reason why I chose this course is that I love travelling. Siguro nandoon na rin ’yung desire to disprove that only men can fly an airplane. The course has something to do not only with flying but also designing airplanes. I’m now into my fifth year. The flying course will take six months."

If ever you fly a plane, who would you like to have as passenger? Don Stockwell?

(Raising an eyebrow) "I’ll have my Mom on my debut flight!"