Gina Alajar: Tough, thorough and timeless

Life is tough. But Gina Alajar is tougher.

Time and again, she has risen above many of life’s daunting challenges and nauseating contradictions, on screen and in real life. Gina has gone beyond the rigors and roughness of her colorful career that has spanned 35 years (amazing!) and is now thoroughly polished, like a precious gem that keeps on appreciating in value with time. She is a fighter through and through, and she almost always comes out a winner.

Gina may be petite but she is far from fragile. Her now signature "attack" on difficult roles and complex characters may be subtle but is definitely not bland. She has proven her worth as a first-rate actress over and over again, reaping the respect of the evolving breed of Filipino film-goer and the praises of the most hard-nosed critics. As a proof of that, she’s garnered almost all the acting trophies from the different award-giving groups in the country.

Going through her profile, one can say that Gina’s "been there, done that." The many roles she’s played are testaments to the kind of actor that she is – serious, sensible, deep, determined. Although she admits to having taken the deviant path a couple of times, she says those are part of her personal explorations.

"Basically I still am a gut-feel actor. One thing I’ve learned all these years is to trust my instincts as an actor. It’s always good to ask, if you don’t understand; probe, if you think there are gray areas; and explore, if you want to go deeper than just the surface," she explains, with authority and authentic modesty in her voice.

She doesn’t have qualms about not being the first choice when it comes to being cast for projects. Neither is she particular about the number of exposures she’ll get in a film. These things apparently are big issues for actors of much lesser caliber. Take for instance her participation in Regal Entertainment’s Singsing ni Lola. Gina tells me she enjoys doing horror and fantasy and this movie allows the "little girl" in her to get curious and escape to a different realm again.

"I like variety. I believe that to be effective and thorough as an actor, one has to try on different levels of acting and get cast in other genres of films, too," she explains, and when I remind her that she even won a Best Actress plum for a horror movie (Shake, Rattle & Roll), her face lit up with glee.

When I make Gina name her personal favorites, she takes a deeper-than-usual breath, to allow her mind to make a quick run-down of the many good films she’s done. Of course, she had to back-track from the beginning, when she was about 7, in a film called Kaibigan Kong Sto. Niño, where she got her first acting recognition.

She lets out a faint smile, as if she was suddenly brought back in time, then slowly enumerates the movie titles as they pop up one by one in her mind: Pinagbuklod ng Langit (where she played the youngest of the legit Marcos children), Cofradia (a remake of an old Gloria Romero film), Isa, Dalawa, Tatlo... Magtago na Kayo, opposite the late Jay Ilagan).

She likes Brutal and Moral, the better films of Marilou Abaya. She is proud of Salome and Playgirl, and talks fondly of her major support roles in Sister Stella L. and in Andrea– Paano ba ang Maging Ina, where she effortlessly upstaged the lead actress, who just happens to be Nora Aunor.

Gina almost forgot the Lino Brocka timeless classics which affirmed her status as an A-1 actress, but as soon as she remembered, there was no stopping her: Kapit sa Patalim, Bakit Bughaw ang Kulay ng Langit, and the brave, brave Ora Pro Nobis, wherein Gina gave one of the most powerful performances of her career.

"Lino was a major guiding force in my life as an actor. He allowed me to tap my potentials while at the same time making sure that I learned the techniques and the structures and the methods in the most spontaneous manner possible. For being the artist that he was, and the kind of person that he was to me, I will forever be grateful," she shares.

And being the candid person that she is, Gina doesn’t have to put on any form of defense – or pretense for that matter– when she says she’s also done forgettable and lousy movies. "Oh, there’s quite a few, and I’ve no qualms admitting to it," she says matter-of-factly. Her reasons? She cites practicality, pakikisama, and a penchant to always test the waters.

"The important thing, though, is that you learn something, and you don’t commit the same mistakes over and over again, because that would be bordering on stupidity," she says. "I guess you also have to enjoy what you’re doing, because sometimes, when you start to take things too seriously, you lose the fun, it stifles and suppresses your creativity more – and that’s not good for an actor."

In real life, Gina has also stumbled on many instances when she should have made the right decisions but she chose not to. "You know how stubborn we can sometimes get," she says, breaking into a wide grin, pointing at her temple, then pounding on her chest.

Time and again, we would constantly read about Gina experiencing some rough-sailing in her domestic backyard, yet the pain and frustration don’t seem to show on her beautiful and well-cared for face, nor do these affect her attitude towards life and existence.

Not long ago, Gina decided to finally separate from her spouse, after countless entwining and entangling, which got her really tired and fed up. Although they’ve constantly communicated, he has now found a dancer and lives with her, and Gina keeps watch over their kids in their Parañaque abode. Well, her three boys are no longer boys; in fact, Ryan (25), Jeffrey (19) and AJ (17) are all into their own romantic liaisons and can fully comprehend that things do not always work out between couples in love.

"The boys are smart," Alajar says. "They’ve learned early on to be realistic about things, which is not easy, considering that they all grew up with actors around them. What I mean is that it can be so easy for them to just escape into another world when times are tough, or take on another character, kasi nga, ang orientation nila, iba from kids who weren’t born into a family of actors."

Like a good curse perhaps, fate has lured all her sons into the acting business. Ryan is a credible character actor, Jeffrey has tried soap but has to lose weight before his mom allows him to continue, and AJ is a fast-rising star on Channel 7’s Click.

"I’m the type of mom who gives my children the freedom to pursue their own happiness, as far as choosing the careers they want is considered. I try my best to enlighten them, guide them, explain to them the different sides of things, but I make it clear to them that I call the shots as long as they are under my care," Alajar asserts.

In the meantime, Gina continues to remain tough and thorough in all her undertakings, whether these be in the acting or the home front, while at the same time, working on her filmmaking skills, hopefully realizing her dream of directing a full feature film soon.