Marissa Sanchez: Big in more ways than one

One can never have enough of Marissa Sanchez.

Her big presence alone on stage is strong enough to attract attention, especially when she opens with a sultry line like, "Do you like my body?" and the house roars with laughter.

But that’s only half the story. Wait until the diva-esque Marissa opens her mouth to sing. She’s simply mesmerizing as she switches tempo from ballad to rock to jazz to soul. Give her some time and a little training and she can probably do opera, too.

Because of her wonderful mix of comic skills and fine singing, Marissa Sanchez is one of the busiest performers around.

The big lady isn’t complaining, however. "I have waited long and hard for people to notice me and my talent," she says. "I’m not about to waste all those years by turning into an airhead at this point when I’m finally starting to make an impression."

Marissa has been described by a well-known columnist as "everything delicious all rolled into one big bundle of joy." A mean singer. A quick-witted comedian. A most amusing host. A graceful dancer (she was into ballet as a child). Remember how the funny lady did a mean split while doing a song number at the recent Cinemanila International Film Festival in Makati? The audience, literally, was floored.

Marissa learned ballet as a child, but at 12, she broke a knee. She was then trained by her mother, Jovita to sing. A former lounge singer herself, Marissa’s mother took it upon herself to pass on her performing skills to a hesitant ward, who admits to not having been born with the right notes in place.

"Lahat pala, napag-aaralan," Marissa says.

In the following conversation, Marissa brings us back to her roots.

Have you always wanted to be a singer?

"No. I wanted to be an actress. My mother kept pushing me to sing when I couldn’t do ballet any longer. I was a bad singer. Tone-deaf ako noon. I sang off-key most of the time but my mother taught me well. She was very strict she’d make me sing so early in the morning when my vocal cords were still very much asleep. She would also make me sing while I was lying down. Kaya ‘yang ginagawa ni Lani Misalucha na kumakanta habang nakahiga, kaya ko ring gawin ‘yan. One of these days, kakanta akong nakadapa."

Your mother was very strict?

"Yes. She was a disciplinarian. She made sure I had time for practice even if all I wanted to do was to play little girl’s games. At 12, I was already singing in clubs to make money for my family. I was big and chubby, pero maganda raw. I played back-up singer, big-band singer, one of the girls in my early years. We were playing at Bodega, Eduardo’s and those clubs on Roxas Blvd. As a soloist, I would open shows for Rico Puno, Imelda Papin, Maricris Bermont, the big stars then. Noong araw, Eduardo’s ang pinakasikat na showplace. My mother was with me all along, making sure I sang well and that I didn’t talk to boys."

She was over-protective?

"I guess she didn’t have much choice then. As a parent looking after a minor, you can’t help but be strict. Kaya lang, medyo "OA" (over-acting) ang nanay ko. She was in a way a stage mother. Looking back now, I don’t blame her naman. I think she just wanted me to be focused although at that time, I couldn’t see the point. After singing, she would wrap my neck with a towel para daw hindi ako malamigan pagsakay namin sa jeep. She’d do the same before I sing, on the way to the club, especially when it rains or it’s cold. I felt funny as I probably looked funny, too."

Boys couldn’t come near you?

"They couldn’t, because my mother was all over me. I guess she didn’t want me to experience heartbreak too early. Kaya naman, I kept my virginity for so long. I lost it when I was already a ripe old 28!"

You never had boyfriends?

"Despite my mother’s omnipresence, I managed to sneak in a few relationships. But you can’t really call them that as they were very short-lived. Ni hindi nga ako mahalikan ng mga naging boyfriend ko noon. Besides, I was very young."

Did you also join TV shows?

"I auditioned and passed the screen test in Kaluskos Musmos. That was in the mid-’70s. I was this big girl who sat at the back during school scenes, who couldn’t be noticed enough. I was sickly as a child. Lagi akong nagsusuka, so eventually I had to quit the TV show. My stint on Kaluskos was also short that up to now, Maricel Soriano, who became the biggest star of Kaluskos, can’t remember me. But, Maila Gumila does. That’s why she is my friend, although friend ko rin si Maria."

You said you wanted to be an actress?

"That was really my dream. I feel I can be a good actress, but I got my break as a singer-comedian. I don’t mind it, but now and then, I tell my manager to find me a good acting part. I remember a week-long episode I once did for Pira-Pirasong Pangarap (GMA-7) which I enjoyed thoroughly. I played the lead role, that of fat girl who was desperately looking for love. My dream now is to do an episode on Maala-ala Mo Kaya, na talagang iiyak ako at pipigain ng direktor."

That’s the reason why you did theater?

"Yes, ilusyon ko talagang maging magaling na drama actress. If I were slim and sexy, baka nag-bold din ako. I did plays with UP Playwrights, Repertory Phils., Villa Teatro, and others. I was trying to find my place then, between gigs at clubs and lounges."

What is the one thing you liked about your childhood?

"Hmmmm. (Thinks long and hard). Naku, baka maiyak ako n’yan. I never had a happy, normal childhood. We kept moving from place to place. Lipat ako nang lipat ng eskwelahan. Yun pala, my mother was avoiding my father. I had a difficult childhood, minadali. I was obliged to sing to make a living. We lived in a one-room affair and we couldn’t always pay the rent on time. Now, did I answer your question? Maybe, I am thankful now to my mother who taught me how to sing despite my protestations then. Singing saved my life, our life."

How’s your relationship with your mother now?

"We have become more tolerant of each other. I guess as we mature, we become more understanding and patient. I don’t live with my mother anymore, but I see her as often as I can. Our relationship has improved a lot. There may be some things about her actions in the past that I didn’t exactly like or believe in, but they’re all part of the learning process. I am devoted to my mother."

What does she have to say when you flirt with men on your shows?

"Ay, naku, she never imagined me doing those things before. Ang tingin ‘ata ng mommy ko sa akin noon, eh, Snooky Serna. Sometimes, lumalabas pa rin ‘yung pagka-stage mother n’ya, but she knows her place now. She tells me, tingnan mo, nagbunga rin ang paghihirap natin noon."

Are you as wacky off stage as you are on stage?

"I have a very serious side. I’m sentimental, an incurable romantic. I like matching people, sucker ako for love stories. I like playing Cupid, maybe it’s because I’ve always been looking for love. I do have a naturally comic personality. I don’t know how I got it, basta the funny lines come to me naturally. I also laugh at myself a lot."

Marissa Sanchez stars in Music, Laffter, and Mmmmm... me, slated at Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino in Greenhills tomorrow, Nov. 23. A fund-raising project of MC Archal Management & Marketing in connection with the forthcoming Fourth World Meeting of Families, the show will have as guests Dulce, Rannie Raymundo, and Robert Seña under the direction of Dingdong Cabazor with Jun Latonio as musical director.