Charo: I’m a fan of Tiya Dely and Ate Helen

Did you know that the long-running ABS-CBN Friday night drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya? (MMK) (the theme song of which used to be sung by Dulce, who recently gave birth at age 45, and now by Sheryn Regis), hosted by Charo Santos-Concio (Ate Charo to her fans) would have been titled Among My Souvenirs (in which case the theme song would have been sung by Connie Francis)?

“During the brain-storming, I broached that idea and I even sang the song...There’s nothing left for me of things that used to be. I live in memories among my souvenirs...But Mr. (Freddie) Garcia (then head of ABS-CBN) said, ‘No, no, no, no, no. You have to choose a Tagalog song.’ And he was the one who came up with the title Maalaala Mo Kaya? kasi the basis of Maalaala Mo Kaya? is an object around which a story is woven.”

Its maiden episode was entitled Paper Clip which has an interesting behind-the-scene story.

“Olive (Lamasan, one of the MMK directors who eventually branched out to movie directing) and I were very new in television,” said Ate Charo. “During our first meeting, we were asked by the general manager then to show a concept. Sabi niya, ‘If I ask you kung ano ang ipapalabas n’yo sa programang ito, dapat may sagot kaagad kayo.’ I saw a paper clip on the table and I picked it up. I said, ‘Paper clip. It’s a simple thing. But behind it could be an interesting story. That’s our concept.’ The general manager nodded.”

The rest is a long story.

That was 16 years ago.

Since then, MMK has been dramatizing more than 800 stories (Scalpel was one of the most memorable, starring the late Nida Blanca as an abortionist who unwittingly victimized the girlfriend of her son, played by Leandro Muñoz) and winning awards in the process, not only for itself but also for the actors breathing life to the characters based on real people caught in real-life dilemmas, so many in fact that Ate Charo has lost count.

“I never expected MMK to last this long,” she added. “There was a time, during the show’s 10th year, that I suggested it was time to close the book on MMK. I did so also last year.”

But the show must go on.

“To what do I attribute the show’s longevity? I think it offers televiewers a lot of hope because when you see the struggles of the letter-senders, you realize that your problems are not as serious as those of other people’s. The show also encourages televiewers to hang on and strive harder, and to find courage in facing their own problems.”

And, of course, MMK touches a sensitive nerve in us natives who love to cry not so much over our own little miseries as those of other people’s.

How else can we explain the enduring appeal of such radio/TV reality-based dramas as Ang Mga Liham kay Tiya Dely (hosted by Dely Magpayo for more than half a century now, still being aired on dzRH) and Lovingly Yours, Helen (hosted by the late Helen Vela)?

“I’m a fan of Tiya Dely and Ate Helen,” confessed Ate Charo. “Growing up in Mindoro, I listened religiously to Tiya Dely’s radio program and watched Ate Helen’s drama show.”

Real life is stranger than fiction. Almost 100 percent of stories dramatized on MMK are true-to-life, whether they are about ordinary people or prominent personalities.

“The more weepy the story, the better,” said Ate Charo. “The story should have ‘a heart,’ dapat may puso. And also, dapat kapupulutan ng magandang aral.”

The best examples are the four episodes marking MMK’s 16th anniversary this month.

Presented last May 4 was the success story of boxer Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, directed by Nuel Naval with John Prats in the title role; on May 11, a highly-moving story of a mother (Gina Pareño) and her three psychologically-disturbed children (Lotlot de Leon, Sid Lucero and Jhong Hilario), directed by Jeffrey Jeturian; last night, a love story about two people who meet and fall in love during a Star Cruise, starring Bea Alonzo and Zanjoe Marudo, directed by Gilbert Perez; and next Friday, May 25, a story of woman empowerment despite the odds, topbilled by Chin-Chin Gutierrez and directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina.

“If you notice,” Ate Charo pointed out, “the four episodes tackle varied subjects, all of them socially-relevant. There are so many more stories waiting to be told and we are going to tell them one by one.”

MMK receives dozens of letters every week, especially after the show’s  researchers started to go “regional,” soliciting entries from Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Iloilo, Aklan, etc. Not only that. The researchers have also been tapping students from different schools, inspired as they (those on and behind the show) are by an award given to the show by a UST-based award-giving body.

“MMK also serves as an outlet for the problem-laden. Seeing their problems dramatized on TV gives the letter-senders a big relief, it’s as if 50 percent of their problems are solved. It has a cathartic effect not only on the letter-senders but on televiewers as well.”

Through the years, MMK has also served as training ground and launching pad for aspiring writers and directors, including some of today’s bright directors of Star Cinema like Rory B. Quintos, Cathy Garcia-Molina, Gilbert Perez, Wenn Deramas and Olivia Lamasan (whose last work was the two-part story of a woman with a special child, played by Vilma Santos and Maja Salvador respectively).

One of these days, as an MMK follower I’d love to see the checkered and colorful life story of the host dramatized on MMK, uncensored.

That, I think, would make up a four-episode special package that will make us laugh and cry and wonder and go tsk-tsk-tsk.

Suggested title: Open Book.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])