Gloria Romero: 80 Carats

Back in 2000 when she celebrated her 50th anniversary in showbiz, Conversations asked Gloria Romero if, like most of her colleagues, she had ever contemplated on retiring. Gloria broke into her sweet and ever-refreshing smile and said, “As long as I am healthy and as long as the public still wants me, I will go on working.”

She hasn’t stopped working and she shouldn’t. The public still wants her and loves her and adores her, and accords her the great respect due the last surviving superstar of Philippine Movies’ Golden Era. Oh yes, Gloria has won every award in the book. But she stands tall as her biggest trophy.

Tomorrow, Dec. 16, Gloria is turning 80. Incredible? So it seems. She seems not to have grown old and that’s because she’s constantly in the public eye, maintaining without effort an immaculate image untainted by controversy. She’s 80 Carats!

Celso de Guzman Caparas, this section’s contributor, furnished Conversations interesting trivia about Gloria and vintage photos in our tribute to the perfect role model for actors young and old, fit to be enshrined on a pedestal.

• Gloria was born on Dec. 16, 1933, to Pedro Galla and Mary Borrego in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was barely four years old when the family relocated to Mabini, Pangasinan, her father’s hometown, where she studied (in Mabini Elementary School and Riverview High School).

• She entered showbiz in 1950 as an extra and did bit and cameo roles for Premiere Productions and Sampaguita Pictures.

• Dr. Jose R. Perez, Sampaguita big boss and Starmaker, got Gloria’s screen surname from Eddie Romero (later named National Artist), her director in Kasintahan sa Pangarap (shown on Sept. 3, 1951).

• In 1954, Gloria was singled out among those being considered as Virgin Mary for the Easter play Martir sa Golgota and got the plum role with the approval of Archbishop Rufino Jiao Santos of Manila (the first Filipino Cardinal in 1960).

• She was crowned Princess of Visayas to Queen of the 1954 National Fair Maria Teresa Larrazabal. Two years later, her escort, Tito Garcia, finished runner-up to Mr. Number One Juancho Gutierrez who became Gloria’s husband. Gloria and Juancho were wed at the Santuario San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park on Sept. 24, 1960. She was in a stunning Ramon Valera gown. They had their honeymoon in Tagaytay and Baguio City and later in the USA. Their only daughter, Maritess, now a chef, gave her parents one grandchild, Chris Gutierrez.

Below are updated excerpts from the Gloria in Excelsis! story that marked Gloria’s 50th anniversary in showbiz:

When you look back, what episodes in your life do you wish didn’t happen at all or you want to change or improve?

“Well, siguro, I should have continued my schooling even when I was already in showbiz. That’s about it. Otherwise, I don’t have any regrets. But if I were to be born again, I would still do the things I did and be what I am now.”

What was your first movie as an extra at Sampaguita?

“Kasintahan sa Pangarap, starring Tita Duran and Pancho Magalona. I was one of the models-models sa big scene. I still remember our song...” (Proceeds to sing)...“The pretty girl is like a melody…” (Then laughs and laughs)…”Pa-dance-dance kami doon. I was then known as Gloria Galla, my real name. Then I made Bernardo Carpio with Alicia Vergel and Cesar Ramirez. I was a member of the crowd, running in the mountain; followed by Dugong Bughaw with Norma Vales and Tessie Martinez, and then Rebecca. Mommy Vera (Sampaguita founder) told a director, ‘Bigyan mo naman ng kaunting dialogue si Gloria; kawawa naman, ang tiyaga-tiyaga.’ So on my fifth movie, Ramon Selga, starring Lilian Leonardo and Pancho Magalona, may dialogue na ako. I played a nurse and my dialogue was, ‘Yes, doctor!’ ’Yon lang.”

Tell us about your childhood in Mabini, Pangasinan.

“When I was about four years old, my father said, ‘Let’s go to the Philippines for a vacation.’ My father was an immigrant. That was in 1937, before the war. We took the boat; more than two months yata ang biyahe namin. My mother naman, was very excited at first. She told my Dad, ‘You promise we’ll stay only for a while.’ My sister Louise was five years old and Tito, my late brother, was only a baby.  My other brother, Gilbert, a doctor, was born here.

“According to my father’s story later, when we reached Manila, my mother was very excited dahil ang ganda-ganda daw pala ng Philippines, maraming ilaw. But as we went farther and farther into the countryside, wala na siyang makitang lights. At that time kasi, wala pa namang ilaw sa Pangasinan.

“We came for vacation lang sana. But my father kept on postponing our return to the States until the war broke out. Hayun, we were stranded here. Na-trapped kami dito sa Pilipinas. Dito na namatay ang mother ko, at the age of 28, during the war. Those were difficult times. We hid in the mountains. My mother died of loneliness, the day after the Americans came. She was longing for her family in the States.

“I don’t have any pictures of my childhood because they burned all of our possessions, everything, dahil nga we were American. My Mom was brought to the concentration camp; kawawa naman siya. We lived in the mountains, hiding from the Japanese. At an early age, I learned how to dress a chicken; ang galing-galing kong kumatay ng manok! We also learned how to pound palay and to grind corn.”

When did you start dreaming about movies?

“You know, our town was so small that it didn’t even have a moviehouse. We had to go to the next town to watch a movie. When my townmates would go to Manila, I’d tell them, ‘Manood naman kayo ng sine, pagkatapos ikuwento n’yo sa akin.’ So under the moonlight in the town plaza, they’d tell me what they saw and I’d start dreaming. In school, I was a declaimer. Nag-aayos ako nang mahirap and I’d put uling on my face. I’d make even my teachers cry. They’d say, ‘Parang artista ang batang ’yan!’ When graduation day came, my Physics teacher told me, ‘Gloria, you’re not going to graduate.’ Sabi ko naman, ‘Oh, never mind. It doesn’t matter.’ She asked, ‘Why? Don’t you want to go to college?’ I answered, ‘No. I’ll be a movie star!’ How they laughed at me! ‘Gloria,’ my Physics teacher said, ‘Pilya ka talaga!’.”

The name Gloria Romero evokes saintliness. Aren’t you capable of committing a sin?

“Nakakahiya naman because it’s not true! I’m also a sinner just like anybody.”

I know it’s natural with you — being good, that is. But how is it maintaining the “Gloria Romero image”?

“Maybe I have my family to thank for it, and the Vera-Perezes, too, for giving me the right upbringing.”

Didn’t you ever wish you had more children?

“I wish I did, pero talagang hanggang doon lang.”

Have you ever thought of retiring?

“Retirement did cross my mind after I got married. After all, I had already been in showbiz for 10 years. But Doc Perez told me that as long as I still wanted to work, I could go on. I still had an 18-year contract with Sampaguita at that time. I knew that Amalia (Fuentes) and Susan (Roces) were waiting on the side and I knew that they deserved a break. Para sa akin, contented na ako doon sa 10 years kong pagiging artista.”

While separated from Juancho, you had a lot of suitors, very wealthy and very influential (no names, please!). Weren’t you ever, you know, “tempted”?

“Para sa akin, it was enough that I got married once.” (Note: They reconciled. Gloria took care of Juancho when he suffered a stroke, until he died.)

How did you deal with persistent suitors?

“Well, I just tried to be nice to all.”

I remember when your brother Tito died (in 1979), you were so depressed that you didn’t want to go back to work. How did you spring out of that depression?

“When I saw my mother die, I was very young. Pero iniyakan ko ’yon; I couldn’t stop crying for weeks. Tito and I were very close. I saw him grow up. I took care of him. Even when he got married, close pa rin kami.

“When I learned that he had brain tumor, I was shattered. Napakasakit! Tito went to the States for treatment, with Gilbert taking care of him, and he died there. I was crushed all the more by his death. I didn’t want to work. The depression lasted a few years. My brother Gilbert talked me out of it, ‘Don’t be like that. Baka ikaw naman ang magkasakit.’ So, very reluctantly, I went back to work. Two years before Tito died, ang father naman namin ang namatay.”

What’s your source of strength? Are you prayerful?

“Yes, I am. I go to the Blessed Sacrament regularly. I always tell Him, ‘Lord, I cannot do this alone. Please help me!’ Until now, I still pray that way.”

Do you have any favorite saint?

“St. Anne, the Mother of The Virgin Mary, and St. Therese, The Little Flower of Jesus. I named Maritess (Maria Teresa) after St. Therese.”

What about vanity? Not every actress would want to grow more mature in the public eye, under the glare of the klieg lights.

“I don’t dwell on the past. What should I do? Open my old album and sulk? You have to be realistic. Either you retire and wallow in memories of the past or go on working. I’m happy I chose to go on working. Every time I report to the set on my first shooting day, I still get excited and nervous; nagkakaroon pa ako ng butterflies in the stomach. You know, baka the director might be expecting too much from me and he gets disappointed. Mga ganoon.”

So wala talaga sa vocabulary mo ang retirement, ’no?

“As long as I’m healthy, I’ll go on working — and as long as the public still wants me.”

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. You may also send your questions to askrickylo@gmail.com.)