She may be right in describing herself as “the last of my breed.” And Celia Rodriguez says it with pride.
While most, if not all, great Filipino kontrabidas (Carol Varga, Rebecca del Rio, et al) have, to quote a poet, “crossed the bar,” Celia has remained as active as ever, as competitive as ever, blithely refusing without really trying to be outshined by generations of actors since she was discovered in the early ‘60s (or late ‘50s?) by Doña Adela Santiago, the Lady Boss of Premiere Productions, who was impressed by the classy aura of the willowy model from Irosin, Sorsogon.
Marking another milestone today (born on June 21 19-forgotten), Celia has done all kinds of villainess in the book, topped by her iconic performance as Valentina in the nth remake of the legendary super-heroine created by Mars Ravelo and will soon fly across the big screen again with Liza Soberano as the millennial Darna (in a Star Cinema movie directed by Erik Matti).
In Lipad, Darna, Lipad (1972), a trilogy (Darna at ang Babaing Lawin, Darna at ang Impakta and Darna at si Valentina) directed by Joey Gosiengfiao, Elwood Perez and Maning Borlaza, Celia essayed the Valentina role originated by Cristina Aragon in the first ever Darna movie with Rosa del Rosario in the titular role, directed by Fernando Poe Sr.
Elwood, who directed Celia’s episode, called her character Maharani Valentina Vranda Kapor.
“Only somebody like Elwood could have invented that name,” quipped Celia who would reprise the same role, this time named Bragoda, when GMA revived the Darna classic with Angel Locsin in the title role.
“Angel is the best Darna, bar none,” said Celia. “She is perfect for the role. She had the figure for it. She was fearless. She refused to have a double even when portions of her body were badly hurt by the harness. As Bragoda, who came from Outer Space, my character invented Valentina who was played by Alessandra de Rossi. Ang ganda ng series na yon, directed by Dominic Zapata. Lorna (Tolentino) was also in the cast as another creature from Outer Space. We had fight scenes at natalo ko siya.”
However, although she is famous for being a kontrabida, Celia actually won her awards (yes, several) for non-kontrabida roles: Best Actress for Lilet (1972, where she played a virginal character) directed by National Artist For Film Gerry de Leon who also directed her in Kulay Dugo ang Gabi which won her Best Supporting Actress, the same award she got for Passionate Strangers (with Hollywood actor Mike Parsons), directed by Eddie Romero.
“When I won for Lilet,” recalled Celia, “ang daming umatake sa akin pero hindi ko pinansin. A, basta, di bale na may award naman ako.”
Celia has worked with other top directors: Lino Brocka (Angela Markado), Ishmael Bernal (Pito ang Asawa Ko), Joey Gosiengfiao (La Paloma, etc.) and Celso Ad. Castillo (Maligno, etc.). “In Pito ang Asawa ko,” said Celia, “I didn’t recognize myself. I really lost myself in my character kasi talagang piniga ako ni Bernal,” adding with sadness, “all our best directors are gone.”
At her age (highly confidential), Celia is proud that she has never undergone cosmetic surgery.
“Every part of me is original,” she smiled.
When Marichu “Manay Ichu” Maceda gave her a gift, she enclosed a note that Celia (who has also worked with Sampaguita Pictures) has kept for posterity.
“The note read: The original glamorous movie star. No one can ever come close to you. Stars like you are born, not made. That made me cry and cry.”
True to form, Celia was in her usual glamorous self when she showed up Monday night at Gloria Maris (Greenhills) for an intimate, advance birthday dinner hosted for her by Regal Matriarch Lily Monteverde.
“I love this woman,” said Mother Lily who has cast Celia in several Regal movies. “She’s down-to-earth. No pretentions. She says what she has in mind.”
“I’ve never seen Celia na hindi nakaayos,” commented Ethel Ramos, one of Celia’s close writer-friends. “She dresses up like how a movie star should.” (Celia just came from the pictorial for Haplos, her forthcoming TV series on GMA.)
She is known for her quotable-quotes:
• Marriage is just a piece of paper.
• The only thing I owe the public is a good performance.
• (To young stars): Look like a star.
Understandably, Celia never married, although she has children who were “conceived in liberty,” one of them Jackie (sired by a top cardiologist) who died in her sleep in the States in 1995. Oops! So sorry.
“Jackie just joined Our Savior,” Celia would correct anybody who would use the word “died.” She has two other children, Angelo who is a doctor and is getting married soon in Sydney, and Camille who is based in the States.
Asked about her (very colorful!) love life, Celia said, “I never had a man in my life since 1995 when I became a Born-again Christian.” That was the same year Jackie, well, “joined Our Savior.”
Having done everything and having won awards, Celia said that she has only one wish: “Eternal salvation. You will never be satisfied unless you have Jesus in your heart.”
(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)