Dina Bonnevie shows the importance of doing ‘ego check’

“Hindi napapanganak ang artista na magpapahintay sa akin ng five hours! Goodbye!”

That was a feisty statement of Dina Bonnevie from a lengthy chat we had with her one fine afternoon. What was supposed to be a chat solely about her show, Kalye Kweens on TV5, turned out to be one full of wisdom and more from Miss D.

The context of it was how she reminisced about the sheer professionalism of the stars in her heydays as compared to now. Dina has remarkably been around in showbiz since the ‘70s with iconic roles in Temptation Island, Hindi Nahahati Ang Langit, Gumapang ka sa Lusak and so much more, but despite the stellar projects she had starred in, it was just in recent decades that she experienced some apparently appalling behavior from her younger peers that made a mark in her memory. Without naming names, Dina shared some experiences that left a bad taste in the mouth.

“Hindi sa akin pwede iyon. Kung mag-attitude ka, tataas ang kilay ko hanggang dito! Buti naman itong sa series, walang ganoon. Kami mga senior stars ‘pag may nag-attitude, sasabihin ko alam mo kung gusto mong magtagal sa industriya, professional ka,” she said.

“No. 1, you have to come on time. Hindi yong six o’clock iyong call (time), nine o’clock darating ka naka-pajama! Tapos gulo-gulo pa buhok mo, tapos mawawala ka lunch break, babalik ka alas tres basa naman buhok mo. Hihintayin namin na tuyuin buhok mo. So, saan ka ba nanggaling na bumalik ka ganyan buhok mo? Question mark! Nakaka-inis naman itong feelingera. Ay ayoko ng ganoon!”

As if that was not enough, she went on to tell this tale that should serve as a lesson to future stars not to follow.

“Dapat may work ethics, like you come on time and when you come on time at least have an idea what your role is. Hindi (yung) pagdating mo, ‘Direk, ano na nga ba role ko? Diba parang ano ako rito mayabang, malakas ang dating?’ Duh?! Hindi binasa yung script, eh dito iyong role,” Dina said.

“Tapos nag-reading na kayo, may kausap sa phone! Sasabihin, ‘Oo nga, hey, girl! Tuloy na ba? Kitakits! BGC na lang. Oo, masarap doon. Sige kita tayo doon! Puts down the phone and says, ‘Direk, ano na nga uli line ko?”

The level of disrespect for Dina is off the charts. “Imagine, nag-rehearse na kayo and everybody is hearing you(r) plans. Care bears naman namin sa gusto mo na rampa. To top it all, wa mo memorize ang script mo,” she said.

Dina even asked the director in that particular project: “Direk, okay lang ba sa iyo? Tiga-dikta kayo ng linya niya? Diba dapat trabaho niya memoryahin ang lines niya? Sinabihan ko talaga sana naman prepared tayo, walang dumarating na hindi alam ang lines.”

Meanwhile, acting may be in Dina’s DNA, but there is another passion she is pursuing. The veteran actress is reviving a dying craft in Ilocos, which is the Inabel or Abel Iloco. We have been seeing her sporting the woven fabric since a few SONAs ago and even in the press conference of Kalye Kweens last week. Her whole ensemble was made of Abel Iloco. The interest came in when Miss D became a congressional spouse to Rep. Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano of Ilocos Sur.

“When you say Inabel Iloco, handwoven fabrics and it’s hard to make,” she said. “The weavers are already old like 80 and above or maybe 70 plus and above. Now, we’re having (weavers who are) at least 40 years old, 30 years old. Totally, iyong mga edad na mamamatay na, pero ngayon mayroon na mas bata kahit paunti-unti.”

Dina even put up the online shop LaBonnevie, which means the good life and sells the weaves for a fraction of the price of what other online shops sell. “The point is it should be accessible, so many people will buy and buy and support,” she shared.

She is in awe of the weavers she helps and all the proceeds are being saved towards opening a school to teach the art of Abel Iloco.

“The design is in their heads. Iyong design napaka-intricate, pero nasa utak lang nila,” she concluded.