When Nora Aunor played the role in the Ishmael Bernal movie two decades ago, she won awards and accolades and the movie was hailed by critics as one of the best pictures ever produced by Philippine cinema. A moving story about faith and faithlessness, truth and delusion, Himala is based on an account of the alleged apparitions on Cabra Island in 1967.
May Bayot takes over the lead role of Elsa the visionary in far-off Barrio Cupang who claims to have been visited by the Virgin Mary which subsequently led to her possessing healing powers. May Bayot may not be as familiar a name or as big a draw as the superstar, but musical director Chino Toledo is said to have had her in mind for the role all along.
May doesn’t seem to be at all fazed by the prospect of taking on such a pedigreed role. An accomplished singer with the popular band Acoustic Jive, she has also done stage work
STARweek caught up with May during a break in rehearsals at the CCP. Over a bottle of Snapple shared with kid sister Karlyn, talk started off about the other sister who was not there–Lani. As in Misalucha, the one they call Asia’s Nightingale, who fills the house at every concert, even one at the CCP’s Main Theater last year.
Fortunately, there is genuinely no resentment about the middle sister’s fame and success.
"We’re very proud of her and we love her," Karlyn, 27, insists. "We’re very close as a family which would surprise a lot of people, but it’s true."
"That’s right," May agrees. "Although we don’t see each other as often as before when we lived under one roof, there are frequent phone calls and the whole family usually goes out on Sundays. We let Lani cook most of the time."
The sisters are lively and bubbly, sometimes forgetting they are being interviewed, sharing stories and private jokes with each other, laughing easily.
The 38-year-old May, the eldest of the Bayot sisters, radiates confidence and contentment, always quick with a funny story or a witty remark. Just She sings with the band Acoustic Jive, a variety act which crosses many stylistic borders, fusing elements of jazz, pop, R&B, blues, and even reggae. She’s been with the group for almost ten years now and she has no plans to leave, dabbling in theater from time to time.
"We don’t do any original material in our gigs but hopefully that’ll soon change because we’re planning to record an album next year. Half of the songs could be our own, and half covers. I just hope I have enough time for the band because I have to take a leave of absence sometimes. Like right now I’m cast in a play," she says.
Himala, with libretto by award-winnign Ricky Lee and directed by Soxy Topacio, opened last Friday and will run until November 23. "We already have 16 confirmed shows and we’re looking forward to good ticket sales," May enthuses. "The play is a wonderful project for me. It has some very good material in it. I had fun working because we have a dynamic and a diverse cast. There are young actors to balance us–the old ones."
May will rejoin Acoustic Jive after her stint in the theater is over. And although she says that it’s a lot harder doing music gigs in bars than acting in a cozy, well-lit stage, she would still pick the band if she had to choose between them. She is a member of the artists’ pool of the Metropolitan Theater and has toured the US and Europe with the classical group Filipino Coro Classico.
"I can’t say I’m a veteran in acting because I’m like an absentee theater performer. I’d do only one or two plays a year because that’s all I can afford to do because of the band. And it’s a good thing that they’re okay with my doing a play here. Humihingi nga sila ng balato eh, kala nila ang laki ng kikitain ko," she laughs heartily.
Karlyn, though better known as a commercial model, shares that she too is an actress. A talent of abs-cbn, the cheery and bright-eyed girl was seen in the last Jericho Rosales-Kristine Hermosa team-up Ngayong Nandito Ka, in which she played a villain.
"I’m into acting these days because let’s face it, that’s where the money is," she states. "I had about seven speaking lines in the movie, so I guess that’s just a minor role. But I’m not complaining. Hopefully, I’ll be given more projects very soon."
She takes a very down-to-earth view of her career. "I’ve stopped going to VTRs and modeling because I’m not that young anymore. You’d go in there and see many others who are really young and gorgeous and some-times you can’t help but feel a bit slighted. Three more years and I’m off the calendar!" she says, although many will dispute that claim and insist she doesn’t look a day over 21.
She started playing the piano at age three and shifted to violin at seven. "I was very young when I started playing the violin. Doon ako nagkaroon ng mulat na ayoko na pala mag-piano. I really wanted it to be my career but I couldn’t play the violin very often because many people don’t appreciate classical music. A lot are into mainstream and rock so I pretty much had to look in another field," she admits. One thing one quickly realizes about Karlyn is that she changes her mind a lot. "I tried my hand in singing as well but now I’m into acting. And I’ve only started two years ago. Late na I know, pero kasi nagtapos muna ako ng pag-aaral. And as ever, I had a tough time choosing what I wanted in college. I first took up psychology, then tourism, before finally settling with marketing and management. I shifted from course to course. Until today pa-iba-iba pa rin ako ng isip kaya eto, umaarte naman ako ngayon!"
Karlyn may have finally found her niche in show business. Her looks wowed audiences in a shampoo commercial a few years ago and it helped her land a role in abs-cbn’s hit family drama Munting Paraiso.
"I really still don’t know where I‘ll go from here, but abs-cbn told me that they’ll be renewing my contract so hopefully things will start to pick up and get even better. I‘m saving up money because I want to settle down pretty soon."
Although the Bayot siblings have similar occupations, they lead completely different lives. May and Lani have both been happily married for years now and are completely focused on their own families. May, in particular, finds time to be with her family despite her busy schedule, and says that she "will always have time for the most important things in life".
Karlyn, meanwhile, participates in bazaars and tiangges especially during the Christmas season, selling toys and children’s clothes. Another hobby she really enjoys is baking cakes, cookies and pastries.
"Yes, we are very close," May reiterates. "Lani was the first one to leave the house, the first one to get married. She really wanted to marry young and she did. But when I tell people that, she always denies it–I don’t know why," she laughs. "It’s too bad but the three of us still haven’t had a single collaboration musically because we’re very keen to be with one another on a personal basis. But who knows? We still have a long way to go."
That may be so, but there’s no argument that the Bayot sisters–all of them–are heading in the right direction.
Himala is onstage at the CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute until Nov. 23, with shows at 3 pm and 8 pm. Call Tanghalang Pilipino at tel 832-3661 for ticket information.