Gloria Romero, Pangasinense

𝔾𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒 ℝ𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕠, ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖

Gloria Romero is one of those actors and actresses who inhabited a certain era, the ones we younger ones associated with old black-and-white movies with scratchy reels, stilted script, and unnatural acting, not to mention a showbiz producer routinely addressed as Doña, someone who is routinely depicted in movies as spouting lines like, "Facundo, ilabas na ang charcoal-gray na auto, ngayon din!"

The actresses's beauty at the time was routinely described as "timeless," although I personally found Gloria's nose to be too mestisahin. Sumobra ng konting-konti (lang naman) sa tangos (too aquiline-nosed), but yes, she was blest with one the most beautiful faces of her time in local show biz, with Nida Blanca among her closest rivals. ...While the men, carefully pompadoured and heavily pomaded, exuded a bearing that matched the dainty beauty of whoever they were matched with at the moment, the Adonis to their respective dyosa (goddess).

Fortunately for them, scandalous screenshots were unheard of, not to mention the uploading of videos of sexual shenanigans that turn viral in seconds.

But I will leave the better accounting of those halcyon days of yore to veteran feature writers like Jo Ann Maglipon et al. Let me just focus on how I want to remember Gloria Romero best: as a Pangasinense who happened to be a most popular actress.

When I was a lot younger, Gloria Romero must have been already in her advanced years, her large body of work from a bygone era fully behind her. It was the age where she finally could be herself and do whatever she wanted or have been wanting to do all along. And so as a great departure from her sweet and saintly roles, and the occasional turn as the cigar-chomping Ilocana, Manang Biday, she dared to do a role reversal by taking on the role of a murderous bitch, with lines like, "Kill her!" while smoking a cigarette. Her gamble in the memorable film titled "Condemned" (starring Nora Aunor and Dan Alvaro) proved to be a good one, for she finally reaped serious accolades here and there and the kind of respect from her own peers that actors yearn for. She was no longer the veteran, typecasted actress, but a daring and versatile one.

Another gamble in her career must have been when she accepted the role of a comical auntie, Tita Minerva, in the hugely popular TV series, "Palibhasa Lalake." With nothing much to lose, she played the character to the hilt. It was here that I discovered that Gloria Romero was a Pangasinense from the town of Mabini, Pangasinan. That's because, time and again, she'd surprise us, viewers in her home province, by blurting out expressions, apparently out of script, in the Pangasinan language. Being from a town where many Ilocanos reside, she apparently also knew how to speak in Ilocano.

It was always a funny moment whenever she exchanged mock-angry lines with Ruby Rodriguez's unintelligible Ilocano or Cynthia Patag's far more unintelligible Bisaya, complete with lots of irap (you know, that very Filipino way with the eyes). The joke felt conspiratorial to us who understood her language, which of course sounded strange to most. But more important than that is that it sent the message that she was being proud of her roots, not ashamed of it, unlike other people who grew up speaking the language at home.

I'd eventually learn that other big-name stars hailed from Pangasinan too: Fernando Poe Jr. from San Carlos City, Barbara Perez from Urdaneta City, and Ric Segreto from Malasiqui being among the most famous during their time.

(According to current informants, other actors and showbiz personalities from Pangasinan, it turns out, include: Carmen Rosales from Carmen, Rosales; FPJ Sr. from San Carlos City; Lolita Rodriguez from Urdaneta; Tito Galla, Gloria’s brother, from Mabini, of course; Nova Villa from Calasiao; Cynthia Zamora from Mangatarem; Jing Abalos, Carlos Salazar, and Vic Pacia from Bayambang; and the veteran radio talent and contravida Luz Fernandez, from Dagupan City. Other personalities who may have grown up in other places but have parents or grandparents they occasionally come home to in Bayambang include Wendell Ramos, Donita Rose, and Ramon Bautista. Some old-timer informants say Maita Gomez has roots in Bautista and Bayambang, and Martin Nievera's father has roots in Bayambang, but these bits of information need some validation from other sources.)

The last time I noticed Gloria Romero making a major dent in national consciousness is when she played the role of an ailing matriarch in that runaway hit of a family drama, "Tanging Yaman," where she went full circle by revisiting her previously held role of santa.

But way before that, I remember another Gloria, someone who was an honoree of the Pangasinan provincial government, the recipient of the so-called ASNA Award for Pangasinenses, a recognition that is little-known outside the province. To me, it was a belated but most fitting recognition for someone who has brought honor to us all in Pangasinan.