Truly Golden harvest

The Movie Workers Welfare Foundation, Inc. (MOWELFUND) held the First Ani Awards last Friday night at the Aliw Theater, a tribute to eight pillars of the movie industry. Only two of the awardees are living legends, Dolphy and former Pres. Joseph "Erap" Estrada (who didn’t make it to the affair for obvious reasons). The six others were Jose Nepomuceno, Atang dela Rama, Rosa del Rosario, Rogelio dela Rosa, Carmen Rosales and Fernando Poe Jr.

In the ads, MOWELFUND invited everybody to the awards ceremony to, you know, Alamin natin ang ating pinanggalingan.

Here then are thumbnail sketches, courtesy of Funfare’s "other beauty expert" Celso de Guzman Caparas:

• JOSE ZIALCITA NEPOMUCENO (1893-1959) a.k.a. Don Jose — Acknowledged as the Father of Philippine Movies, Nepomuceno established a major production, the Malayan Movies, in 1917. He was the producer, director, cinematographer and scenario writer of the first 100 percent Filipino full-length movie, Dalagang Bukid, shown on Sept. 25, 1919 at the Empire Theater. The movie was based on the zarzuela (the Spanish operetta or musical comedy) of the same title by dramatist Hermogenes Ilagan and Leon Ignacio; with the same cast, Atang de la Rama and Marcellano Ilagan (who later became a film director using the name Mar I. Esmeralda). It was in his 1926 movie, Ang Tatlong Hambog, that the first screen kiss was featured (by vaudeville actress Elizabeth "Dimples" Cooper and sportsman Luis Tuason). Nepomuceno trained young directors like Gregorio Fernandez (the father of Merle and Rudy Fernandez), shared his skills with other budding producers like Vicente Salumbides and Julian Manansala, discovered and honed the talents of early major stars like De la Rama, Fernando Poe Sr., Mary Walter, Leopoldo Salcedo, Rogelio de la Rosa, Carlos Padilla, Naty Bernardo (introduced in Punyal na Ginto, 1933) Maria Elsa Oria (introduced in Awit ng mga Ulila, 1936, with Tita Duran and Angelito Nepomuceno as the orphans) and Patrocinio Abad (whom he christened Corazon Noble in Anak ng Pari, 1937).

• HONORATA DE LA RAMA (1902-1991), a.k.a. Atang de la Rama — Hailed as the Queen of the Kundiman and Zarzuela, De la Rama started performing on stage at the tender age of seven, playing child roles in zarzuelas like La Mascota, Sueño de un Vals, Marina and Viuda Alegre. A lyricist, stage drama and zarzuela director, De la Rama also wrote and starred in four operettas such as Bulaklak ng Kabundukan, Ating Ina, Anak ni Eva and Puri ng Buhay. De la Rama also topbilled La Venganza de Don Silvestre, the sequel of Dalagang Bukid (which she had performed a thousand times on stage) shown only a month apart, on Oct. 20, 1919. De la Rama traveled to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hawaii and other cities of the US between 1920 and 1922 with a six-man orchestra to stage concert benefits for jobless Filipinos. On her return to Manila, she starred in the zarzuela Ang Kiri which was translated into a movie entitled Ang Mahiwagang Binibini (1939). De la Rama also did a movie in 1930, Oriental Blood (the first Filipino film produced by a woman, Carmen Concha). She popularized the now classic songs such as Bituing Marikit, Madaling Araw, Mutya ng Pasig, Anak Dalita and Kundiman ng Luha. De la Rama was named National Artist for Music and Theater in 1987. She also received the Walang Kupas Award in 1982.

• ROSA DEL ROSARIO (1916-2005) — Born Rose del Rosario Stagner, she was the Queen of Philippine Movies during the ’30s and ’40s. Del Rosario started in the movies at the age of nine when Nepomuceno cast her as the daughter of Carlos Padilla and Alma Bella in Anak ni Satanas (1925). After seven years, she starred in her first major movie, Ligaw na Bulaklak (1932) opposite Rogelio de la Rosa. Del Rosario held the distinction of being the first actress to play the first Filipino superheroine on screen, Darna (1951), followed by Darna at ang Babaing Lawin (1952). Among her memorable movies were Doktor Kuba, (1933, with Patrocinio Carvajal), Minda Mora (1929, with Fernando Poe Sr.), Zamboanga (1937, with Poe), Nang Magulo ang Maynila (1937, with Domingo Principe), Himala ng Birhen sa Antipolo (1947, with Rogelio de la Rosa), Caprichosa (1947, with Jose Padilla Jr.), Tandang Sora (1947, with Leopoldo Salcedo), Kumander Sundang (1949, with Efren Reyes) and Rosario Cantada (1951, with Ben Perez). Del Rosario also starred in Hollywood films such as The Border Bandits and Anna and the King of Siam.

• ROGELIO DE LA ROSA (1916-1986) — Regidor Lim de la Rosa in real life, he was the King of Philippine Movies during the ’40s and ’50s, a zarzuela actor, producer, stage performer, public servant and an acclaimed career diplomat. A zarzuela actor during fiestas in the barrios of Pampanga, Bulacan and Bataaan, De la Rosa was enticed by his uncle, actor-director Gregorio Fernandez, to join the movies when Don Jose was looking for fresh talents to star in Moro Pirates (1931). De la Rosa declined the offer but after a year he faced the camera in Ligaw na Bulaklak (1937, with Del Rosario, directed by Fernandez). De la Rosa put up his own film outfit, RDR Productions, which produced Ang Maestra (1941, with Del Rosario, the first movie scripted by Enrique Moreno a.k.a. Eddie Moreno), Anong Ganda Mo (1942, with Norma Blancaflor), Caballero (1942, with Amparo Karagdag) and Irisan (with second wife-to-be Lota Delgado). During the Japanese occupation, he attained prominence as a vaudeville performer at the Life Theater, performing with Pugo and Togo, Norma Blancaflor, Bayani Casimiro and Jose Cris Soto. By the mid-’50s, De la Rosa had reached the pinnacle of his film career. He was the first Filipino actor to star in an American produced movie, The Sword of the Avenger (1948, with Sigrid Gurie), filmed entirely in Hollywood and with a local version, Ang Vengador. In 1956, he received two Best Actor trophies for Higit sa Lahat (1955), from FAMAS and in Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong. De la Rosa was elected to the Senate in 1957 and served until 1963. He co-authored the bill creating the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (BCMP), the precursor of today’s Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). From 1965 to 1983, he served as Ambassador to Cambodia (now Kampuchea), The Hague, Poland, Bulgaria and Sri Lanka. He was designated as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps twice over. During these assignments, De la Rosa used his power in promoting the Filipino arts and culture and in assisting Filipino actors performing overseas. When he ran for the presidency in 1961, De la Rosa did a movie, Dugo at Luha. But he withdrew shortly before the elections to give way to his former brother-in-law, Diosdado Macapagal (whose first wife, Purita, was De la Rosa’s sister). He ran for a seat but lost in the Batasang Pambansa in 1984. Before his death from a heart attack in 1986, he played one last acting role in the drama anthology Coney Reyes on Camera.

• CARMEN ROSALES (1916-1991) Born Januaria Constantino Keller, she reigned supreme as the Queen of Philippine Movies during the ’40s and ’50s, the most bankable and highest paid actress at that time. A dressmaker-turned-radio-singer, Rosales was Radio Queen of 1936 and started her movie career in 1939 when she played support and double to Atang de la Rama in Mahiwagang Binibini. She became a full-fledged star in Arimunding-munding (1939, opposite Jose Padilla Jr.). Although Rosales and De la Rosa first appeared together in Takipsilim (1939), it was Señorita (1940, the biggest pre-war box office hit) that gave birth to their walang kamatayang loveteam. Some of their tandem’s unforgettable movies which were monster hits include Jazmin (1940), Lambingan (1940), Diwa ng Awit (1940), Colegiala (1940), Pagsuyo (1941), Panambitan (1941), Tampuhan (1941), Kampanang Ginto (1949), Camelia (1949), Maalaala Mo Kaya (1954), Ang Tangi Kong Pag-ibig (1954), Iyung-iyo (1955) and Lydia (1956). Her last movie before she retired a la Greta Garbo was Sampaguita Pictures’ Gintong Recuerdo (1965, with Josephine Estrada, Blanca Gomez, Gina Pareño, Ramil Rodriguez, Loretta Marquez, Edgar Salcedo and Bert Leroy Jr.). Rosales won as FAMAS Best Actress for Inspirasyon (1953), received the Walang Kupas Award in 1982 and a Special Recognition Award from the FAP in 1989.

• JOSEPH ESTRADA (born Jose Marcelo Ejercito on April 19,1937) - The MOWELFUND was conceptualized by Estrada in March 1974 to uplift the welfare of the industry’s most important element — the movie workers. Estrada is regarded as one of the living legends in the industry, an award-winning actor, producer, and industry leader. He was the first actor to be elevated to the FAMAS Hall of Fame (1982). The Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) bestowed him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. As a public servant, he was a TOYM awardee for 1972-73 and Most Outstanding Mayor of the Philippines in 1970.

• FERNANDO POE JR. (1939-2004) - Born Ronald Allan Kelly Poe, he was the Action King of Philippine Cinema, a movie icon, all-time box office hitmaker, multi-awarded actor, director, writer, industry leader and a pioneer in film preservation. Because of his contributions to the industry, FPJ was named National Artist for Film in 2006. As one of the elite 100 artists who helped shape the Philippine arts and culture the past century, FPJ received the Centennial Honor for the Arts from the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Centennial Commission in 1999. He was elevated to the FAMAS Hall of Fame (1987), received the Lifetime Achievement Award from FAP (1990), Haligi ng Industriya Award (1997) from Film Development Foundation of the Philippines, Natatanging Gawad Urian (2002) and 2nd Golden Reel Award (2002, FAP’s highest award).

• DOLPHY (born Rodolfo Vera Quizon on July 25, 1928) — The King of Comedy, he’s a stage performer, multi-awarded actor, producer and undisputed Box-Office King. Dolphy is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from FAMAS (1976), PMPC Star Awards for TV (1990), FAP (1991), PMPC Star Awards for Movies (1994), Urian (1998) and ENPRESS Golden Screen Awards (2004); Dangal ng Lipi Award (1994), Haligi ng Industriya Award (1997) from FDFP and Centennial Honor for the Arts (1999) from the CCP.

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