Stars look back on KG’s ‘golden’ moments

Kadenang Ginto is taking a bow on Feb. 7 after 16 months on air. For its lead stars Beauty Gonzalez and Dimples Romana, it’s been an emotional ride essaying characters who have experienced major ups and downs, and delivering some of the biggest dramatic moments Philippine TV has ever seen.

The series that “launched a thousand memes,” many thanks to the warring antics of Romina and Daniela, promises “the biggest war” in the lives of the Mondragons on the finale week.

As the finale synopsis goes: “Daniela (Dimples), still harboring the idea that Romina (Beauty) took everything away from her, has become vindictive more than ever after husband Carlos (Adrian Alandy) died in her arms for defending her mortal enemy.

“While Daniela is cooking up plans, Romina is determined to prove that Daniela is the mastermind behind the threats against her and her family. However, with the menacing Hector (Joko Diaz) still scheming behind bars and a spy in their midst, Romina will have to fight tooth and nail to put a stop to her enemies.”

With that, Romina and Daniela are still in for some high-octane and emotionally-charged scenes, perhaps lots of crying and feisty confrontation to the very end.

Off-screen, tears have been shed as well by Dimples and Beauty — tears from ovewhelming gratitude for being part of the long-running Kapamilya Gold series.

During a recent presscon, both became emotional as they looked back on the ABS-CBN show’s successful run and nearing end, and thanked everyone who made it possible, from fellow cast, directors to writers and bosses (such as Deo Endrinal) of the Dreamscape Entertainment production. 

Dimples said, “Kadenang Ginto is the big answer to my prayers. I remember before Kadenang Ginto was offered to me, my prayer was wherever You will lead me, Lord, I will follow. Ganun pala yun, kapag nagsabi ka, iayon niya.”

“I’m just thankful that I found new brothers and sisters through this show,” she also said, especially thanking the creative team for “creating Daniela the way that she is ­— she’s flawed, she’s intense, she’s angry, and all those emotions were inside of me for 16 months.” 

Beauty was equally thankful. “I don’t say thank you to God, I believe in God, but thank you, Lord, because to be honest, Kadenang Ginto was my make-it-or-break-it teleserye. I almost transferred (to another network). Muntik na ako naki-fiesta sa kapitbhahay natin, pero mas masarap ang pagkain sa ABS-CBN,” she recalled, musing, “so I returned here and I needed to prove to myself na hindi ko kailangan magbayad ng writer para humaba yung linya ko. (Kailangan kong) patunayan (sa) sarili (ko) na deserving ako kung saan man ako ngayon.”

On a more serious note, Beauty revealed that she wasn’t in a good place when she started doing Kadenang Ginto. “When I started the show, I was anorexic, I was 100 pounds. I’m the healthiest I’ve been now in my life. This is the best of who I am now.”

For her performance in the series, Beauty repeatedly gave credit to Dimples. “I have a lot of gratitude for Dimples. No. 1 because I wouldn’t be Romina without Daniela. Hindi ako magiging Romina Mondragon, kung hindi dahil kay Dimples Romana. You need to really have a good kontrabida for a bida to work.

“I’m so thankful to have worked with her. I once said in (a Magandang Buhay guesting) that I want to be Dimples Romana because lahat ng shows andun siya,” Beauty added.

Dimples, on the other hand, is flattered by Beauty’s comments. “Whatever my bida needs, I will give.”

She also recalled how Beauty would say sorry for scenes that might have caused her some physical hurt. 

“The important thing is we’re OK. That’s the most important thing of all. With actors, especially when it comes to doing sensitive scenes, it’s so easy to get carried away by our emotions. And it takes a lot of understanding and professionalism to stay where you are and say, this is your work, this is my work, medyo na galusan kita, nasaktan kita, okay yun, laban tayo, because at the end of the day, the success of the show will depend on how your actors and everybody else behind the camera will treat one another outside of the camera,” Dimples said.

Beauty was candid enough to admit that she was so busy becoming Romina that she somehow neglected to deepen relationships off screen, so much so her only wish after Kadenang Ginto is to make friends with her co-stars. “Pagdating sa set, mukha akong tanga at ang sungit-sungit. Kasi sa totoo lang, hirap ako sa Tagalog ko (her native tongue is Cebuano) kaya dapat concentrate ako, kasi siempre, ‘pag sampalan na (magkamali ka) uulitin yung sampal, masakit din.

“No (I don’t talk to people that much on the set), everyone knows this and I won’t deny it. I’ve distanced myself from them. But that’s my wish after this show. I hope to be able to have bonding with them. That’s why I’m saying this is not the ending, it’s only the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Dimples readily agreed, saying, “I really make it a point for people to know that in this industry, it’s not hard to find a friend. People always say that in showbiz, it’s hard to find a friend. That’s not true because I have a lot of friends.”

Meanwhile, asked about their “golden moments” from the show, Beauty said it was when she won for the first time a Best Actress award from EdukCircle and when the show hit its all-time high national TV rating of 27.3 percent for a Romina-Daniela showdown in October 2018.

However, the biggest highlight for her was when the Kadenang Ginto cast attended the recent Sinulog festival and people from Cebu chanted her character’s name. “Hearing these people shouting ‘Romina, Romina,’ it’s just grabe, despite all these ratings and recognitions, people shouting your name and fighting for what they think you’re fighting for in the show, it’s so touching. I might have done something right or something good that they’re affected by my character.”

For her part, Dimples considered her family’s reaction to her performance in the series as the most important moment.

“The most personal, golden moment, for me, was when my husband started sharing articles about my character. Hindi showbiz ang asawa ko, ang hirap niyang i-please kasi noong kinasal kami, artista na ako. With me, lahat ng ginagawa ko ay para ma-ha-happy yung pamilya ko, ma-pa-proud sila, but when my husband Boyet texted me and said, pwede ko ba ma-share itong article na to, yung article about the memes. I told myself, look at my husband, after 23 years in showbiz, he finally gets on board.”  

The show is ending on a high note. After consistently topping its timeslot in terms of nationwide TV ratings and producing memes online, it has gone international as it is currently airing in Myanmar and has been acquired for an Indonesian adaptation.