Nora fans line up to pay final respects

MANILA, Philippines — Fans of the country’s “Superstar” Nora Aunor paid their last respects to the late icon yesterday, during the first of the two-day public viewing of her remains at the Heritage Park in Taguig City.

The public viewing, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will only be until today, Easter Sunday.

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s wake will be reserved for friends and family, with a mass celebrated at 7 p.m.

Aunor, 71, who died on Wednesday, has been conferred the Order of National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022, and will be interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on April 21.

Aunor’s daughters, actresses Lotlot de Leon and Matet de Leon, yesterday greeted fans outside who patiently waited in the scorching heat.

Lotlot expressed appreciation for all the colleagues who had already visited her mother’s wake, which began on Thursday.

“She’s our National Artist; she’s well-loved, well-respected and we are just truly grateful to anyone who’s also mourning with us this time,” she told reporters on Friday.

Aunor’s son, actor Ian de Leon, told GMA News that his mother succumbed to acute respiratory failure after an operation at The Medical City on Wednesday.

Ian said his mother had always wanted to be with her children, even though that became “next to impossible.”

“She became public property up until the very end,” he said.

The popularity of Aunor, who came from a poverty-stricken family in Iriga, Camarines Sur, snowballed after she won the singing contest Tawag ng Tanghalan on her second try in 1967.

As the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, using the pen name Quijano de Manila, wrote in the Philippine Free Press in 1970, Aunor shattered the stereotypes that had permeated the Philippine entertainment industry during her time, making her beauty “all the more fascinating because it’s not standard.”

“Nobody who has been watching the local trend towards sexy and ever sexier stars would have predicted that the next pop goddess to dominate the scene would be a simple demure country girl,” Joaquin wrote in the article “Golden Girl,” which generated controversy during that time.

“She has poise, she moves naturally, she underplays rather than mugs. Best of all, she’s one local performer who knows how to react. A person present is mentioned in the dialogue, and her eyes automatically turn towards that person; or the ghost of a smile will flicker on her lips at certain words of somebody else’s lines,” he added.

Aunor, more popularly known as “Ate Guy,” went on to star in over 200 films and television series spanning six decades.

The Superstar scored the Grand Slam best actress award twice, picking up trophies from all major award-giving bodies for her role as a communist insurgent in Gil Portes’ “Andrea, Paano Ba Maging Isang Ina?” (1990) and as the hanged overseas Filipino worker Flor Contemplacion in Joel Lamangan’s “The Flor Contemplacion Story” (1995).

Lamangan, who disclosed plans to film a biopic about the Superstar with National Artist Ricky Lee as writer, remembered Aunor’s raw talent and kindness toward others.

“She’s really kind and her heart was full for the needy,” the veteran director told reporters in Filipino on Friday.

“Her interpretation was real. Her emotions were real. She’s a real person,” he added.

Aunor was last seen on the big screen in Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Mananambal” (2025), released in February. According to Alix, he hopes that his last film with the actress, entitled “Kontrabida,” would be released soon as a fitting tribute to her.

“It is always a joy to work with Ate Guy because you always learn something new on every project about her process and how unafraid and unconventional she is on choosing the next steps. She always tries to break barriers and looks forward to creating memorable characters onscreen,” Alix said in a Facebook post.

In an Instagram post, actress Hilda Koronel said she was just recently discussing a reunion film with Aunor, to be helmed by Alix. The two actresses previously starred together in Leroy Salvador’s “Beloved” (1985).

Senate extends condolences

Senate President Francis Escudero said that as a fellow Bicolano, he admired the acting prowess of Aunor, whose real name is Nora Cabaltera Villamayor.

Aunor had received a Senate resolution honoring her for receiving the “Lifetime Achievement Award” during the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards in Malaysia in 2015, Escudero said.

“I would like to extend my condolences to the family and the whole showbiz industry following the death of our one and only Superstar and National Artist, Nora Aunor,” he said.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, himself a former actor, called Aunor “a pillar in the world of Filipino television and film” and a “true inspiration in persevering through life, using her inherent talent to reach the pinnacle of success.” — Marc Jayson Cayabyab