๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฝ. ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ
โATE GUY is a rebel.โ
Thus declared veteran writer Ricky Lee during the state necrological service for the late Nora Aunor held at the Metropolitan Theater on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Both were declared National Artists for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022.
โRebelde si Guy. Sa loob ng pitong dekada ay nilabanan niya ang status quo. Binago niya ang kolonyal na pagtingin na nagsasabing mapuputi lang at matatangkad ang maganda sa puting tabing. Ginampanan niya ang papel ng mga babaeng palaban at makatotohanan,โ Lee said.
Born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor on May 21, 1953, Aunor died last April 16, 2025 of acute respiratory failure after a medical procedure at the age of 71.
“Marami siyang binasag at binagong paniniwala. Ipinakita na mahalaga ang mga nararamdaman ng mga taong nasa gilid ng lipunan. May mga boses na kailangang pakinggan. Pinili niyang huwag lang maging ‘Superstar’ kung hindi maging isang tunay na artista ng bayan,โ Lee added.
With a darker skin tone compared to the half-Caucasian actors that dominated local cinema at the time, Aunor starred in 170 films and got her first break in 1967 for “All Over the World.โ
She rose to prominence after winning the 1967 Tawag ng Tanghalan.
She was the most nominated actress for the leading role in the long history of FAMAS Awards, having been nominated 17 times since 1973.
Since its inception, a line from the 1982 film “Himalaโ has been inextricably linked to Aunor and Lee: “Walรกng himalรข! Ang himalรข ay nasa pusรฒ ng tao, nasa pusรฒ nating lahat! Tayo ang gumagawรข ng mga himalรข! Tayo ang gumagawรข ng mga sumpรข at ng mga diyos!โ
Written by Lee and directed by Ishmael Bernal, the film follows the folks of provincial town Cupang, at the center of which was Elsa, who one day as the town witnesses a total eclipse, declares that the Virgin Mary has revealed herself to her and bestowed upon her the gift of healing. Her miraculous claims stir both fervent devotion and intense controversy.
Blind faith and fanaticism plagued the poor town of Cupang, which represents a microcosm of a society that is so desperate to cling on to something that will give them hope in this world full of hopelessness.
The film premiered at the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), where it won Best Film and Best Actress for Aunor, among other awards. I first watched it as part of my Humanities class at the University of the Philippines.
โHimalaโ was regarded as one of the greatest Filipino films that turned Lee, Bernal and Aunor into icons.
โNilagyan niya ng hugis ang ating mga damdamin. Binigyan niya ng direksyon ang ating mga aspirasyon. Binigyan din niya tayo ng pag-asa at tinuruang puwede tayong lumaban upang matupad ang ating mga pangarap. Ipinakita niya sa atin ang kapangyarihang hindi natin akalaing meron pala ang ordinaryong tao. Ginawa niyang totoo ang ibig sabihin ng “sining,” Lee said.
The last time I saw Ate Guy was last August 2024 during the Cinemalaya special screening of the 1980 film โBonaโ directed by Lino Brocka. She was on a wheelchair.
Despite being made in 1981, โBonaโ has contemporary relevance as it probes the phenomenon of fandom that tells the story of a young girl infatuated with a bit actor.
It was also in Cinemalaya that I got to meet her personally through two of her film entries, โHustisyaโ (2014) and โTuosโ (2016).
โHustisyaโ is a Filipino political thriller-drama film written by Lee and directed by Joel Lamangan about a woman working for a human trafficking agency. Aunor won as Best Actress.
โTuosโ tells the story of an old โbinukotโ โ a kept maiden of Panay Bukidnon tribe in Panay Island โ who needs to choose between keeping the age-old tradition alive by passing her position to her granddaughter or letting the young lady to decide for her own life.
With her famous line, “My brother is not a pig!โ, I first saw Ate Guy in person in 1991 when I watched her first appearance as a theater actor in the stage adaptation of her film โMinsa’y Isang Gamu-gamoโ by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). The film depicts the lives of two families affected by the American military presence in the Philippines.
We also grew up watching her weekend variety show โSuperstarโ that aired from 1970 to October 1, 1989.
In 2014, former President Benigno Aquino III dropped Aunor from the list of honorees for National Artists, citing issues linking her to illegal drug possession in Los Angeles in 2007. She was shortlisted anew for the title in 2018, but, yet again, didnโt make the final cut.
In 2022, Aunor was finally given the award along with Lee and Marilou Diaz-Abaya.
โMagiging kalansay na tayo lahat pero ang sining na ating ginawa ay mabubuhay nang matagal na matagal sa mahabang panahon,โ a statement from Aunor as quoted by director Joel Lamangan during the necro service. โAng katotohanan ay hindi dapat pagtakpan, ang katotohanan ay dapat sabihin, ang katotohanan ay dapat ipagtanggol.โ
(๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐ด๐ก๐ก๐ฆ. ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ . ๐บ๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ฝ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ , ๐-๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐@๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง.๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ 09088665786.)
