It’s the happiest week of the year and everyone is on a celebratory mood. Schools are on their annual year-end break and most employees are taking it easy at this time of the year. Some companies have even opted to practice a “stop work week” for their staff to enjoy their respective holiday traditions, and to be with the most important people in their lives during this love-filled season.
More than anyone else, children have always been at the center of every Christmas celebration. Gifts, programs, food, family reunions never fail to put smiles on the face of every child.
But Christmas is not just for kids, it’s for everyone. I’d like to think that we should also give special attention those who are already in the twilight of their lives because they won’t have as many Christmases to celebrate in the future as many of us would.
Which brings to mind some of the more senior members of the entertainment industry who continue to share with us their immense gifts of time, acting prowess, professionalism and selflessness.
There’s the iconic Eddie Garcia who at 89 remains one of the most exquisite actors this industry has ever produced. He continues to bring accolades to his producers, his peers and the country by the level of artistic excellence he has always set for himself.
Garcia stars in a movie that is part of the annual all-Filipino December film festival. Titled Rainbow Sunset, the movie is about the solid and undying relationship between two same-sex longtime companions and how they held on to each other despite the inevitabilities that age brings.
Garcia is Ramon, a retired politician who decides to leave his family temporarily to be with his cancer-stricken soulmate Fredo for the remaining days of the sick man’s life. Movie queen Gloria Romero gives life to the selfless, ever-understanding wife of Ramon, and thespian Tony Mabesa plays the disease-afflicted lover Fredo. Romero just turned 85 a week ago, and Mabesa turns 84 in January.
This family drama, which also stars Aiko Melendez, Sunshine Dizon and Tirso Cruz III, is touted to be a front-runner for the acting awards that will be handed out a few days after Christmas.
Well-loved Anita Linda also comes to mind in this roster of esteemed senior actors. According to one of her grandsons, the celebrated interior design expert and professor Pojie Pambid, Linda just turned 94 a month ago and has retired from acting. The multi-awarded actress is enjoying a quiet life with her daughter in Alabang.
We are also very happy to see Rosemarie Gil back at what she does best, which is acting. Gil is in the main cast of the ABS-CBN weeknight drama series Ngayon at Kailanman, and she plays a fierce and forthright matriarch. She was already on semi-retirement when she lived in the US with her preacher-artist-husband Eddie Mesa for many years. Earlier this year, Gil scored a surprise best actress victory at the Cine Filipino Film Festival for her performance in Delia & Sammy.
On the boob tube, the amiable and still very charming Ronaldo Valdez is the central character of the afternoon soap opera Los Bastardos. Through the years, Valdez has been consistent in choosing only the best projects where his acting chops are always maximized.
This Christmas, like the priceless smiles of the children, the light of these senior stars continue to illuminate both the big and small screens of the local entertainment circuit.