THE world has long come out of the dark ages when homosexuality was considered taboo, when gay people were persecuted and being true to one’s real self was something to be ashamed of.
June is also known as LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots that’s widely considered to have sparked the gay liberation movement. In the Philippines pride in being gay can be seen in many forms, plus the fact that there are now quite a number of modern-day gay icons worth looking up to. In local show business especially, we can cite some names that prove that gay pride is real and alive.
There is, for one, actor and entrepreneur Raymond “RS” Francisco. Nowadays, Francisco is easily identifiable as the name and face behind the networking company Frontrow. Say what you want about Francisco’s social-media accounts being littered with physical manifestations of glamour and wealth but, hey, the guy worked hard to attain his dreams. He definitely deserves to enjoy the good life.
But unlike some new money, many attest to the fact that Francisco is one of the easiest to approach, always ready to lend a helping hand to whoever may need assistance, giving not mere dole-outs.
It’s no wonder then that people are happy to see that things have worked out really well for the actor. After years of tackling supporting parts as the gay friend or officemate, RS came into his own as a actor with the independently produced Bhoy Intsik, released last year. In the movie, Francisco played a gay thug who becomes a maternal figure to a younger petty thief. His performance won acclaim and awards, ultimately garnering a Best Actor nomination from the prestigious Urian, which hands out its awards on June 14.
Not many know that RS Francisco is a second-generation actor, being the son of 1950s screen heartthrob Rudy Francisco. He became the toast of the theater community when Francisco appeared in the local staging of M Butterfly almost 30 years ago. In the David Henry Hwang award-winning drama, RS essayed the complex role of Song Liling, a Chinese opera diva leading a double life as both lover and spy to a French diplomat who’s unaware his lover was, in fact, a man. And because acting is in his DNA, the actor-entrepreneur is currently in the thick of preparations to reprise his much-praised role in M Butterfly.
Producer-actor Shandi Bacolod’s case is different altogether. The multihyphenate is as florid and colorful as they come. It makes one speculate that when he was born into this world, Bacolod was already crying out loud to the tune of Gloria Gaynor’s I Am What I Am.
Bacolod climbed the ranks, starting out as writer at ABS-CBN before building up a résumé as producer, actor, director and talent manager. If you think that those are more than enough for one person to juggle, Bacolod has joined Black Maria Pictures, one of the more progressive and aggressive postproduction houses in the country. He is also the figure head of Black Maria Cinema, a popular micro-theater in Mandaluyong.
Indefatigable and effervescent, Bacolod would often relate to friends that he goes from one commitment to the next at times with hardly a decent sleep. But then again, film is his passion. And when he sets his sights on something, he will see it through to the very end and make sure that he delivers. Among Bacolod’s noteworthy output include producing the controversial Oro and last year’s quietly heartbreaking family drama What Home Feels Like. He is now working full throttle on his next collaboration with filmmaker Joseph Abello. The project is called Double Twisting Double Back, touted as an erotic sports thriller that weaves a dark, edgy narrative within the present deplorable state of local sports.
There was a time when Paolo Ballesteros’s career was neither here nor there, mired in insignificant TV and movie roles until he made critics take notice in Jun Lana’s acclaimed Die Beautiful. Ballesteros’s next efforts after his Urian- and Tokyo International Film Festival-winning performance in Die Beautiful weren’t exactly box-office bonanzas. But this actor is a true-blue fighter and a hard worker to whom giving up is never an option.
Ballesteros bounced back with the recent hit My 2 Mommies. The actor is also a silent worker who surprised everyone when he regaled fans and social-media followers with photos of the house he has built in Antipolo with sweat, sleepless nights and tears. And if that isn’t enough to convince you of his being an achiever, Ballesteros is also a proud dad to a daughter who takes him for all that he is.
People have followed the lead in accepting Paolo Ballesteros for all his strengths and weaknesses as a person and an actor. In fact, Ballesteros’s case is exceptional in the sense that he didn’t have to write a tell-all book or host a big coming-out party at all. He gained respect by just coming as he is, sans fanfare and bombast.
RS Francisco, Shandi Bacolod and Paolo Ballesteros are only three stories that the LGBT community can draw inspiration from and take pride in. They are all beautiful survivors who are bound to reach more dizzying and kaleidoscopic heights.