SUPERSTARstruck: The Nora Aunor Fanatics Blog

2011 Cinemanila International Film Festival
Nora Aunor Retrospective Schedule

Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos
November 16, 2011 (Wednesday), Market! Market! Cinema 5, 4:30 PM

Bona
November 16, 2011 (Wednesday), Market! Market! Cinema 5, 9:00 PM

Himala
November 17, 2011 (Thursday), Market! Market! Cinema 5, 1:45 PM

That SA NGALAN NG INA trends at Yahoo! Philippines is a clear indication that the series has caught the imagination of the Filipino people.

This is a better gauge of popularity than ratings based on a few households with meter.

Ang mga titik ng "Ikaw Pa Rin ang Mamahalin," theme song ng Sa Ngalan ng Ina, ay nagpapahayag na rin ng dakilang pagmamahal ng mga Noranian kay Nora Aunor.

"Ikaw Pa Rin ang Mamahalin"

Composed by Ryan Cayabyab
Interpreted by Basil Valdez

Hindi magagawang ikaw ay malimutan
Kahit kay tagal nang nagkahiwalay.
Hindi mo lang batid
Kung gaano kita kamahal.
Kung kailan pang hindi na umaasa
Tayong dalawa’y muli pa ring nagkita.

Sadyang hindi mo mapipigil
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo.
Hinding-hindi mo mapipigil
Ang ika’y mahalin ko.

Ibuhos mang lahat, gawin lahat
Ng makakaya mo,
Sa ngalan ng pag-ibig mo
Aking isinusumpa sa iyo
Sa dulo man ng sukdulan
Ikaw pa rin ang mahal ko.

Hindi mo lang batid
Kung gaano kita kamahal.
Kung kailan pang hindi na umaasa
Tayong dalawa’y muli pa ring nagkita.

Sadyang hindi mo mapipigil
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo.
Hinding-hindi mo mapipigil
Ang ika’y mahalin ko.

Ibuhos mang lahat, gawin lahat
Ng makakaya mo,
Sa ngalan ng pag-ibig mo
Aking isinusumpa sa iyo
Sa dulo man ng sukdulan
Ikaw pa rin ang mahal ko.

Ibuhos mang lahat, gawin lahat
Ng makakaya mo,
Sa ngalan ng pag-ibig mo
Aking isinusumpa sa iyo
Sa dulo man ng sukdulan
Ikaw pa rin ang mahal ko.

SYNOPSIS


It is election year and Amang Deogracias is challenging the incumbent Pepe Ilustre for the gubernatorial seat of the province.

Amang has just married Elena, formerly the family nursemaid, much to the chagrin of his two elder children: Andrea, now running for the position of the town mayor; Alfonso; and the youngest child Angelo, who is in favor of this union.

Pepe is related to the province’s most influential political family by marriage and his wife’s family will do everything to hold on to power by any way possible, including an assassination attempt.

On the night of the election, at the miting de avance of Amang’s party, a bomb was placed under the stage and Amang dies. Much to the surprise of everyone including his partymates, Amang anoints Elena in his deathbed as his replacement for the gubernatorial seat.

The sympathy vote went to Elena’s favor and wins against Pepe as the new provincial governor. Elena promises to clean the province of all the corruption as she also swears never to wear anything but black until she rids the province of all the dirt and avenges her husband’s death.

With Zaldie, Amang’s trusted aide, Angelo and Pacita, her sister at her lone side, Elena boldly pursues a dangerous and almost impossible quest to fulfill all her promises to her province and to her family.

CAST PROFILES

NORA AUNOR as ELENA DEOGRACIAS 
As a quietly intelligent woman, silence is golden to her and her action speaks louder than words. She takes all the ridicules and insults going her way as challenges to overcome. Politics is never in her heart but with the gubernatorial position thrust to her, she vows to learn and earn her province’s trust as well her family’s love.

CHRISTOPHER DE LEON as PEPE ILUSTRE 
The crippled incumbent Governor and Elena’s first love. Ambitious in youth, he entered into a marriage of convenience to a political family only to realize that he will never love another woman but Elena.

BEMBOL ROCO as AMANG DEOGRACIAS 
Assassinated gubernatorial candidate and husband of Elena. He is the province’s shining hope to rid all corruption and so he passes this grave responsibility to his wife.

ROSANNA ROCES as LUCIA ILUSTRE
Political scion and sole heiress to the province’s most influential political family. It was a time and age when women were not worthy political leaders so she married Pepe to continue their reign. She is the power behind the throne and the signatory to all the provincial government’s illegal transactions.

IAN DE LEON as ZALDY 
Trusted aide to Amang but is actually the Ilustre’s spy in the Deogracias family.  Lucia’s kept lover, Zaldy is the lynchpin to the downfall of the Ilustre as he begins to put his faith in Elena and change allegiance for the betterment of his province.

NADINE SAMONTE as ANDREA 
Manila educated eldest daughter of Amang. Now the Town Mayor, she never hates Elena but will always regard her as her yaya, not the wife to her father. The distrust comes after Amang chooses Elena to be his replacement instead of her as the political blood was rightly ingrained in her to continue the tradition.

ALWYN UYTINGCO as ALFONSO
Pepe’s wild child and eldest son. It is he who hates Elena for being his father’s second wife and will do everything to embarrass her; even to the point of placing ELENA in an uncomfortable position of choosing between her responsibility to the province and her loyalty to their family.

EDGAR ALLAN GUZMAN as ANGELO
Pepe’s youngest son and devoted stepson to Elena. He has his father’s pure heart and is regarded as the most trustworthy of Pepe’s children.

EUGENE DOMINGO as PACITA TORIBIO
Younger sister of Elena. She may not be as brainy as her sister but it is her innate ability to find ways and means that will help Elena in all her endeavors.  Pacita will be the wind beneath Elena’s wings. 

EULA CABALLERO as ELSA
Adoptive daughter of Elena. Even she does not know the fact that she is in fact Elena and Pepe’s daughter. She will fall in love with Angelo and vice versa.

KAREL MARQUEZ as CARMELA
Daughter of Pepe and Lucia. She will fall in love with Angelo but this is just part of the plan of her mother to further infiltrate the Ilustre family.

JOROSS GAMBOA as RAMONCITO
Boyfriend and aide of Andrea. He will make Andrea realize that Elena is worthy to be called Governor and mother to her family.

Jojo Devera, a film critic and longtime Nora Aunor fan now based in Arizona, remembers 1978, the height of the Nora-Vilma rivalry, when Nora’s Atsay went head-to-head with Vilma’s Rubia Servios.

“Nakapila ako sa Coronet 2 [a theater on Aurora Boulevard in Cubao] para manood ng Atsay when the other fan commented na katulong lang ang bagay na role kay Nora. Then humalakhak siya nang pagkalakas-lakas. Umalis ako sandali sa pila, nilapitan ko ’yong fan. Wala akong sinabi. Basta sinampal ko lang siya. Nagpalakpakan ’yong mga Noranian na kasama ko sa pila.”

Nora’s fans say they feel a connection to her because they feel that she is one of them. With the fans who have been fortunate enough to have been admitted into her inner circle, this intimacy is magnified a hundredfold.

Even though he had met Nora back in 1983—he was introduced to her by designer Goule Gorospe, who was then designing gowns for Superstar—Jojo Devera says he didn’t really become close to her until 2004. That was the year he helped out in the final performance, at Virginia Beach, of the first leg of Nora’s Power of Two U.S. concert tour with Kuh Ledesma.

Jojo was in charge of the teleprompter. He was standing on the left side of the stage, and the air conditioner, which was at full blast, was pointed at his head. After the show, while everyone went to the staff party, Jojo begged off and returned to his hotel room because he wasn’t feeling well.

A few minutes later, Jojo recalls, he heard a knock at the door. It was Nora, bringing Tylenol, water, noodles, alcohol, and a washcloth. She fed him, gave him an alcohol bath, and stayed with him until she thought he was asleep. When she left, Jojo was reduced to tears. He couldn’t believe that his idol had nursed him through a head cold.

The next morning, Jojo awoke rejuvenated. He says that Albert Sunga, alluding to Nora’s faith healer character in the film Himala, told him: “Ginamot ka ni Elsa.”

The sense of intimacy that Nora showed towards Jojo often grows to the point where Jojo’s friend Albert feels he has a duty to counsel his idol. Albert remembers a fans’ day at Quezon City’s Amoranto Stadium in 2003. Nora was wondering what gift to give to her followers. She settled on buying sacks and sacks of rice as giveaways.

“Kung minsan,” Albert says, “gusto mo nang paluin ang kamay. ‘Ate Guy, ano ba? ’Yon bang huwag mong i-equate lagi sa pera, kasi napakaraming nagmamahal sa ’yo na hindi naghihintay ng anumang kapalit. Kaya sila nandiyan, hindi dahil ’yong kailangan mong magbigay sa kanila. Kasi mahal ka nila kung sino ka.’”

If Nora’s fans are demonstrative, so is Nora herself. The morning after his bout with a head cold, Jojo says, he and his retinue had to leave Virginia and go back to New Jersey. They said their goodbyes to the Superstar, who was crying as if she didn’t want them to leave. In the van going back to Jersey, Jojo got a call from Nora.

“Nagpapasalamat,” Jojo says. “At nararamdaman kong umiiyak uli siya, nalulungkot.”

GRAB YOUR COPY OF THE OCTOBER 2011 ISSUE OF YES MAGAZINE! NOW IN STORES!

YES Magazine on Facebook

The Best Movies of the Past Decade
by MARIO BAUTISTA

Readers ask us what we consider are the best films of the past decade, which will always be remembered for the rise of independent films in digital format. Here’s a list of our choices, which is broad since it ranges from light-hearted comedies like "Bridal Shower" and "Here Comes the Bride" (that both really made us laugh out loud) to a horror flick like "Feng Shui" (the most effective local scare film for us), digital indie films like "Jay," "Daan Patungong Kalimugtong" and "100" (all impressive directorial debuts) and serious works like "Mga Munting Tinig," "Magnifico" and the very dark "Kinatay."

2001 – "Tuhog" by Jeffrey Jeturian, "Bagong Buwan" by Marilou Abaya, "Minsan May Isang Puso" by Joey Reyes

2002 – "Mga Munting Tinig" by Gil Portes, "Dekada ‘70" by Chito Rono, "Mano Po" by Joel Lamangan.

2003 – "Magnifico" by Maryo de los Reyes, "Bridal Shower" by Jeffrey Jeturian, "Kung Ako Na Lang Sana" by Joey Reyes.

2004 – "Naglalayag" by Maryo de los Reyes, "Panaghoy sa Suba" by Cesar Montano, "Feng Shui" by Chito Rono.

2005 – "Ang Daan Patungong Kalimugtong" by Mes de Guzman, "Blue Moon" by Joel Lamangan

2006 – "Kubrador" by Jeffrey Jeturian, "Kasal Kasali Kasalo" by Joey Reyes

2007 – "Foster Child" by Dante Mendoza, Pisay by "Aureus Solito," "Endo" by Jade Castro

2008 – "Jay" by Francis Passion, "100" by Chris Martinez, "Boses" by Ellen Ongkeko

2009 – "Kinatay" and "Lola" by Dante Mendoza, "Dukot" by Joel Lamangan, "Last Supper No. 3" by Ellen Villaluna

2010 – "Emir" by Chito Rono, "Here Comes the Bride" by Chris Martinez, "Damgo ni Eleuteria Remton Zasuela," "Sigwa" by Joel Lamangan.

If we’d be made to choose which ones are the best among them, our choices would be "Kubrador," "Mga Munting Tinig," "Magnifico," "Jay" and "Kinatay."

Malaya, January 13, 2011

Sa ngalan ng pamilya, ano ang handa mong gawin?
Sa ngalan ng tungkulin, itataya mo ba'ng lahat?
Sa ngalan ng pag-ibig, hanggang kailan ka magtitiis?

The first-ever mini serye on Philippine TV to run on weeknights for five weeks on TV5. Uninterrupted premiere telecast on October 3, 2011, after Will Time, Big Time. 

Featuring the outstanding actor-director team of Mario O'Hara and Nora Aunor. 

Stellar cast includes Christopher de Leon, Bembol Roco, Rosanna Roces, Eugene Domingo, Ian De Leon, Nadine Samonte, Edgar Allan Guzman, Raquel Villavicencio, Alwyn Uytingco, Joross Gamboa, Karel Marquez, Eula Caballero, Leo Rialp, and Jay Aquitania.

It took place during  the recently held trade launch of Sa Ngalan ng Ina, the first "mini-serye" in the country from TV5 Kapatid Network, which will run for a month only, starting October 2011.

The media presentation was attended by people from the advertising world, and they were mostly yuppies or hipsters. One of them is a young lady, Yshy, who recounted her experience in in her blog.

Given her young age, obviously the blogger could not have witnessed the years of Noramania. She admitted that she's not familiar with Nora Aunor's achievements as a film actress, or why she became a living legend. This may be the reason why the chance of having a personal encounter with the so-called Superstar did not excite her at all.

Until Ate Guy met the group, charmed the audience, and slowly won over a new admirer in the young woman. 

We're almost always sure that viewing of films like Himala, Bona, or Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos can convert one into a Nora Aunor admirer. But this time it was just Nora Aunor herself, the person, her charisma, and not her title and past works, that made the girl like her. 

Here are excerpts from the blogger's post:

I noticed that she was very down to earth, no air at all. She is very bubbly, very game, and very approachable. The people were like laughing all the time! She was even joking around as if she's been hanging out with these peeps.
...
The event seemed like a debut party because the superstar was so nice she even dropped by to all of the tables for picture taking. The elderly people were so excited to have a picture taken with her!
...
She really is so nice that she has not refused any one! She did not even rushed to get out of the venue and she did not looked like she felt so tired at all to think that everyone was moving towards her.
...
... I became an instant fan ... (FROM Something Ishy)