Sweet Love, Sweet Sixteen (Repost)

Posted on July 29, 2013 by @ffv Standard

Sina Vilma Santos at Edgar Mortiz ang isa sa mga itunuturing na pinaka-durable loveteam ng lokal na aliwan. Alam naman ng lahat na si Edgar ang first love ni Ate Vi. Ang mga tagahangang nakasaksi sa kanilang pagmamahalan ay di-akalaing magwawakas agad iyon. Ate Vi was 14 years old then nang mapasama sa popular radio show ni Ka Tinno Lapuz, ang “Eskwelahang Munti.” Dito niya nakilala ang di inaasahang magiging ka-loveteam na si Edgar. Nakilala ang kanilang loveteam as “Vi and Bot”. Sumabay ang kanilang team-up sa “Guy and Pip” nina Tirso at Nora. Una silang napanood sa lokal na aliwan bilang suporta ng yumaong singer na si Eddie Peregrina sa pelikulang “My Darling Eddie” in 1969. Klik agad ang kanilang tambalan and from then on ay nagkasunodsunod na ang kanilang mga ginawang pelikula, gayundin ang mga TV shows, tulad ng “The Sensations” at “Edgar Loves Vilma.”

Kinanta ng dalawa ang “Devoted To you” and the fans were hooked. Nagsimulang nagtatag ang kanilang mga tagahanga ng Vi-Bot Fans Club all over the country, as against sa karibal nitong Guy and Pip tandem. Parang kabuteng nagsulputan ang kanilang mga fans from Aparri to Jolo. Tinagurian noon ang kanilang tambalan na “Subok na Matibay, Subok na Matatag” na siyang blurb n o o n ng isang kilalang bangko na naging commercial nila. Si-nundan agad ng pelikulang “The Jukebox King” as second lead na nagtampok din kay Eddie Peregrina. Taong 1970, ginawa nila ang “Young Love” under VP Pictures na kung saan kasama ang karibal nilang tandem, ang Guy and Pip. Nagkasunod-sunod ang pagpapareha nila sa mga pelikulang Song and Lovers, Bulaklak at Paru-Paro, My Pledge of Love, Love Is For the Two Of Us, From The Bottom Of My Heart, Young Idols, Sixteen, Because You are Mine, Love Letters, Sweetheart, Mga Batang Bangketa, I Love You Honey, Edgar Loves Vilma, Sapagkat Sila’y Aming Mga Anak, Vilma My Darling, Baby Vi at Renee Rose. Sa loob ng taong 1970, nakagawa ang kanilang tambalan ng labing walong pelikula. That was also the same time na na-inlove na si Bobot kay Vi. By the way, ang aktres mismo ang nagbinyag kay Edgar ng Bobot. Nang mabuo na nga ang kanilang tambalan, unti-unti nang nagpalipadhangin si Bobot kay Vi. Ayon nga sa pagbabalik-tanaw, si Ate Vi noon ay labing-anim na taong gulang nang maging magkatipan sila ni Bot.

Ang kani-kanilang tagahanga ay naniwalang meron na talagang affair ang mga idols nila. In February, 1970 nagtapat si Bobot kay Vi ng “I love You.” Nadebelop ang feelings nila sa isa’t isa dahil sa kanilang loveteam. Pero aprubado naman ng kani-kanilang parents ang relasyon. Botong-boto kasi at giliw na giliw si Mama Santos kay Bobot noon. Naging neighbors pa nga sila ni Bobot sa Arfel Homes sa Project 6, Quezon City. Nasundan pa ang kanilang pagtatambal noong sumunod na taon, 1971. Ginawa nila ang Love At First Sight, The Sensations, Angelica, The Wonderful World Of Music, Young Lovers, Our Love Affair at Eternally. Mapapansin na karamihan sa mga pelikula na kanilang ginawa ay puro hango sa titulo sa mga kantang pinatanyag noon. Usually, ang karamihan sa mga eksena ay tadtad ng mga musical numbers. Dahil sa kainitan ng tagumpay sa takilya at popularidad ang kanilang tambalan, ginawa ng Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions, ang Aloha My Love, taong 1972 na kinunan pa sa Hawaii, Don’t Ever Say Goodbye na kinunan pa sa Pasadena Palm Spring, San Francisco USA, Dulce Corazon, Remembrance na ka-love triangle ang yumaong si Jay Ilagan, Dama de Noche, an award winning movie ni Vi na nagpanalo sa kanya ng FAMAS Best Actress where she played a dual role, 3 Mukha ni Rosa Vilma at Leron-Leron Sinta. Their trip in Hawaii where they did Aloha My Love was very memorable. Marami kasi ang umaasa nilang mga fans na magaganap ang Hawaiian wedding nila pero hanggang sa pelikula lang ito nangyari.

Taong 1973, muli silang nagtambal sa pelikulang Now and Forever at Anak ng Asuwang. Nasundan pa ng dalawang pelikula noong 1974, ang Biktima at Kampanerang Kuba. Akala nila ay panghabambuhay na ang kanilang relasyon. But tulad ng kasabihan, nothing lasts forever, nabuwag din ang kanilang tambalan. Mahigit na 50 pelikula ang kanilang pinagtambalan. On and off, pinapanatili ng Tagalog Ilang-Ilang ang kanilang loveteam na talagang tinatangkilik ng kanilang matatapat na tagahanga. Ang last movie na pinagtambalan nila ay ang “Karugtong ng Kahapon,” taong 1975 para sa TIIP. Nagkaroon ng lamat ang kanilang loveteam nang mapatambal si Ate Vi sa iba’t ibang leading men. Nag-split sila formally noong April 28,1974. Sa kanilang breakup ay hindi nawalan ng pag-asa si Bobot who kept looking forward for a reconciliation. Only years after, when Bobot got married nang hindi na talaga sila puwede pang magkabalikan ni Ate Vi, ang kanyang first love. Ate Vi went on with her career as a solo star at tinangkilik ng publiko na maipareha sa ibang aktor. Sa paghihiwalay ng landas nina Vi at Bobot sa pelikula ay napanatili nila ang kanilang magandang bonding hanggang ngayon. – Sinulat ni Willie Fernandez, V Magazine, Nos 3 SEP 2007

HIGHLIGHTS: The love team of Vilma and Edgar started in a TV show entitled The Sensation. The pair became a twosome, on and off the small screen. They Starred in almost a hundred films like Teenage Señorita, Young Lovers, The Sensations, The Young Idols, Sixteen, Love at First Sight and My Pledge of Love. The love team that has the logo “Subok na Matibay, Subok na Matatag?” (Proven Strong, Proven Stable) didn’t live up to its bill. Although they remained actively busy doing movies together their real life relationship didn’t last. Here are some facts about the love team many considered one of the most memorable in local movie industry.

Edgar was first paired with Vilma’s rival Nora Aunor and Vilma was initially paired with Tirso Cruz III.

Ismael Bernal did a movie with Vilma in 1972 opposite Edgar in “Now and Forever, although Vilma’s first movie with Bernal was “Inspiration.”

Vi and Edgar won the Mr. and Miss Philippine Movies in 1972.

Vi and Edgar were neighbors in a subdivision in Quezon City.

Aside from working together in films they were also a regular mainstay in Channel 2’s The Sensations.

One of Vi’s famous record was titled “Along Came Edgar.”

Aside from Edgar, Vi did a top grosser film with Paolo Romero titled Ikaw Lamang in 1971 Quezon City Film Festival, Vi will later on do another film with similar title, 1993’s Ikaw Lang.

Vilma’s 1971 film, “Teen-age Senorita” with Manny de Leon, grossed no less than P40,000 on its first day showing in two theaters, a record breaking feat during that time.

Vi celebrated her 18th birthday at The Plaza with faithful boyfriend Edgar in Nov. 3, 1971. The two left to make two movies in Hawaii and USA two weeks later.

Vi and Edgar last film together was the drama “Karugtong Ng Kahapon.”

Vi and Edgar broke-up officially on April 28,1974.

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Edgar Loves Vilma (Repost)

Posted on June 18, 2012 by @ffv Standard

I saw this book of Lorna Kalaw Tirol titled “Above the crowd.” It caught my attention when I saw the drawing of Vilma’s face which was the most beautiful one compared to other caricatures. This book contained interviews of Kris, Kuh, Nora, Lino Brocka, and others. The pictures were illustrated by Nonoy Marcelo. Let me share you the article about Vi (Vilma Santos) & Bot (Edgar Mortiz)…

“If Vilma comes, can Edgar be far behind? – In the colorful world of the Filipino movie fan, circa 1971, the ideological lines (with all due respect to the radicals and the moderators in the movement) are sharply drawn. One is either for Nora Aunor or for Vilma Santos. One cannot like both and be worthy of the name “movie fan.” In fact, there are no fans in the case of Nora and Vilma; they are only fanatics. Nora, her loyal subjects maintain, has a far better singing voice than Vilma. That, counters the Santos camp, is because Vilma is primarily an actress and only incidentally a singer. And Vilma of the doll-like face is definitely the prettier of the two, her fanatics boast. There, we think, the debate should end. The assignment was to interview Vilma Santos for a cover story. We were told that we could catch her one Saturday morning at an Antipolo resort where she was shooting “Wonderful World of Music” for Tagalog Ilang Ilang. Her director was there, all right, and so was Snooky (child star), too self conscious and too small for her age. But Vilma was still in Cabanatuan, and so was Edgar.

The following Wednesday she was scheduled to start filming for another Tagalog Ilang Ilang picture, Young Lovers. With a title like that, we thought, the movie couldn’t be anything but a further buildup of the Edgar-Vilma love team. But who wants a story when you can have your fill of Vilma and Edgar exchanging sweet words and glances? We were at this house in Quezon City, site of the first day of shooting, at nine in the morning. The entire cast and crew were there, except for the leading lady and her leading man. When they arrived an hour and a half later, the place seemed to come alive. The young lovers were chaperoned by Mrs. Santos, pretty and amply proportioned. We were relieved to see none of the burly tomboys who smothered Nora. It was Edgar Mortiz, with his height and size, who looked more like Vilma’s bodyguard. If he were slim and shorter, he could pass for her shadow. Yet it is difficult to imagine him in the role of bodyguard, he is what older folk would describe as mukhang musmos pa. Edgar Mortiz is, in fact, younger than Vilma Santos who, at 17, is no giggly teenager. She is a woman and she knows it. “A LOT of people tells me that I am very mature for my age,” she says at the start of the interview. “I feel it myself. I like to think that I have the mind of 23-year old woman.” She speaks with unusual poise and self-confidence, a self-assurance that must explain why she strikes some people as suplada. Vilma had little time to be a child. When she was nine and a student at St. Mary’s Academy in Manila, an uncle who was a cameraman at Sampaguita introduced her to Dr. Jose Perez. Not long afterward, Rosa Vilma Santos made her first film, Trudis Liit, where she played the title role. Shooting schedules were arranged so as not to conflict with her studies. She attended school in the morning, reported to the set in the afternoon. More pictures for Sampaguita followed, including two on the life of Ferdinand Marcos, in which she was cast as Imee. When the time came for Vilma to choose between school and a film career, she readily chose the latter.

“We study so we can get a job later, di ba? Well, I have a job already.” When she does decide to resume her studies (she was in fourth year high school when she quit), she wants to go into fine arts. Right now however, her thoughts are on her career and, if we are to believe her studio’s drumbeaters, Edgar. Is he or isn’t he? That is as intriguing a question to their fanatics as Imelda Marcos’s political ambition is to newspaper columnists. The love team of Vilma and Edgar has been going strong for two years now. Whether on TV’s Sensations and Edgar Loves Vilma or on radio’s “Hot line 1250 with Edgar and Vilma” or in advertising gimmicks, the latest of which is birthday party with Vilma and Edgar, the team-up has proved to be a hit. They are, in addition, neighbors somewhere in Quezon City. Doesn’t she get tired of being paired with him? “Of course not,” she says petulantly. Whether their apparent fondness for each other is the real thing or just plain acting is hard to tell. When not holding hands, which are most of the time, they have their arms around each other. “I’m not really a singer,” Vilma admits, “but Edgar is teaching me how to sing.” Love team come and goes, but that is the least of Vilma’s worries. Show business is her world. She wants to stay in it for as long as she can. “Sana magtagal ako” she says. Even without Edgar? – Asia-Philippines Leader, July 9, 1971

Today, Vilma Santos is still the most bankable star of Philippine cinema. Her movies continued to be box office hits. She is the most awarded actress in the country and a respected public servant.

Edgar on the other hand is now a TV director. He is now a happy family man. He’s now part of the Teleserye “Kampanerang Kuba” which happened to be the remake of a Vi & Bot hit during the 70’s. Recently, Vilma was one of the sponsors of Edgar’s daughter’s wedding. The former love team is now Kumpares and Kumares. – Franco Gabriel, V magazine, Volume 1 Issue Nos. 1 June – July 2005 Global Vilmanians

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