i miss my lola maria

I miss my LOLA MARIA…..

This is how I felt after I watched "LOLA” again in Viva Cinema cable channel. I  first saw it at the FEU last year. It was again shown at the  Italian film festival at Greenbelt. It is a digital film of Brillante Mendoza that tackles the story of two elderly women who will do everything for the sake of their love ones as one will be the suspect and the other one will be a victim.

Lola tells the parallel stories of two elderly women, Puring (Rustica Carpio) and Sepa (Anita Linda). Driven by selfless love, the two scrape the bottom of the barrel to raise funds for their respective grandsons. Sepa wants her dead grandson to have a decent burial despite barely having enough to get by in life decently. Meanwhile, Puring wants to free her grandson after he is incarcerated for killing Sepa's grandson. After “pawning”their remaining properties, she gave lola Sepa P50,000.00 as some sort of “blood money.”

Although the film was identified with the great actress Anita Linda, I had the impression that she was somewhat “overshadowed” by the other lola in the film, Rustica Carpio.


The film is not easy to shoot, I guess. Imagine scenes where frail grandmothers were drenched in rainwater as they individually attempt to seek financial help from other people—they turn to neighbors, city officials, and even lending institutions. In the film's most beautifully shot sequence, the funeral procession for Sepa's grandson goes on not with a motorcade but with a handful of boats. The white casket is decorated with colorful flowers that contrast with the bleak surroundings. After a long struggle, Sepa and her family take their beloved dead to his final resting place.

Rustica doesn’t mind being second fiddle to veteran and awarded star Mona Liza. The role was initially offered to Mona Liza but she suddenly suffered a stroke. She was already in a wheelchair. She’s also a noted stage actress, playwright, researcher, book author and one time member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board during the Ramos administration.

Again, I miss my lola Maria. I belong to the more than 40 “apos’ or grandchildren of Damaso and Maria Reyes. I never met my lolo who died before I was born but his absence was greatly compensated by the love and caring that Lola Maria has given to her grandchildren. Their children (Mario, Bert, Odol, Elsa, Julieta, Linda, Malou, Elvie, Mel, and Tita) followed the proverbial phrase “ go and multiply” thus out we came, the 40 plus grandchildren.

My recollections of Lola Maria includes the following (a).the Alhambra cigar which she smoked “baligtad” the lighted side was inside her mouth (b) making sampaguita necklaces from her garden (c) she will measure our feet by drawing a sketch of the feet’s outline for our sandals.

We were told that she was really pretty during her younger years. She was even crowned as “Miss Baliwag.”

I think Lola Maria died when I was still in my elementary years. Nevertheless, her love still reverberates until this time amongst her reyes descendants.