It is a sad fact of life that, as
time goes on the old but memorable must go while the new take their place.
Famous names in say, the entertainment industry, that stand the test of time
would eventually fade away with their stars. Such is the case this past weekend
with Amalia Amador Mulach, better known as Amalia Fuentes. A legend of the
silver screen in decades past, she is known as the first and iconic model for
Lux soap, and hailed as the “Elizabeth Taylor” of the Philippines. And last
Saturday, her star finally winked out after a lifetime of success and
adulation.
CNN Philippines reports that Amalia Fuentes passed away early in
the morn on October 5. Born in Bicol, she hailed from one of the biggest
dynasties of actors in Philippine showbiz, and her death at the age of 79 is
now considered one of the biggest losses of the country’s industry to date.
Social media over the weekend has been flooded by tributes and condolences both
from prominent figures of the entertainment industry to her own family, many in
the business themselves, who are mourning her while also celebrating the fact
that she is reunited with her actress daughter Liezl Martinez, whom she had
outlived.
Among those who celebrated
familial memories of Amalia included her granddaughters by Liezl, Alyanna and Alissa.
They both dropped the bombshell of the screen legend’s departure on their
Instagram pages. Alyanna’s is a more formal declaration of her grandmother’s
death and a request for prayers from their fans and privacy for their family. Alissa
Martinez shared a photo of her mother Liezel as a child along with Amalia
dressed as a queen with a crown. “My beautiful Lola is now reunited with my mama,” she had captioned. “Rest well Lola. I love you so much.”
Another related major showbiz
star to say his piece had been Amalia Fuentes’ nephew Aga Muhlach. He recalled
how he was treated more like a son by his aunt and how she inspired him in his
own career in entertainment. Also saying their own pieces on the movie legend
were singer-actress Lea Salonga, who addressed Amalia as “Tita,” and Gabby Concepcion
who had shared roles with her during the 1980s. The now-veteran actor recalled
how the older actress helped him by offering advice on how best to weather
showbiz controversy. With her death Gabby hailed her as an icon and “a diamond”
of the industry.
Fuentes was an acting
contemporary of the likes of Eddie Guttierez, Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife
Susan Roces. With Poe’s death years ago, and now Amalia’s recent passing, the cinema
legends number ever fewer.
0 comments:
Post a Comment