Arzen Rose Dulzura

Boots Anson Roa on still being a working actress at 81: ‘Hindi kami natakot tumanda’

Article (news)

Rhea Manila Santos

Push Team

<p>Having accepted her first LGBTQ role at the age of 81, actress Boots Anson Roa reached another milestone in her career this year with the release of director Brillante Mendoza’s latest film <em>Until She Remembers</em>. In the film, Boots plays the high school love of Charo Santos-Concio’s character in the film. The two women reunite at a much later time in their life, where one of them is already in a stage of dementia. </p><p>The well-loved veteran actress also shared her views on aging after celebrating her birthday last January. “Meron akong mga kausap na experts on aging. Mga psychologists, ganyan. And doon ko nakita, nakilala ‘yung phrase na ‘masayang pagtanda.‘ Parang ngayon ko lang narinig ‘yun. We always use the phrase, ‘aging gracefully‘ noh? Pero ‘yung masayang pagtanda, iba ‘yung tama sa akin. And now they’re asking if I could work for them on a project. Tama ‘yun, masayang pagtanda. Ilan sa atin ang nalulungkot ‘pag tumatanda na tayo? Kase we feel na hindi na tayo kailangan, hindi na tayo relevant, hindi na tayo mapapakinabangan, hindi na tayo papapansinin. We are no longer a vital part of our community, and that’s the greatest challenge to being old,” she said.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DTmpeCAjwOO/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=768&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A16424576.099999994%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="865" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-8" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Boots also patiently explained why she and her <em>Until She Remembers</em> co-star and longtime friend Charo are not afraid of entering their senior years. </p><p>“Kaya masuwerte na lang kami, kami ni Charo; I am 81, she’s 70. Pero from the looks of it, maraming gagawin ito na napaka-solid, napakawell grounded na hindi ito natatakot tumanda. Kami hindi kami natakot tumanda kasi hindi lamang ‘yung, like as an artista, hindi lamang ‘yung being an artista ang kinakapitan namin ni Charo eh. Marami kaming interests and advocacies that we have pursued. And so, kahit na siguro wala na kaming pelikula, marami pa ding kaming ginagawa, marami pa din kaming gagawin. In fact, when somebody asked me in an interview, ‘Ano ba ang sa tingin mo ang legacy or parting words mo for when the time comes? That’s inevitable’ Sabi ko nga, isa lang pumapasok sa isip ko. It’s a latin word. Servium. Meaning, ‘I served.‘ In our case, we are just fortunate that we didn’t only serve our agency but many other allied agencies in return. Kaya buo po ‘yung buhay namin. Marami kaming dapat ipagpasalamat at meron kaming pinagkatandaan,” she explained. </p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-6" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUaY8BMExmH/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=768&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A6%2C%22os%22%3A16408082.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="847" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-6" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>After working in the industry for more than five decades and having never  being linked to any issue or scandal, the veteran actress admitted that she could not claim full credit for having a controversy-free life. </p><p>“Hindi ko to ma-me-maintain on my own, sa sarili ko lang. Because I always had a supportive family. With my late husband, Pete, and now with King. Parang there is no need to be distracted from the family life that I live. Kaya hindi kami masyadong lumalabas, ‘di kami masyadong nagsosocalize. Even with social media ngayon, hindi kami masyadong nagpaparticipate. Except now that we have to promote the film. But otherwise, siguro ‘yung social life namin kasi hindi masyadong active. Like we keep our privacy to an extent possible unless kailangan talaga sa pelikula, sa pagpatakbo ng pelikula. Maybe it’s also a reflection of the kind of life that we live. It’s really that simple. Simple lang yung buhay namin talaga, walang maraming dekorasyon,” she said.</p>

<p>Veteran actress Boots Anson Roa shares why she and her longtime friend Charo Santos-Concio are not afraid of growing old and continuing to work in the showbiz industry.</p>

Veteran actress Boots Anson Roa shares why she and her longtime friend Charo Santos-Concio are not afraid of growing old and continuing to work in the showbiz industry.