Extraordinarily Ordinary

ANGEL LOCSIN IS the picture of a woman who has it all – youth, beauty, a generous spirit, A-list star status,  and a dreamily handsome beau like Fil-Brit football player Phil Younghusband — yet you do not take it against her.  One is actually happy for this showbiz survivor, who has reaped one blessing after another after a hard-knock childhood and a difficult transition period in her career a few years ago (when she made the big network switch from GMA-7 to ABS-CBN-2).
        Perhaps it is because in spite of her enviable position as one of the Kapamilya network’s top female stars, Angel remains low-profile, self-effacing even, and humble. She may own designer bags but does not flaunt them for lesser mortals with meager paycheck to ogle at. She may have friends with prominent
last names but she is just at home with regular people and never tries to impress by launching into a litany of English words and terms like she were fluent in the King’s language. She thinks like a Filipino woman does and speaks in Tagalog with which she is comfortable.
        When the conversation drifts to the comedy series Toda Max, where she has Robin Padilla and Vhong Navarro as costars, the 26-year-old is quick to point out that comedy is not her forte. It never was. But then she fell in love with her character in the ABS-CBN sitcom, the streetsmart Isabel Padausdos.
“Hindi masyadong mabango ‘yung pangalan, ‘di ba? So nakita ko na itong tao na ito laking kalye
at palaban. Kapag kinanti mo, hindi siya magpapatalo.” The off-cam Angel, she says, is far from termagant, but there is a side to her character she identifies with. “Nakaka-relate ako in a way na hindi rin naman ako lumaki na mayaman. Naiintindihan ko si Isabel Padausdos.”
        Born Angelica Colmenares on April 23, 1985, she got into competitive swimming so she could send herself to school. Her mentor was her father, Angelo Colmenares, a former swimming instructor. “Swimming ang talagang nagpaaral sa akin. Kasi kung hindi dahil doon, siguro can’t afford ang parents ko na pag-aralin ako. Yung daddy ko nabulag pa so nahirapan na siyang mag-work.”
        When showbiz beckoned at 14, Angel saw it not as the realization of a long-cherished dream to act but as a means to earn quick bucks to support her studies. “Naiisip ko noon, after two years, mag-iipon lang ako tapos I’ll go back to school. After that, mag-a-apply ako ng trabaho. Hindi ko rin naman
napi-picture ‘yung sarili ko na lagi na lang akong magiging artista.”
        She would learn later on that it is simply futile to go against one’s fate. Angel’s opening salvo for 2012, the romantic comedy Unofficially Yours opposite leading man of the hour John Lloyd Cruz –
with whom she was first paired in the hit fantasy-drama series Imortal – the actress and Avon endorser considers a blessing. And so, in return, the financial solvency that acting affords her, she tries
to give back to those who need it. Blessing she receives and blessing she gives away. For two days last December, Angel and Phil flew to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City to distribute relief goods to the victims of Typhoon Sendong sans media coverage. Their small contingent also included other good-hearted celebrities like Maxene Magalona, Chito Miranda, and Victor Basa.
        What can indeed be more awe-inspiring than a woman whose beauty does not end with her shapely body and smoldering looks? So when Angel then confesses her excitement over Unofficially Yours, you tend to share her giddiness about it. “Iba siya, ibang story,” Angel says of the movie. “Usually hindi siya pinag-uusapan pero alam natin na nangyayari siya sa paligid natin, very interesting na topic.” In the movie, directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina for Star Cinema, Angel portrays a woman fearful of commitment who crosses paths with a man (John Lloyd) intent on having one. Their one-night tryst leads to various complications that will send viewers both laughing out loud and crying in unison with Angel and John Lloyd’s characters. Quips Angel: “Yung kasama mo si John Lloyd na mahusay na actor tapos may kissing scenes kayo na talagang passionate, at binabayaran ka pa dahil sa work mo, magrereklamo ka pa sa lagay na ‘yun?”
        Which leads us to that one area in Angel Locsin’s charmed life that does not bear a price tag – her personal happiness. At a recent event for the United Football League’s opening matches held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Phil surprised us with his declarations of love for the lovely Angel Locsin. “Yes, I think she’s the one,” the unbelievably handsome Phil says, without missing a beat.
       It will be recalled that when Phil and his fellow footballer brother James’s mother, Susan Placer-Younghusband, passed away September last year, Angel supported Phil throughout the whole mourning process. “I couldn’t have made it without her. She (Angel) was there with me every step of the way,” recalls Phil. If the football hero feels blessed to have Angel in his life, one of the local biz’s brightest luminaries considers herself just as fortunate for the gift of Phil’s company, devotion, and love. “Sabi ko sa kanya (Phil) nu’ng una, ayoko sanang i-meet siya kasi hindi pa ako ready to enter into a new relationship,” reveals Angel. The two famously sent messages to each other via social networking site Twitter back in February 2011 about Phil’s public Valentine’s date invitation for the Kapamilya prized star. Needless to say, Phil eventually erased all of Angel’s doubts and fears.
        That Angel, with her remarkable beauty and enormous popularity, should at one point had felt that perhaps love would always prove elusive to her, only validates our earlier thesis that despite her enviable stature, Angel Locsin remains a regular girl – down-to-earth, and prone to doubts and insecurities and yes, accessible. Years may pass and the public will surely continue to cheer for her as she reaps one reward after another for all her hard work and extraordinary ordinariness. Angel Locsin, after all, stands as a constant reminder that when one works and prays hard enough, no dream is ever far from reach. – Arnel Ramos