Last week, PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) blogger John "Sweet" Lapus gave tribute to his idol Maricel Soriano on the occasion of her 43rd birthday last February 25. He tells warm and amusing stories as her "anak" and shows us her facets as the Diamond Star. "Maricelians" is John's term for her countless fans.
For the same reasons, PEP honors the country's very own "Maria" by recalling the milestones in her lifelong career, from child actress to comedian and dancer to award-winning dramatic actress.
JOHN EN MARSHA. Maricel, who was then six years old, was first introduced as a child actress in the 1971 film titled My Heart Belongs to Daddy. Three years later, she won her first acting trophy, the Best Child Actress Award, in the 9th Manila Film Festival for the movie Alaala Mo, Daigdig Ko (1973)
Maria became more popular when she played the role of Shirley in the longest running sitcom John En Marsha (1973). For almost 17 years, Maricel acted as the only daughter of the King of Comedy (Dolphy as John Puruntong) and the late Nida Blanca (as Marsha), both of whom she looked up to as her second parents.
After more than a decade, ABS-CBN revived John En Marsha through the Sunday sitcom John En Shirley (2006). Here, the concept was still the same except that Shirley, still played by Maricel, already has two children with her husband Bernie Ramirez (played by Richie Macapagal).
TARAY MEETS KULIT. Following her success as Shirley in John En Marsha, Maricel was introduced as one of the first Regal Babies, together with Snooky Serna, Dina Bonnevie, Gabby Concepcion, Albert Martinez, Alfie Anido, and Jim Melendez.
She was introduced as the on-screen partner of another Regal Baby, William Martinez, who also became her boyfriend in real life. Their tandem, called "Taray and Kulit," became popular in the movies Galawgaw (1982), Summer Holiday (1982), To Mama With Love (1983), Teenage Marriage (1984), Anak ni Waray, Anak ni Biday (1984), and Inday Bote (1985).
The couple eventually parted ways and Maricel was paired with different actors: Cesar Montano, Richard Gomez, Tonton Gutierrez, Edu Manzano, and Aga Muhlach.
In 1998, however, Maricel and William made a comeback as on-screen partners in the first full-length film of the Marvin Agustin-Jolina Magdangal loveteam titled Kung Ayaw Mo, Huwag Mo.
TANGA QUEEN. Whenever Maricel was invited to do a dance number in a variety show, the Diamond Star would perform her most famous signature dance called "Shake Body Body Dancer."
To tune of Magic Fire's 80s song, "Body Dancer," her fans discovered that Maricel could not only act but could also dance gracefully. She got the Filipinos dance with her with these simple steps: forward step and body shake.
In 2007, during the birthday celebration of the Queen of Philippine Cinema, Susan Roces, who played Shirley's mother-in-law in John En Shirley, Maricel performed her unique dance moves. At 42, she showed the audience that she could keep up any time with young actor-dancer Vhong Navarro.
Aside from "Body Dancer," Maricel also became popular with her signature dance for the song called "Rico Mambo" by Breakfast Club.
This popular dance was revived during the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2, when chosen celebrity housemates danced with inmates of the Cebu Province District Rehabilitation Center, popularly called the "Dancing Inmates." Of course, they did Maricel's dance moves.
MARICEL DRAMA SPECIAL. The Diamond Star naturally had her own television shows. She started with the variety shows Maria! Maria! (1986) and Maricel Live! (1986), where she showcased her skills in singing, dancing, and even hosting.
As always, Maria proved her versatility, this time in dramatic acting, through her weekly drama anthology on television, Maricel Regal Drama Special (1988-1992), which was later replaced by Maricel Soriano Drama Special (1992-1998)
From comedy films, Maricel moved to heavy drama not only on TV but in movies as well.
While entertaining televiewers, Maricel also earned nominations and awards for dramatic movies—Separada (1994, nominated for FAMAS Best Actress), Ama, Ina, Anak (1996, nominated for FAMAS Best Actress), Soltera (1999, Gawad Urian Best Actress Award), Dahas (1995, FAMAS and Gawad Urian Best Actress Awards), Abot-Kamay ang Pangarap (1996, Gawad Urian Best Actress), Nasaan ang Puso (1997, FAMAS Best Actress).
Award-giving bodies continued to notice Maricel's exceptional acting skill by including her as one of the nominees for Best Actress in movies such as Abandonada (2000), Mila (2001), Mano Po (2002), Filipinas (2003), and Inang Yaya (2006)-an independent film which she co-produced with her talent manager Wyngard Tracy. The latest was a Best Actress Award from the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival for her portrayal of Eden's character in Bahay Kubo.
MS. TARAY. Aside from being the Diamond Star, Maricel used to be known fondly as the Ms. Taray of Philippine showbiz. She was the "talakera" (nagger or non-stop talker) in her early comedy projects. Ms. Taray bullied her partners in movies and television with her killer look and sharp dialogues that often left them speechless.
Not only with her former loveteam, William Martinez, did Maricel become the Taray Queen. In 1988, Maricel did a comedy film with former singer-actor Randy Santiago, aptly titled Taray at Teroy.
Maricel Soriano has shed off that comic abrasive image. In an interview with entertainment columnist Ricky Lo, "The Mellowing of Maricel Soriano" (July 22, 2003), she talked about her life changes and how all these helped her as a person and as an actress.
Ricky Lo wrote, "While before she was notorious for being the Taray Queen (roughly equivalent to Bitchy Empress), Maricel is a changed woman now, radiating peace and happiness that is almost palpable. Put a halo around her head and she could be, well, Santita Maricel."
And PEP says, name all the qualities of that rare gem called diamond,—scintillating, precious, forever tough, and so forth—that's Maricel Soriano, the Diamond Star, on screen and in person.