Dimples Romana is aware that her wig in Kadenang Ginto is one of the most talked-about elements in the ABS-CBN show.
It was in February 2019 when Dimples's character, Daniela Mondragon-Bartolome, was first seen sporting the new hairstyle. At that time, Kadenang Ginto opened its book two.
Some people made fun of Dimples's wig, making it a source of memes and funny tweets online.
Apparently, there is a need for Dimples to wear a wig for Kadenang Ginto.
She divulged this to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), along with other bloggers, during the launch of her book, Dimps Tips, at National Bookstore, EDSA Shangri-La Plaza last Sunday, April 14.
Dimples revealed, "Alam niyo kasi, hindi kasi ako makapagpagupit. Diyos Ko!
"Yung wig na ‘yan, hindi ako makapagpagupit kasi may Block Z pa ako.
"So, out of respect naman for my other work, hindi ako makapagpagupit. Inabutan kasi siya, e."
Apart from Kadenang Ginto, Dimples is also shooting the movie Block Z with Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia.
She continued, "Actually, kung nagsakto sana na hindi pa ko nakakapagshoot sa Block Z tapos magbu-book two kami, pwede sana. Kaya lang, nauna kasi kaming nag-Block Z.
"So, siyempre, alam niyo namang meron tayong mga nirerespetong continuity."
It seemed like the wig became a blessing in disguise because it added noise to Kadenang Ginto's presence online.
"Alam mo, sa totoo, natatawa ako kapag nakakabasa ako ng mga meme!
"May Facebook page yung wig ni Daniela!"
She continued, "Hindi lang yun. Natutuwa ako na very engaged ang mga characters, yung mga tao sa mga characters namin.
"The fact na pinaguusapan nila at yung gigil nila, hindi na kasi nila mailabas sa ibang bagay, so, sa wig, sa false eyelashes!
"'Ah, naiinis pala kayo sa false eyelashes, lashes pa more! Naiinis kayo sa wig, wig pa more!'
"Nakikita ko yung mga meme nila na tinabi nila sa mga ulo ng mga may wig."
Dimples pointed out that there are netizens who would take videos of themselves while impersonating Daniela and her wig.
"Tapos alam mo, ang pinaka na-enjoy ko, yung mga Kapamilya na nagwi-wig sila, nagdadamit Daniela sila, at ginagaya nila mga words ni Daniela. Sa loob loob ko, 'Wow! Nae-enjoy nila mag-Daniela, ha!'
"Alam mo, kapag nakaka-receive ako ng comments, 'Grabe, stressed na stressed na kami kay Daniela! Gigil na gigil kami sa 'yo,.' In my head, iniisip ko, ako nga si Daniela!
"Isipin mo lalo yung stress ko, di ba? Pero para sa kanila, okay lang yun basta magawa kong maayos yung trabaho ko, okay lang."
Does this mean that she won't cut her hair anymore and will continue using a wig for the show?
"Hindi, I think I'm bound to cut my hair. So, abangan nila 'yan, but tapusin ko lang muna yung Block Z ko."
MORE KADENANG GINTO MEMES
Aside from Daniela's Facebook page, viewers also created Facebook pages for the other characters played by Beauty Gonzalez, Albert Martinez, Adrian Alandy, Francine Diaz, Andrea Brillantes, and Kyle Echarri.
Even Susan Africa and Ronnie Lazaro's characters were also made into memes and have their own Facebook pages.
Dimples said about this, "Nag-uusap-usap sila!
"I love it because that is the true testament that the show is affecting people in a very special way and it's so phenomenal."
Even her Babaylan character in Bagani was compared by netizens to Daniela.
"Oo, dati daw akong albularyong CEO na!
"Alam mo, that's the beauty of doing different roles.
"Ang galing lang na naku-connect pa nila ‘yon. Ang sarap, di ba, na yung Bagani, nagpapahinga siya, pero at the same time, sa lakas ng Kadena, naisasama pa din yung character ko as Babaylan.
"So, nabubuhay siya sa ala-ala ko. Natutuwa ako."
Another memorable scene that aired recently was when Daniela, who brought home lots of food, caught Romina (Beauty) cooking pinakbet in their kitchen.
Daniela was maligning Romina's dish because of its smell.
Daniela's husband Carlos (Adrian), without knowing that it was Romina cooking, praised the dish.
Daniela was so threatened with Romina that she asked her maids to throw out the food that she bought so she could cook for her family.
It was later shown that while Romina's family was eating home-cooked pinakbet, Daniela's family was only grilling Korean barbeque for dinner.
Dimples said about this, "Di ba, ang saya! E, yung sabi ko magluluto ako pero samgyupsal!"
Dimples pointed out that the dishes in the cook-off were deliberately chosen to show the contrast between Daniela and Romina's characters.
"Siyempre, para masaya, di ba? Kasi walang masyado, kunwari ang niluto ko lang, magkaiba sila, e. Magkaiba sila Romina at Daniela kaya dapat talaga.
"Di ba, isipin mo, 'Itapon mo lahat ng binili kong pagkain at ipakain sa aso!'
"Di ba, pagka nasa bahay ka, 'Ano bang food ito, ipakain mo sa mga aso!' Di ba, ang sarap kasi sabihin ng mga linya nila?
"In real life, di ba, hindi mo naman sasabihin? Baka kapag sinabi mo, baka hambalusin ka naman, ikaw yung ipahabol sa aso!"
The 34-year-old actress admitted that she and Beauty enjoy doing these scenes.
"Alam mo, enjoy na enjoy namin. Sa totoo lang, kami ni Beauty.
"Si Beauty nga, 'Dimps, ayun na naman!' Ako naman, 'Beauts, bigay na natin, ito yung gusto nila. Bigay natin ito!'
"And I love how we are still going on and on and on. I just can’t release until when pero maraming marami pa."
PEP.ph then asked Dimples if they are extended, but she refused to give the exact date.
However, some showbiz insiders are saying that if things go as planned, Kadenang Ginto might run until October this year.
The show aired its pilot episode on October 8, 2018.
KADENANG GINTO VS. THE GREATEST LOVE
Prior to playing Daniela, Dimples's last kontrabida role was for the 2016 afternoon series, The Greatest Love.
In The Greatest Love, she played Amanda, the eldest daughter of Gloria (Sylvia Sanchez). Amanda harbored ill feelings towards her mother, causing her to be rude and mean to her mom and to her siblings.
Back then, Dimples received bashing from viewers, and she even received death threats on Twitter.
PEP.ph asked Dimples how she would compare the reception of viewers to Amanda and Daniela.
She answered, "Si Daniela kasi, for some reason, hindi personal yung atake nila. More on physical, like sa wig, sa lashes, and all that, tapos sa ugali ni Daniela. Sometimes, hindi na daw nila ma-tell.
"So, I think the only difference is that Amanda kasi is really kind-hearted, sobrang nasaktan lang siya.
"Si Daniela kasi is a brat. Si Amanda hindi siya brat, e. Kumbaga malalim lang yung pinanghuhugutan niya.
"Si Daniela kasi ang pinanggagalingan niya, kasi bitchy siya tapos laking mayaman siya. Mali yung pagpapa-ano sa kanya, so, doon naman siya nanggagaling sa place na yun.
"I guess the difference is magkaiba yung pinanggagalingan nila pero same objective.
"They’re both very loving, kasi si Daniela will do everything for Carlos and Marga. Yun yung lagi niyang ginagawa kaya nga niya nagawa yun kay Romina dahil para kay Carlos, kaya nga nagawa niya yun kay Cassie para kay Marga.
"So in her head, 'Ito yung truth ko, ito yung ipaglalaban ko.'
"And feeling ko, maraming taong silently ang nakakarelate kay Daniela kasi ganon din sila.
"Yung mga gusto nilang sabihin, nasasabi ni Daniela. Katulad na lang ng, 'I don’t adjust to people. People adjust to me.' Meron pa siyang, 'I can try but I can’t promise,' di ba, yung mga ganyan.
"Yung mga gusto nilang sabihin, hindi nila masabi, kaya through Daniela na lang. Okay lang din sa akin."
Kadenang Ginto was one of the surprise offerings of ABS-CBN for the last quarter of 2018, when it replaced Julia Montes's Asintado.
Dimples recalled when it was first offered to her, "Na-surprise din ako. Biglang sabi, 'Dimps, may bago kang soap.' 'Ah, okay.'
Did Dimples expect that it would receive good ratings and good feedback from audiences?
"Hindi ko in-expect, pero pinagdasal ko na sana maging ganito.
"Kasi remember, sobrang na-meme si Babaylan, so, parang inisip ko, sana ganon din yung reception nila kay Daniela, sana magkaroon sila ng time gumawa ng iba’t ibang memes kasi nakakaaliw para sa amin yun, e.
"And sa totoo, yung mga memes na yun help the show be known to other people who may not be watching it yet.
"So, naa-appreciate namin yun na parang nagkakaroon kami mismo ng mga taong tumutulong sa amin para mas makilala pa yung show ng iba."
In the end, Dimples is just happy to be able to portray a wide range of roles on television.
She even quipped, "Ano kayang susunod ko, baka parlorista naman ako sa susunod!
"Hindi... kasi, di ba, it’s always nice to play with characters that you're not familiar with.
"Everybody knows that I don’t get upset. My patience is super long. Everybody knows that.
"Kaya yung Daniela sa akin, ang hirap gawin kasi hindi ako magagaliting tao. Napakahirap sa 'kin niyan gawin. In fact, galit na ako, hindi pa rin ako galit.
"Si Babaylan naman, very serious siya, so, hirap din ako kasi bungisngis din ako.
"So, napagtanto ko na kapag pala may character ako and I go out of my comfort zone, it works because then that’s the only time I can really grow."