Mila del Sol
Encyclopedia
Clarita Rivera Villarba better known as Mila del Sol, is a Filipina
film actress and entrepreneur. Del Sol was born in Tondo, Manila
. She gained fame in her very first lead role in the 1939
film Giliw Ko
. She had been discovered by LVN Pictures
President Doña Sisang de Leon
, who insisted in casting her over the objections of the film's director, who felt she was too young for the part. It was the film's director, Carlos Vander Tolosa, who gave her the screen name "Mila del Sol".
Film production shut down during the Japanese occupation and was restored only in 1945. Del Sol returned to LVN and starred in its production of Manuel Conde
's Orasang Ginto, the first post-war Filipino film. She starred in other LVN films of the 1940s, including Ibong Adarna (1949) and Villa Hermosa.
Del Sol retired from films to raise a family in the 1950s, but staged a comeback in 1960 with two films released that year, Pakipot and Tatlong Magdalena. The following year, she starred in an international production, Espionage Far East. She started a business in 1964, and starred in a long-running television series.
at the Mary Johnston Hospital, in the free ward. Her father, Amado C. Rivera, worked at the internal revenue service during the day, and was a waiter at night. He served as a guerilla in the Philippines during World War II. Her mother, Lorenza Villarba, stayed at home to raise eight children.
Del Sol attended Malate Primary School, San Andres Elementary, and Intramuros Intermediate School. She could not go to high school, since she had to start working, at the age of 12. She later attended Hollywood High School
in the 1950s, after the birth of her third child. She took some courses at Los Angeles City College
and Ateneo de Manila University
.
), but got her big break as a principal character in the 1939 classic Giliw Ko
, for which she was honored by then Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon
. This was the first movie of the storied film production company. She made twelve other films for LVN during this period, including Hali (1940), an early example of the Sarong
genre, and Sawing Gantimpala (1940), which was based on a song written for del Sol by Aurora Quezon
.
in the Philippines during the war.
, Ely Ramos, Rogelio de la Rosa
, Jaime de la Rosa
, Leopoldo Salcedo
, Armando Goyena, Teddy Benavídez
, Fred Cortes
, and José Padilla, Jr.. She was directed by José Nepomuceno
, Carlos Vander Tolosa, Manuel Conde
, Lamberto V. Avellana, Gregorio Fernandes, Vicente Salumbides, Gerardo de León
, Ramon A. Estella
, Manuel Silos, and Emmanuel Borlaza.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye
, the mother of actress and television host Jeanne Young, and grandmother of 2007 Rock Awards Guitarist of the Year Ira Cruz
, actor Onemig Bondoc, and Parañaque City
Vice-Mayor Gustavo Tambunting. She was romantically linked to film director and National Artist
Eddie Romero
.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
film actress and entrepreneur. Del Sol was born in Tondo, Manila
Tondo, Manila
Tondo is a district of Manila, Philippines. The locale has existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish, referred to as "Tundun" in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. One of the most densely populated areas of land in the world, Tondo is located in the northwest portion of the city and is primarily...
. She gained fame in her very first lead role in the 1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
film Giliw Ko
Giliw Ko
Giliw Ko is a 1939 Filipino movie. A musical romance, Giliw Ko had a radio theme, and was first production of the Filipino company, LVN Pictures. It is notable for being a gift from Australia to the Filipino people to commemorate 100 years of independence...
. She had been discovered by LVN Pictures
LVN Pictures
LVN Pictures, Inc. is one of the biggest film studios in the history of Philippine cinema and its foremost establishment in motion picture post-production until 2005...
President Doña Sisang de Leon
Narcisa de Leon
Narcisa Buencamino Vd.ª De de Leon was a Filipino film producer. Clad daily in the frugal rural dress of the camisón, saya and chinelas, Doña Sisang, as she was widely known, was already a 61-year old widow when she entered the film industry...
, who insisted in casting her over the objections of the film's director, who felt she was too young for the part. It was the film's director, Carlos Vander Tolosa, who gave her the screen name "Mila del Sol".
Film production shut down during the Japanese occupation and was restored only in 1945. Del Sol returned to LVN and starred in its production of Manuel Conde
Manuel Conde
Manuel Conde was born on October 15, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte . He was an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen...
's Orasang Ginto, the first post-war Filipino film. She starred in other LVN films of the 1940s, including Ibong Adarna (1949) and Villa Hermosa.
Del Sol retired from films to raise a family in the 1950s, but staged a comeback in 1960 with two films released that year, Pakipot and Tatlong Magdalena. The following year, she starred in an international production, Espionage Far East. She started a business in 1964, and starred in a long-running television series.
Early life
Del Sol was born in Tondo, ManilaTondo, Manila
Tondo is a district of Manila, Philippines. The locale has existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish, referred to as "Tundun" in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. One of the most densely populated areas of land in the world, Tondo is located in the northwest portion of the city and is primarily...
at the Mary Johnston Hospital, in the free ward. Her father, Amado C. Rivera, worked at the internal revenue service during the day, and was a waiter at night. He served as a guerilla in the Philippines during World War II. Her mother, Lorenza Villarba, stayed at home to raise eight children.
Del Sol attended Malate Primary School, San Andres Elementary, and Intramuros Intermediate School. She could not go to high school, since she had to start working, at the age of 12. She later attended Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
in the 1950s, after the birth of her third child. She took some courses at Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
and Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
.
1938–1942
Del Sol appeared in three films in 1938 (including Ang Maya opposite Fernando Poe, Sr.Fernando Poe, Sr.
Fernando Poe was a famous actor during the early cinema era in the Philippines. He was the father of the late Ronald Allan K. Poe, better known as Fernando Poe, Jr., who was also a famous actor and icon. Prior to his son's rise to fame, Poe had been known simply as 'Fernando Poe'...
), but got her big break as a principal character in the 1939 classic Giliw Ko
Giliw Ko
Giliw Ko is a 1939 Filipino movie. A musical romance, Giliw Ko had a radio theme, and was first production of the Filipino company, LVN Pictures. It is notable for being a gift from Australia to the Filipino people to commemorate 100 years of independence...
, for which she was honored by then Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines...
. This was the first movie of the storied film production company. She made twelve other films for LVN during this period, including Hali (1940), an early example of the Sarong
Sarong
A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric most often has woven plaid or...
genre, and Sawing Gantimpala (1940), which was based on a song written for del Sol by Aurora Quezon
Aurora Quezon
Aurora Antonia Aragón de Molina Vd.ª De Quezón , usually known simply as Aurora Quezón, and sometimes as Aurora Aragón-Quezón, was the wife of Philippine President Manuel Luis Quezón and the First Lady of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944...
.
1946–1952
LVN stopped film production during World War II, when the Philippines was occupied by Japan. Del Sol volunteered for the Red Cross, and frequented Prisoner of War camps along with other "Blue Ladies" of the Philippine film industry. LVN's first post-war film, Orasang Ginto again starred del Sol. She made more than twenty other films during this period including Garrison 13 (1946), which recounted atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
in the Philippines during the war.
1960 onward
Del Sol migrated to the United States, and lived there and in Europe for much of the 50s. She returned to the Philippines in the 60s, when she made two more films, and starred in the hit television series Problema mo na yan. In 1964, she founded Superior Maintenance Services, which employs over ten thousand people, and continues to be managed by her grandchildren. Del Sol chairs the Pagasa ng Kabataan Foundation, which provides scholarships to indigent youth, and affordable housing to the elderly.Actors & Directors
Del Sol acted opposite all the male leads of her period, including Fernando Poe, Sr.Fernando Poe, Sr.
Fernando Poe was a famous actor during the early cinema era in the Philippines. He was the father of the late Ronald Allan K. Poe, better known as Fernando Poe, Jr., who was also a famous actor and icon. Prior to his son's rise to fame, Poe had been known simply as 'Fernando Poe'...
, Ely Ramos, Rogelio de la Rosa
Rogelio de la Rosa
Regidor de la Rosa , better known as Rogelio de la Rosa, was one of the most popular Filipino matinee idols of the 20th century. He is also remembered for his statesmanship, in particular his accomplishments as a diplomat...
, Jaime de la Rosa
Jaime de la Rosa
Jaime de la Rosa was a Filipino pre-war and postwar actor better known as Jimmy in Philippine showbiz.-Early life:Tommy de la Rosa was the first screen name he used, later changing it to Jaime...
, Leopoldo Salcedo
Leopoldo Salcedo
Leopoldo Salcedo was a two-time FAMAS award-winning Filipino film actor who specialized in portraying dramatic heroes. Dubbed as "The Great Profile" , he was said to be among the first kayumanggi or dark-skinned Filipino film stars, in contrast to the lighter-skinned mestizo actors of his...
, Armando Goyena, Teddy Benavídez
Teddy Benavídez
Teddy Benavídez is a pre World War II Filipino actor who made his film debut on 1936s Mga Kaluluwang Napaligaw aka Unguided Spirit. His first screen name is Teodoro Benavidez and changed it to Teddy when he first made his movie under Sampaguita Pictures in 1937's Bituing Marikit starred by Elsa...
, Fred Cortes
Fred Cortes
Born in 1921, this Filipino actor is a favorite leading man of Lvn Pictures before World War II.Fred Cortess film debut was under Lvn Pictures Nag-iisang Sangla...
, and José Padilla, Jr.. She was directed by José Nepomuceno
José Nepomuceno
José Nepomuceno was one of the pioneering directors of the cinema of the Philippines. He is also known as the founder of Philippine movies. It was in 1919 when he produced the first Filipino silent film entitled Dalagang Bukid. The film starred Atang de la Rama, a future National Artist of the...
, Carlos Vander Tolosa, Manuel Conde
Manuel Conde
Manuel Conde was born on October 15, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte . He was an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen...
, Lamberto V. Avellana, Gregorio Fernandes, Vicente Salumbides, Gerardo de León
Gerardo de León
Gerardo de León was a Filipino actor turned film director, who made his acting debut in the 1934 film Ang Dangal....
, Ramon A. Estella
Ramon A. Estella
Ramon A. Estella was a pre-war Philippine movie director and actor.-Filmography:*1933 -Ang Punyal na Ginto *1938 -Bayan at Pag-ibig [Excelsior] *1939 -Ruisenor [Parlatone]*1940 -Buenavista ?...
, Manuel Silos, and Emmanuel Borlaza.
Relationships
Del Sol is the sister of actresses Gloria Imperial and Guia Imperial, the aunt of the Arroyo administrationGloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye
Ignacio Bunye
Ignacio Rivera Bunye is a Filipino politician who is currently serving as the Monetary Board Member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas since July 3, 2008...
, the mother of actress and television host Jeanne Young, and grandmother of 2007 Rock Awards Guitarist of the Year Ira Cruz
Ira Cruz
Ira Cara Cruz is a multi-award winning Filipino musician, composer and producer. He is the lead guitarist of Hijo and former member of Bamboo, Introvoys, Passage and Kapatid.-Introvoys :...
, actor Onemig Bondoc, and Parañaque City
Parañaque City
The City of Parañaque , or simply Parañaque , is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines....
Vice-Mayor Gustavo Tambunting. She was romantically linked to film director and National Artist
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero
Eddie Romero is an acclaimed and influential Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter, considered one of the finest in the Cinema of the Philippines.Romero was named National Artist of the Philippines in 2003....
.
Filmography
- 1938 -Ang maya
- 1938 -Hatol ng mataas na langit
- 1938 -Mariang Alimango [X'Otic]
- 1939 -Giliw KoGiliw KoGiliw Ko is a 1939 Filipino movie. A musical romance, Giliw Ko had a radio theme, and was first production of the Filipino company, LVN Pictures. It is notable for being a gift from Australia to the Filipino people to commemorate 100 years of independence...
(Lvn) - 1940 -Hali (Lvn)
- 1940 -Prinsesa ng Kumintang [Lvn]
- 1940 -Sawing Gantimpala [Lvn]
- 1940 -Maginoong Takas [Lvn]
- 1940 -Nag-iisang Sangla [Lvn]
- 1941 -Angelita [Lvn]
- 1941 -Hiyas ng Dagat [Lvn]
- 1941 -Rosalinda [Lvn]
- 1941 -Villa Hermosa [LVN]
- 1941 -Ararong Ginto [Lvn]
- 1941 -Ibong Adarna [Lvn]
- 1942 -Caviteno [Lvn]
- 1946 -Orasang Ginto [Lvn]
- 1946 -Garrison 13 [Lvn]
- 1946 -Alaala Kita [Lvn]
- 1946 -Dalawang Daigdig [Lvn]
- 1946 -Ang Prinsipeng Hindi Tumatawa [Lvn]
- 1947 -Maling Akala [Lvn]
- 1947 -Violeta [Lvn]
- 1947 -Binatang Taring [Lvn]
- 1947 -Isang Ngiti mo Lamang [Eduque]
- 1947 -Romansa [Lvn]
- 1947 -Sarungbanggi [Lvn]
- ???? -Tatlong limbas [FPP]
- 1948 -Malaya (Mutya sa Gubat) [Lvn]
- 1949 -Hiyas ng Pamilihan [Lvn]
- 1949 -Kuba sa Quiapo [Lvn]
- 1949 -Lupang Pangako [Lvn]
- 1949 -Batalyong XIII [Lvn]
- 1949 -Don Juan Tenoso[Lvn]
- 1950 -Nuno sa Punso [Lvn]
- 1950 -Dayang-Dayang [Lvn]
- 1950 -In Despair [Lvn]
- 1951 -Reyna Elena [Lvn]
- 1951 -Anak ng Pulubi [Lvn]
- 1952 -Romansa sa Nayon [Lvn]
- 1952 -Haring Solomon at Reyna Sheba [Lvn]
- 1957 -Escapade in Japan
- 1960 -Pakipot
- 1960 -Tatlong Magdalena
- 1961 -Espionage: Far East
- 1969 -Young Girl
- 1974 -Batya't Palu-palo
- 1989 -Kahat Wala Ka Na
Television
- Rawhide
- Silent service
- Problema mo na yan
- Talagang ganyan (with Leopoldo SalcedoLeopoldo SalcedoLeopoldo Salcedo was a two-time FAMAS award-winning Filipino film actor who specialized in portraying dramatic heroes. Dubbed as "The Great Profile" , he was said to be among the first kayumanggi or dark-skinned Filipino film stars, in contrast to the lighter-skinned mestizo actors of his...
, Dindo Fernando, and Jeanne Young) - 2010 RosalkaRosalkaRosalka is an afternoon ABS-CBN drama starring Empress Schuck in the title role along with Matt Evans and Felix Roco. The story revolves around a hunchback named Rosa and her journey towards the pain and joy of life in extent of her disability.-Plot:...
ABS-CBNABS-CBNABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...