Boots Anson-Roa Graces Special Screening of Himala in Washington, DC
August 22, 2009 by villalobos
Filed under Blogs
by: Dino Dela Rosa
(Dino Dela Rosa writes for the entertainment section of the Virginia-based The Manila Mail)
Boots Anson-Roa was Metro Washington DC last week to attend a two-night special screening of the classic Ishmael Bernal film “Himala” which was hailed by CNN(U.K.) as the top ten foreign films of all time. MOWELFUND(Movie Workers Foundation) of which Tita Boots is Executive Director was one of the sponsors of “Himala,” which starred the one and only Superstar was also in attendance which was held at the Our Lady Of Good Counsel Church. The Filipino Ministry Of Our Lady Of Good Counsel Church, of which Boots’ daughter Leah Roa-Cuevas is an active member, sponsored this event too. Many thousands of fans came for two nights to see their idols- Nora Aunor and Boots Anson-Roa, two of the great screen icons of our time.
In 1964, the popular noontime show “Student Canteen” introduced a newcomer named
Boots Anson, the daughter of ’50s matinee idol Oscar Anson just graduated with honors from U.P. Boots was immediately welcomed into living rooms with her loveliness, intelligence and her effervescent personality. It was around this time when she guested on another popular noontime show “Dance-O-Rama” where she met her future husband Pete Roa, the show’s host. A couple of years later it was inevitable that she joined the movies, she received rave reviews. From the late ’60s to her semi-retirement in the ’80s, Boots was one of the top female movie stars making one box-office hit after another.
In 1973, she received her first FAMAS best actress award for the hit comedy “Tatay Na Si Erap.” That same year, she starred in her TV drama series “Eliza” which was a showcase for her acting ability, so it was no surprise when she won best actress in a drama series. To this day, Tita Boots still continues to receive acting and achievement awards.
In 1982, she couldn’t refuse the prestigious post of Press Atache in the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. From 1982-93, Boots, Pete and her four kids lived blissful lives in Mclean, Va. While living here, she became an active member of the Fil-Am comunity and she was the Marketing Director of Citizens Bank(now Suntrust Bank). Despite her very hectic schedule, she still had time to volunteer in the soup kitchen in D.C. But in 1993, she began to miss acting in front of the cameras so she and Pete went back home where she made a successful comeback. On one of her despedida parties before she left Virginia, she and my late Lola Sarah K. Joaquin did an excerpt from the classic stage drama “Anastasia.”
These days, Boots maintains a very hectic schedule. Besides her MOWELFUND duties,
she acts in TV, films, teaching at U.P., and Pete’s foundation, PRIME, which she formed in honor of Tito Pete, who died two years ago after a courageous battle with stroke, glaocouma, diabetes and cancer. She also treasures her Sunday family dinners with her children and grandchildren, and she goes to weekly bible study and daily mass.
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