Rosa's Egyptian and French ancestry gave her a distinct beautyLeft: Playing herself in Sarrung Banggi with Rogelio dela Rosa (1948)
In the Movies you had to have Bitch leading ladies, MGM has Joan Crawford and Warner Bros. had Bette Davis..well the Philippines has Rosa ROsal--she was the ultimate Vamp of the Phil. Silver Screen, her manipulative, devious and and piercing persona coated with the ultimate sheen of big time sensual glamour onscreen, gave her the standing as the Original Femme Fatal of local cinema.
Rosa rose to fame in the late 40's after being spotted by Luis Nolasco a film producer, they were awestruck by her exotic features because no one had a face like hers, strong but yet so delicate she was like a mixture of Hedy Lamarr and Dorothy Lamour--it's her French Egyptian ancestry that made her look different from other actresses and soon she was cast as a vampish glamour girl in many movies until they made her a full fledge star in Biglang Yaman where she shed off her "contravida"act for a while and played an Innocent young woman in the comedic film. Rosas career took off successfully and resumed playing nemesis to LVN's leading ladies in the early 50's, but soon she clamored for meatier roles and in 1955 she starred in Anak dalita where she played a good hearted prostitute. From then on she churned out 2 more classics; first was Badjao where she convincingly looked and took on the role of a Tausog Princess, and then Biyaya ng Lupa-which she considers one of her best movies.
Rosa might be the bitch onscreen but in real life, the dame is an angel--Rosa's incomparable and highly commendable volunteer work in the Phil. National Red Cross has earned her numerous humanitarian awards, she has been with PNRC for about 60+years and counting, she has helped thousands with her tireless efforts in obtaining blood from her countless blood donation drives, her genuine heart for the needy has left an impact to all the Filipino people sometimes she is mostly recognized and associated with the Red Cross more that with Show business.
TRIVIA---The FAMAS statuette is modeled after Rosa Rosal's figure and this is a written fact in the local showbiz scene.
left: In Biglang Yaman (1949) 
Rosa Rosal the Original Femme Fatal of the Philippine Sliver Screen
Rosa w/Jaime Dela Rosa in Faithful 1958 
hi! i just wanted to get your say on rosa rosal as a fashion icon. :)
ReplyDeleteWell we all know how Rosa Rosal was a throwback of the old hollywood days where as an actress, you had the responsibility to dress up in any ocassion. Rosa Rosal was known to cause a brouhaha whenever she did the unexpected like causing car accidents while wearing short shorts and walking along dewey boulevard, going to the studio in a hot day with a turtle neck ang bangles, and wearing a spaghetti strapped dress when it was cold, all in all we knew how she used fashion to garner up publicity
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