Rita Avila tells her story of survival
Character actress Rita Avila used to cry buckets at the thought of her miscarriage some three years after married director Erick Reyes. But she has dried her tears and learned to accept her fate.
She still doesn’t know what she’ll do if a child suddenly clings to her and asks to be taken home. But Rita knows she’s too blessed to cry over spilled milk.
“Happy naman ako sa asawa ko,” muses Rita, who will play the much-hated Greta Pendelton in TV 5’s primetime teleserye “Never Say Goodbye” starting Tuesday, March 5.
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“Yung ibang girls may problema sa asawa at anak nila. Kaya okay na rin na wala kaming baby.”
Rita and Erick speak a language only artists like them know.
For instance, after they watched ‘Life of Pi’ together, Rita recalls how she and Erick had fun talking about the film’s merits and demerits while toying around with the moisturizers given for free to moviegoers like them.
“Excited ako sa moisturizer,’ recalls Rita. So she squeezed a tiny amount from the tube to her finger, dabbed it on her husband’s face, and started talking about the Hollywood film.
Rita got so carried away, she only realized what she did after she saw that her husband’s face was filled with moisturizer. Rita recoiled and promptly said sorry.
The playfulness has made Rita’s marriage strong over the past 10 years.
Rita is just as thankful that Erick moves in the same creative circles as she does.
“Bilang director, sobra ang working hours niya,” reveals Rita, who keeps the same ungodly hours as her husband does when she’s taping a teleserye.
“Buti na lang ganon,” she smiles. “Otherwise, he won’t understand bakit umaga na ako minsan umuuwi (from work.)”
Work is something Rita hasn’t ran out of lately. She’s one of the few actresses who have done the rounds of the top three networks – ABS-CBN, GMA 7 and TV5.
And she credits this to her work ethic.
“Hindi ako maarte. Hindi ako nagpapa-late sa set.”
She knows such devotion to work just might help her become another Gloria Romero someday.
“I’m excited to see myself like Gloria Romero,” Rita’s eyes sparkle. “Yun bang dignified and respected.”
And when that day comes, Rita will be doubly glad she’s more an actress than a star trapped in some hard-to-top image.
“I’m not afraid to go out of the box. Marunong akong mag-risk. Mas free akong mag-portray ng ibang characters. Buti na lang at hindi ako superstar na may image na iniingatan,” she explains.
Rita Avila knows how to count her blessings. That’s how she has surivived the ups and downs, not only in showbiz, but in her rock-solid marriage as well.
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