Clad daily in the frugal rural dress of the camisón, saya and chinelas,[1][pageneeded]Doña Sisang, as she was widely known, was already a 61-year-old widow when she entered the film industry. Nonetheless, she chartered her family-owned LVN Pictures into a dominant position in post-World War II Philippine cinema. In addition, de Leon was one of the most highly regarded Filipino businesswomen of the first half of the 20th century.[1][pageneeded]
Her grandson, Mike de Leon, emerged as a highly acclaimed film director beginning in the 1970s. His 1977 film Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising was dedicated to his late grandmother on the occasion of her birth centenary.[2]
In the 1930s was the growth of Philippine cinema, and the new production studios started by her. In the nearby Hacienda Hamady, the Sampaguita Pictures Studio set up shop, while along Justice Pedro Tiangco Tuazon Boulevard in Cubao the LVN Pictures Studio opened in 1936. The studio was named using the initials of the founding families of De Leon, Villonco and Navoa, and continued to operate up to 2005. Now what is left of this historic film studio is a commemorative fountain, dedicated to her as the LVN studio's co-founder and chairperson. The said fountain has been transferred to the Quezon Memorial Circle’s Quezon City Experience Museum, in 2017.[3]
She was born Narcisa Buencamino in San Miguel, Bulacan at October 1877, the daughter of a poet and the granddaughter of a Chinese merchant.[1][pageneeded] Her father died when she was five,[4] and she was later forced to stop schooling after the fourth grade to work for a living.[1][pageneeded] In her teens, she was working odd jobs as a cook and a seamstress, and she would eventually enter the business of making umbrellas.[4]
In 1904, she married José de León, a local government official in San Miguel, with whom she would have five children. The family settled in San Miguel, Bulacan.[citation needed]
Businesswoman
The couple ventured into the rice production business, and soon would be recognized as among the leading rice producers in Luzon.[1][pageneeded] By the 1920s, the couple would own several high-valued real properties in Bulacan, Manila, and other prime locations within Luzon.[4] They also engaged in philanthropic activities and donated a hospital to their hometown of San Miguel.[citation needed]
Widowed in 1934, she moved her family to Manila, took charge of the family business, and refocused it towards real estate.[1][pageneeded] It was said that the business soared to new heights when she took full control after her husband's death.[4]
She became the first woman appointed to the board of directors of a government corporation when she was named by PresidentManuel Quezon to the board of the National Rice and Corn Corporation. In the 1950s, she was among the organizing shareholders of Republic Cement Corporation, which soon became among the leading cement producers in the country.[1][pageneeded]
Filipino film industry.[4] She agreed, and in 1938, her family, along with the Villongco and Navoa families, contributed capital to establish a film studio. The company was named LVN Pictures, the name taken from the respective initials of the three founding families.[5]
Apart from de Leon, the two other principal founding partners of LVN Pictures were Carmen Villongco and Eleuterio Navoa Sr.[6]
LVN broke into the Philippine film industry with the successful release of its first feature, Carlos Vander Tolosa's musical Giliw Ko, released in 1939. She was elected president of LVN Pictures in 1940,[4] and she eventually bought out the shares of her other partners, gaining full control over the studio.[5]Giliw Ko was followed with another successful film, Manuel Conde'sIbong Adarna (1941), which featured the first color sequence in a Filipino film and was the first local film to earn more than a million pesos.[7]
However, LVN Pictures was forced to close shop upon the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941.[6] It resumed operations after the Liberation of Manila in 1945, and produced the first post-war Filipino movie, Orasang Ginto (1946). In 1949, LVN produced the first full-color Filipino feature film, Batalyon XIII. Dissatisfied by the color-processing of that film, De León bought her own color laboratory for LVN.[1][pageneeded]
LVN Pictures saw the peak of its success in the decade following the war, hosting a stable of the most prominent film stars who had joined its studios such as Rogelio de la Rosa. In addition to producing commercially successful films, LVN also featured critically acclaimed prestige films such as Lamberto Avellana'sAnak Dalita (1956), which was named Best Film at the 1956 Asia-Pacific Film Festival.[citation needed]
In the late 1950s, LVN capitalized on the unexpected stardom of one of its contract players, the singer Diomedes Maturan who emerged as the top box-office draw of 1958–59.[citation needed]
Thematic influence on LVN films
During her years at the helm of LVN Pictures, she retained absolute control over the operations of the studio and of the films it produced. She personally read and approved the final scripts prior to production, later with the assistance of her son Manuel.[1][pageneeded]
Her personal tastes dictated the themes of LVN films. Reflecting her upbringing and age, she was partial to rural romances and stories based on the traditional forms of awit and corrido, and populated her movies with Philippine folk dances. She resisted copying Hollywood trends and insisted on injecting Filipino culture into LVN films.[1][pageneeded]
Devoutly Catholic, she demanded that each of LVN's films contain a moral lesson.[8] She disallowed sex scenes and permitted only love scenes that featured no more than a peck on the cheek.[1][pageneeded]
Her idiosyncrasies aside, de Leon used the phrase "Kung ano ang kikita" ("Whatever makes money") to justify the choices of scripts LVN adapted into film.[1][pageneeded] As a result, she resisted making "prestige films" that delved into socially conscious issues. She was hesitant to produce Lamberto Avellana's bleak drama Anak Dalita, and only did so at the insistence of her son, Manuel. The film earned poorly at the box office but received several international awards. These did not impress her. She told her son, "Ano ngayon ang gagawin ninyo sa mga kopang iyan? Makakain ninyo ba iyan?" ("What will you do with all those trophies? Can you be fed with those?")[1][pageneeded]
Star maker
Mila del Sol rose to stardom after being cast by Doña Sisang in Giliw Ko, LVN Pictures' first production
De León was known for her acumen in selecting and cultivating stars. This was manifested early on in the casting of the very first LVN film, Giliw Ko. She was instrumental in the casting of the then-unknown Mila del Sol in a romantic leading role, over the objection of director Vander Tolosa who felt that the 12-year-old actress was too young for the part.[8] Del Sol would be but the first of many Filipino actors whom de Leon would "discover" and groom for stardom. Among the other discoveries of de Leon and LVN Pictures were Charito Solis,[9]Nida Blanca,[5]Armando Goyena,[10]Luz Valdez,[5]Delia Razon,[11] and Mario Montenegro.[1][pageneeded] Razon and Montenegro were signed by LVN after De Leon espied them in bit roles in other films.[1][pageneeded]
De León was a disciplinarian[5] who maintained a strict supervision over the behavior of her stars,[5] restraining their spending habits by withholding portions of their salaries until their withheld pay was sufficient to buy a new house or car. She would periodically hand out cash advances to LVN actresses so they could purchase new gowns.[1][pageneeded]
She would often involve herself into the personal lives of her stars, engineering for example, the reconciliation between Nestor de Villa and his father, from whom he had become estranged after he disapproved of his becoming an actor.[1][pageneeded] She frequently invited many of her actors to her Quezon City home along Broadway Street. De León was also willing to help in manually sewing the costumes of her actresses.[5]
In line with her frugal nature, she was hesitant to spend on publicity for LVN films. Instead, she would develop "love team" tandems among her stars, such as Nestor de Villa and Nida Blanca, and encourage them to "Magpa-chismis kayo." ("Make gossip for yourselves.")[1][pageneeded]
Lifestyle
De León was known for her extreme humility.[4] She favored her simple rural attire even when attending the most lavish receptions, and would immediately deflect any praises directed at her.[4] She insisted on using an old diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz W191 even after it had fallen out of fashion and in disrepair.[1][pageneeded] De León also continued her philanthropic activities, providing for a school building to her native San Miguel, contributing to the renovation of the San Miguel Church,[4] and even donating parcels of land in Bulacan and Cabanatuan to the needy.[5]
Despite her financial success, de Leon never learned to read English and could only speak the language at a most rudimentary level. She was however, well-versed in Spanish and Tagalog.[1][pageneeded]
Later years
Despite the box-office success of the films of LVN Pictures in the 1940s and 1950s, it was unable to sustain financial liquidity, and by 1961, it stopped producing movies and redirected its operations for post-production services. Despite being in her eighties, De León continued on as a film producer with Dalisay Pictures, an independent production outfit. She likewise attended to her other businesses and was active until the week before her death at age 88 in 1966.[1][pageneeded] De Leon is buried at the Manila North Cemetery.
San Miguel, officially the Municipality of San Miguel, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 172,073 people.
LVN Pictures, Inc. was a Filipino film studio that was considered one of the biggest in the history of Philippine cinema and its foremost establishment in motion picture post-production until 2005. In its heyday of motion picture production, LVN Pictures has been compared to that of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) of Hollywood because it had, under contract, the biggest stars and film craftsmen of the period. Before its closure in 2005, LVN Pictures was known as one of the oldest living film studios in the country.
Amado Cortez was a Filipino actor and diplomat. His father was Jose Padilla Sr., a governor in Plaridel, Bulacan and his mother was Maria Clara Ruiz. His brothers were Jose Padilla Jr., Carlos Padilla Sr., Roy Padilla and his sisters were Consuelo Padilla-Osorio, Paz Padilla, Pilar Padilla and Cristina Aragon who portrayed Valentina in the very first Darna movie in 1951.
Miguel "Mike" Pamintuan de Leon is a Filipino film director, cinematographer, scriptwriter and film producer.
Gines Francisco Soriano, known professionally as Nestor de Villa, was a Filipino actor frequently cast in musical films. He was a gifted dancer, often paired with frequent on-screen partner Nida Blanca in both movies and television. His dancing talent led some people to call him the "Fred Astaire of the Philippines", though the same moniker had also been given to Bayani Casimiro.
Clarita Villarba Rivera, better known by her screen name Mila del Sol, was a Filipina actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Born in Tondo, Manila, she gained fame in her very first lead role in the 1939 film Giliw Ko. She was 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 for "causing the sun (sol) to appear as if by miracle (milagro) over his otherwise overcast set whenever she was called in to do her scenes."
Giliw Ko is a 1939 Filipino musical romance film. The first production of LVN Pictures, it established the production company's tradition of musical extravaganzas. Directed and written by Carlos Vander Tolosa, it stars Ely Ramos, Fernando Poe, Ely Ramos, Mila del Sol, and Fleur de Lis.
Dorothy Guinto Jones, popularly known by her stage name Nida Blanca, was a Filipino actress and comedian. After a successful acting career in films during the 1950s, many of which are with actor Nestor de Villa, she gained further prominence in television for her role in the sitcom John en Marsha (1973–1990). Blanca starred in over 163 movies and 14 television shows during her 50-year career and was named one of 15 Best Actresses of all Time by YES! magazine.
Mary Walter was a Filipina actress whose eight decade-long film acting career saw her transformation from a romantic lead in the silent film era into a wizened fixture in horror movies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For her body of work accomplished in an especially long career, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences and the Gawad Urian.
Bernardo “Narding” Anzures (1928–1949) was a Filipino film actor and convicted murderer.
The Manila North Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila, Philippines. The cemetery is owned by and located in the City of Manila, the national capital, and is one of the largest in the metropolis at 54 hectares. It is located alongside Andrés Bonifacio Avenue and borders two other important cemeteries: the La Loma Cemetery and the Manila Chinese Cemetery. Numerous impoverished families notably inhabit some of the mausoleums.
Rosario Violeta Solís Hernández, better known as Charito Solís, was a Filipino film actress.
Florence Danon-Gayda, better known as Rosa Rosal, is a FAMAS award-winning Filipina film actress dubbed as the "original femme fatale of Philippine cinema." She is also known for her work with the Philippine Red Cross. For her humanitarian activities, she received the 1999 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, an award widely considered as Asia's Nobel Prize. She is the mother of TV host Toni Rose Gayda.
Mario Montenegro was a Filipino film actor best known for his heroic leading roles.
Blessings of the Land is a 1959 Filipino drama film directed by Manuel Silos. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival. The film won Best Picture and Best Story from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences. In 1960, it was shown at the Asian Film Festival held in Tokyo. The story was written by Celso Al. Carunungan, while the screenplay was written by Carunungan together with Pablo Naval. The movie was produced by LVN Pictures.
Child of Sorrow is a 1956 Philippine crime drama-tragedy film written by Rolf Bayer and directed by Lamberto V. Avellana. Set in the slums of Manila, recovering from the aftermath of the Second World War, the story follows Cita, a prostitute with good intentions and Vic, a war hero who served in the Korean War under PEFTOK, living together in the ravaged capital but when they were involved with Cardo's nasty plans, they, along with Father Fidel, join forces to stop him to succeed.
The 2nd Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards Night was held in 1954 in Life Theater, Quezon Boulevard, Quiapo, Manila. Huk Sa Bagong Pamumuhay, produced by Narcisa de Leon and distributed by LVN Pictures, is the recipient of FAMAS Award for Best Picture.
Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising, released overseas as Moments in a Stolen Dream, is a 1977 Filipino coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Mike de Leon, with a screenplay by de Leon and Rey Santayana. Set in Baguio, the film stars Christopher de Leon and Hilda Koronel as two young people whose friendship blooms into a complicated romance.
Itim, released overseas as The Rites of May, is a 1976 Filipino thriller film and the directorial debut of Mike de Leon, with a screenplay by Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. and Gil Quito. The film stars Tommy Abuel as a young photographer visiting his father, played by Mario Montenegro, in his provincial town during the Lenten season. There he encounters a mysterious woman, Teresa, played by Charo Santos in her acting debut.
References
Mercado, Monina (1977). Doña Sisang and Filipino Movies. Philippines: Vera-Reyes, Inc.
Filipinos in History Vol. III. Manila, Philippines: National Historical Institute. 1996. pp.68–70.
Garcia, Jessie B. (2004). A Movie Album Quizbook. Iloilo City, Philippines: Erehwon Books & Magazine. p.136. ISBN971-93297-0-X.
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