JUST A THOUGHT: “Let your dreams be the springboard for great actions.” – Liezl Vazquez
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ALA EH: The Batangas accent has long been a favorite movie device, usually and unfortunately, to elicit comedy, much like they mine the Visayan tongue.
While the Visayan tongue is attached to bungling helper roles, the Batangueño manner of speech is associated with boldness and bravery. Taray.
The late Dencio Padilla played it to advantage in many of his movie outings. Even the late Nida Blanca became adept at the language of Batangueños as she starred in a few films where she wore the accent, notably in a film called “Batangueña.”
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VILMA BATANGUEÑA: However, the most telling evidence of how well a person can suit language and lifestyle lies in Vilma Santos-Recto, who now peppers her conversations with traditional Batangueño lines spoken with the right attitude.
Vilma has taken to calling friends as Ka Nitoy or Ka Celia, ka being a term of endearment among Batangas old-timers. Ka is also used as a term of respect to another person, usually older.
In the late 70s, Vilma acted in a film called “Vilma Veinte Nueve (29)” where she played a balisong-wielding fighter of a character. She was Batangueña, but of course.
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WELCOME TO BATANGAS: The province of Batangas is home to a number of entertainment celebrities including Zanjoe Marudo, Jason Gainza (both from Tanauan), Ryan Agoncillo and Jovit Baldivino (Rosario) Lani Mercado (Lipa), Eva Reyes (Lipa), and the late Premiere Productions star, Jose Romulo (Rosario). Recent migrants are Christopher de Leon, Piolo Pascual, Aga Muhlach, John and Camille Pratts, Coco Martin, Zoren Legazpi and Carmina Villaroel, Celeste Legaspi, Laurice Guillen, Irma Adlawan.
