Dang Cecilio

The sweet face behind the unusual tag belongs to Criselda Geronima Cecilio, who initially caught everyone’s fancy as the country’s bet in the 1979 Miss Universe pageant at Perth, Australia .

The beauty pageantry held world-wide attention due to the freak crash of a skylab off the coast of the continent down-under. In recognition of the international hoopla, a piece of the space object was used as a prop in the Miss ‘U’ stage. The drama did not end there however because just when Miss Venezuela was being crowned as the winner, the stage swarmed by the members of the press and various supporters, collapsed due to overload.

"Ang uwi ko, hindi korona kundi pasa, said Dang, smiling at the recollection. "Syempre, my instinct was to save myself, kasi nagpuputukan talaga yung mga ilaw. Others had bruises while some were hospitalized."

The excitement in Dang’s life didn’t stop at that auspicious mishap for her next stop was the movie biz, which is arguably the most dazzling of the performing arts.

Living true-to-form as a queen of beauty, Dang’s entry in the movies was no less grand as leading lady to the movie ‘king’ himself, Fernando Poe Jr. in "Roman Rapido"(1982).

"My producer, Ben Hernandez gave me a Toyota car as bonus for that movie because it broke records at the box-office," she said. The film also started her on-screen love affair with FPJ, which merited two more mega hits: "Ang Panday, Ikatlong Yugto" (1982) and "Kapag Buhay Ang Inutang" (1983).

"FPJ was my favorite among my leading men," admitted Dang. "He’s respectable, saka matalino s’yang tao. He knew his craft. Napaka-disente n’ya. He’s really something."

After the FPJ starrer was the iconic "Batch ’81" (1982) by Mike de Leon. The movie belongs to the elite list of the country’s ten best films and one of the only three Filipino films included in the discriminating 50-title collection of the Asian Film Archive that immortalizes the best cinematic works in the Asian region.

"Batch ‘81’ was my first movie," she revealed, "but nagka-problema yata. So, my producer waited for the right timing of its release." The film had many layers and its theme of blind loyalty didn’t sit well with the dictatorship of the Martial Law years. Before the film’s final version was released, De Leon and producer Marichu Maceda, who was very close to the Marcoses, ironed out some kinks without sacrificing the film’s content and substance.

"Senator Ernie Maceda, who happened to be a dear friend of my dad was instrumental in my entry to showbiz. He convinced my father to appear in the movie, which was being produced by his wife, Manay Ichu," she added.

Dang described working with Mike de Leon as ‘different.’ "We had a workshop before we started shooting because most of us were newcomers: Bing Pimentel, Ward Luarca, Rod Leido and Vic Lima, who’s now in ABS. The only established actor there was Mark Gil. Its theme was like, college life. Eh I was in U.P. din. So, parang enjoy lang ako."

Criselda didn’t dream of being an actress, much more becoming a beauty queen. But fate stepped in, early on in her life.

"When I was in high school, at St. Theresa’s, I was already doing commercials," she said. "It continued until I was in college at U.P. (University of the Philippines). After one of my pictorials, the talent manager and Jay Romero suggested that we passed by the house of Maria Theresa Carlson as they were to accompany her to the ( Manila ) Peninsula for the elimination round of the Binibining Pilipinas contest.

"When we arrived, the organizer, Stella Marquez Araneta asked me if I was joining. She gave me a bathing suit. Wow! I saw it’s Catalina! That time, it was imported. I was young and my school-girl excitement got the better of me. So I asked: ‘If I wear this tonight, could I bring it home?’ Who would think naman na matatanggap ako? To my mind, my parents would never know that I donned a swimsuit. I had no make up on. I was just after the Catalina bathing suit.

She continued, "I didn’t tell my parents that I tried out for Binibini until my mom (Gloria) got the call from the organizers. She was so excited. She said: ‘Sumali ka pala sa Binibini.’ Natanggap daw ako. But because my father (Romulo) was very strict, siya na daw ang bahala sa dad ko. She even called Alex Galang, my dad’s best friend who happened to be the brother of Cristina Galang, the reigning Binibini.

"Mrs. Araneta also made a deal with my dad. To convince him that there was no hanky-panky in Binibini, she didn’t ask me to sign any contract. And because I wasn’t bound by any agreement, my father could pull me out anytime he found anything distasteful. Mrs. Araneta also allowed him to accompany me every night during the rehearsals.

"To me, the whole thing was just an adventure. I asked my dad to let me experience it. After all, it was vacation period and I got to stay at Manila Pen. Naku, after one week, I won as Miss Photogenic. So, I asked my father to let me finish the contest. I reasoned that my friends wouldn’t laugh at me because I had already won. And because I was young, I was very excited sa mga prizes, including my big blown up pictures."

She continued, "Being from

U.P, observers described me as ‘beauty and brains’. That was why, during the pageant night, I was more concerned in my answer than in winning the crown. As soon as I was adjudged as one of the semi-finalists, my prayer was: "Lord, I don’t mind whether I don’t win this crown. Besides may award na ako. Please lang, ayokong matapilok at ayokong mag-wrong grammar because I’m afraid to be the subject of ridicule by my classmates.’

"The question assigned to me was: ‘If you were to become a man, who would you rather be, Dolphy or Jaworski?’ Excuse me Tito Dolphy pero pinili ko si Jaworski because at that time, all my friends were crazy over Jaworski. Kasi Toyota time yun eh. So, that means women will like me too."

"What’s crazier was when I was called as the Binibing Pilipinas Universe, I wasn’t able to hear my name kasi emote na emote nga ako. I was candidate Number 4 and people at the Araneta were all shouting ‘Number Four.’ As a result, hindi pa tinatawag ang pangalan ko, I was already crying kasi feel na feel ko na win na ako. Mabuti na lang, ako ang nanalo. The rest, as they say, is history."

After appearing in "Batch ‘81" and a string of FPJ movies, Dang joined the television as host of "She" on Channel 4, along with Mel Tiangco and former Senator Nikki Coseteng.

She also appeared in Ishmael Bernal’s "Working Girls 2"(1987), "Enteng, The Dragon" (1988) with comedy king Dolphy, "Isang Kahig, Isang Tuka" (1995) with Vic Sotto, two with Rudy Fernandez: "Vigilante" (1987) and "Get Victor Corpuz, The Rebel Soldier" (1987) and "Anak ni Zuma"(1987), a campy classic in the ‘cinema of pain’ genre.

In 1988, Dang left showbiz in the name of love. Her blissful marriage with Carlos Palanca III is now turning twenty. To be continued.