Rustica Carpio writes 30

Stage, movie and television actress Rustica Carpio had her lived life to the fullest.

Yet when the news broke out that she recently died there’s still a yearning from her arts family that she could have done more.

There’s vacuum she left in the hearts and minds not only of her show business friends and colleagues but the Filipinohood as well.

Let us recall that Rustica went to Korea during the height of the armed conflict between Koreans who believed in democracy against those who subscribed to authoritarian rule that led to the separation of the state to North and South.

Carpio, in her early twenties, was with the Filipino troop contingent as an allied force of the democratic stand.

Rustie, as she was fondly called, was the singer during the war which was covered by then reporter Benigno Aquino, Jr who would be the grand opposition senator during the Marcos years and journalist Johnny Villasanta.

It was dreadful experience for a girl blossoming into a woman but Rustica’s patriotism prevailed over fear.

Rustie continued to entertain our soldiers without abasement and because of her bravery and courage in the middle of war, she was recognized by the Korean government with a vintage honor when the tension was contained. The mountain where one of the battles took place was named after her, thus Rustie Hill which still stands until today.

Carpio was also a radio talent in her youth and a recording artist but was abruptly nipped in the bud. In her autobiographical book “Shuttling through Stage and Screen,” Rustica divulged that when she was offered a music contract, an executive of the recording company invited her to a movie watch she didn’t give in which cost her recording career.

Another unforgettable experience Rustie went through was when she was kidnapped by a leader of the orchestra she was singing with. It was an ordeal when she was forced inside the car and attempted to rape her she luckily escaped when she promptly opened the door and jumped from the vehicle. According to her, she didn’t mind the pain caused by the wounds and bruises she incurred just to flee from the brute. She climbed a cliff somewhere in Parañaque but the man kept pulling her down but she was quick to shake him off until she found a refuge in big house on the other side of the promontory.

Such colorful and suspenseful scenes taken out from real life were equally as dramatic and thrilling as Rustie’s reel journey in the entertainment industry of film and TV.

Carpio was already an excellent actress when she was given breaks onscreen. Two of the most memorable performances she delivered were in Ishmael Bernal’s “Nunal sa Tubig” and Lino Brocka’ “Bona.”

In theater, Rustie was also a doyenne in acting where she honed up her thespic chops.

Her rich and inspiring artistic acumen and academic erudition she passed on for years to her students of the arts, the humanities, the languages and mass communication in such prestigious schools as Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and Far Eastern University.

One of Rustie’s summations of her aesthetics was capped when she won Best Actress in 2009 from the prestigious Gawad Urian of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP) for her sterling portrayal of a caring yet cunning market vendor grandmother in internationally acclaimed director Brillante Ma. Mendoza’s “Lola.”

Local showbiz grieves over Rustica’s passing. Many say she could still make wonders onscreen.

She was 91.