Screen veteran Boots Anson Roa. Photo: HandoutMANILA -- The depth and demands of the roles Boots Anson-Roa has played in real life could match, or even exceed, those she had portrayed as a performing artist.

She was 17 in 1962 when her studies as a speech and drama major at UP Diliman was “distracted” by her debut as ABC 5 TV host of “Dance-O-Rama,” recruited to replace Baby O’ Brien who was then pirated to host her own show on ABS-CBN.

A year later, she fell in love with her co-host Pete Roa and quit school. Pretty soon she was cast in movies — which she said she never dreamed of, even if her father Oscar Moreno was himself an actor — and went on to do many other things outside showbiz that gave her much fulfillment as well.

On Jan. 30, Maria Elisa Anson — who, after Pete’s demise, got hitched again 11 years ago (with lawyer King Rodrigo) — turns 80.

She will celebrate her birthday the following night, Jan. 31, with “Groovin’ Boots,” a benefit concert featuring Leah Navarro, Pat Castillo, Ray An Fuentes, and Ding Mercado with guests Mitch Valdes and Nanette Inventor at Music Museum. Proceeds go to the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund) which Anson-Rioa heads as chairperson.

In this email chat, Anson-Roa gives us glimpses of her life’s spontaneous scenes.

Why were you nicknamed Boots?

I was named after a postwar US comics character. Also, short for Bebot, I was a fat baby. 

You were a teenager in high school at Assumption Manila in the late 1950s and went to college at UP Diliman in the ’60s. What kind of music did you listen to in those years, and what did you like about them?

I was a fan of Elvis Presley, Beatles, and Johnny Mathis. I also liked classical, like Chopin’s waltzes, Liszt’s “Liebestraum,” and Lecuona’s Malagueña because I played the piano; religious, Gounod’s “Ave Maria”; Broadway, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel” and “The Sound of Music”; Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story.”

These compositions were lyrical, lilting, or solemn when needed. The lyrics were meaningful and well-written.

In 1962 you dropped out of your Speech and Drama course at UP to start your showbiz career as co-host of the TV show 'Dance-O-Rama' with your future husband Pete Roa. What was it like to be a public figure at a young age?

My early love affair with television at age 17, and with Pete Roa at 18, were distractions to my studies. I lost my scholarship and they detracted from my leadership positions. Happily, a more vast and intensive learning beckoned me outside the university. My mentors were newfound colleagues in the [entertainment] industry who knew much more about life’s basics and nuances. I must have been a veritable Pollyanna — the glasses I looked through were pink-colored.

But it was fun and ego-boosting to be recognized by the public at a young age. Luckily, none of the early fame went to my head. I remained very much grounded.

And then six years later you were acting in movies. Did you imagine yourself becoming an actress, considering your father, Oscar Moreno, was himself an actor?

I never set my sights on movies. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. In elementary I acted in theater, but no movie-star dreams for me.  

What was marriage with Pete like? How did you balance showbiz and domestic life?

Marriage with Pete was a tough balancing act between showbiz and domestic life. I tried to invoke “quality time,” but that took a lot out of my “me” time. I was so occupied with work, balancing its demands with those of home and family, I had no time for myself, not even hobbies.

If I had pleasures, these were “guilty pleasures,” few and far between, like going out with friends and former classmates to lunch or movies or parties. I thought they detracted from my time and attention to my family and work.

My blessing was, Pete was supportive of my career growth and the attention I was getting. He was a secure and self-made man who had his own calling. Considering he was a TV personality himself, he was self-effacing.

A performing artist could make a good living in the ’70s. Did you live a comfortable life?

At my busiest, I earned in one day’s work what an executive would earn in a month. In terms of high-profile and media assignments, I was then at the top of the heap. It was a comfortable life for our family. Of course, the tax requirements were also heavy. And the public relations part of my work exacted some cost.

But we were able to invest in real estate and midlevel businesses like a restaurant on Makati Avenue and a ready-to-wear line that had my label. Our children went to the best schools like Ateneo and Maryknoll (now Miriam).

In 1982 you were appointed as a press attaché and cultural officer and special assistant to the Ambassador at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC. How did you like your stint there?

My US stint remains a memorable chapter in my life. It deserves a long significant chapter in my forthcoming biography, “Grateful,” for publication in March/April. I evolved to my fullest in the US from 1982 to 1993.

Our 11-year stay in Washington DC afforded us the simpler everyday life in America, except that my work as cultural, media and community relations attaché still connected us with the Filipino community there. So, artista pa rin ako sa mata nila, but with academic, professional and civic service credentials and work requirements, with our kababayan as service recipients. 

Our family life became more cohesive. we became closer to our children. Most of all there, we all learned the value of work in and out of our abode. The children, who all worked part-time while in school, were awakened to the dignity of labor no matter how humble the work was.

As working students, they experienced admin chores, as well as waiting in restaurants, retail work in stores, newspaper delivery, gasoline boy service, etc. All these made them appreciate school and work combined, and made them more grounded and more rooted to family and the ethnic race that we belonged to.

We were identified with the Marcos regime. After my posting ended in 1986, at the onset of the new administration, our family decided to stay behind in the US, secured work permits and applied for political asylum. We all continued to work.

In my case, for the first time, I had to look for work, distribute CVs, and seek job interviews. My part-time work included concierge stints at first-rate hotels like Hyatt and Ramada; subscription agent for Kennedy Center in Washington DC; and telemarketer for a public information agency. I did sales for insurance companies and sold real estate after taking courses and acquiring licenses as a practitioner.

My certificates in public relations and tri-media from Georgetown University and media general cable in Virginia boosted my applications. I also worked part-time as executive director of the APPA, the official association of Filipino physicians nationwide.

After downplaying my achievements, like a development management course in DC, I finally landed a fulltime job as executive assistant to the SVP-operations of Citizens Bank of Washington, a tri-state (DC, Maryland and Virginia), 103-branch universal bank based in the heart of DC. In a few years, I was promoted to bank officer and headed the inter-branch marketing and merchandise sections of the bank. 

I was sent to the American Institute of Banking and was elected secretary of the Washington Association of Women Finance Executives. 

When we decided to repatriate [to the Philippines] in 1993, the bank’s 200 officers (I was one of only two Filipinos) gave me a rousing send-off at a general assembly. Etched deeply in my heart and mind was the tribute of our bank resident Linwood Cotman which ended with: “Let us applaud this outstanding Filipina who introduced a new work ethic to our bank.” The officers not only applauded heartily, they rose to their feet in a standing ovation.

You continued working in the movies and on TV following your return to the Philippines, and then got elected president of Mowelfund in 2000. Did your previous stints as director of the UP-PGH Medical Foundation and the Philippine Red Cross, as well as other organizations, prepare you for that kind of public service?

The different learnings and experiences in my professional life here and abroad prepared me best for my 30-year Mowelfund stint as executive director, president, board member, and now, as chair. It caps my work contributions as officer and board director of other entities and foundations (past and present) like IBC13, the Population Commission, the Jesuit Communication Foundation; the Communication Foundation for Asia; the Ateneo, UP, La Salle masscom faculty (2002-012), not to mention my active affiliations and service to the church's ministries like Alay Kapwa, Caritas, and Radio Veritas.

What’s the biggest challenge that Mowelfund is facing at present?

Sustainable development. We face our 51st year with inspiration from our founder, Joseph Estrada, our current board which I chair, composed of president Rez Cortes, Gina Alajar, Boy Vinarao (who’s on leave), Julius Topacio, Jim Baltazar; our new and very conscientious board directors Dingdong Dantes and Alden Richards; and our officers Joey Roa, Ricky Orellana, Archie Adamos, and Florence Vicente. 

We will seek continuous assistance from our biggest benefactor, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), and our regular donors to continue with flagship programs like enhanced welfare benefits for our beneficiaries, capped by additional tie-up services from Capitol Medical Center, PhilHealth, and our dream project: a small clinic for our members.

For the Mowelfund Film Institute, we need more solid training programs and the establishment of a national film museum with the assistance of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. 

What’s it like to turn 80?

I am forever grateful for all the blessings that the Lord Has given me all these 80 years. “Thank you” is my life mantra, as inspired by German priest philosopher Meister Eckhart. 

In the end, my epitaph will read: “Serviam ... I have served.”

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