Lea Salonga is getting the calls of her being pushed to be named as a National Artist, she pointed out that she prefers to champion the late Dolphy, indicating his huge contributions to the industry.
Salonga said she believes that the late comedian-actor is more deserving of the title than herself because his recognition is “long overdue.”
“No, no, no! There are folks who [are] far more deserving [than me] and whose National Artist Awards are long overdue. I would love to see somebody like Dolphy, for example, because we have to judge him as an artist for his body of work,” Salonga said on TV5 on the sidelines of the 2024 CCP Gawad Para sa Sining awards ceremony.
The theater actress also took note of Dolphy’s movies where he portrayed a gay man, including “Fefita Fofonggay viuda de Falayfay (1973),” “Sarhento Fofonggay: A, ewan! (1974),” “Ang Tatay Kong Nanay (1978),” and “Markova: Comfort Gay (2001).”
“He has contributed so much—even the movies where he’s cross-dressing. It lends so much tolerance and acceptance [to] the LGBTQIA+ community. Even if that was not his intention at the time. That was an effect, an after-effect, I don’t think he ever foresaw,” Salonga added.
In light of this, the “Miss Saigon” star said she’s looking forward to a chance to campaign for an acknowledgement to the late comedian-actor.
“That’s just an example of why he should be heralded first. Hopefully, I will be given an opportunity to champion him,” she said.
Salonga achieved tons of milestones this September. She gained recognition from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) at the 2024 Gawad Para sa Sining, and her wax figure was unveiled to the public at a wax museum in Singapore.
Salonga also has a special appearance in an episode of “Finding Your Roots” and is set to release her new album titled “Sounding Joy” in November.
She has more upcoming activities for the rest of the year such as “Request Sa Radyo” in October where she plays as one of the alternate leads, with Dolly de Leon, and the staging of her “Stage, Screen and Everything In Between” concert a month after.
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