Mercedes Cabral : The Soul Of A 3rd World Actor

... pensive.  THE Mercedes Cabral!

As a child, it may have occurred to her that one near future she was going to wear skins of a myriad of women [and men?]. It may not have come as a wondrous dream but rather a steamy afterthought.
Afterall, she may have not really looked like a star in the waiting; but rather one who blended into the typical racial hue [or a grade darker than the usual] who wasn't struck with the glamour of the tinsel side of town. Suspectingly, she must have spent time dressing her dreams with characters she encountered everyday or those she only read about. Yes, MERCEDES CABRAL is not an inch your usual on-your-face-star-material but hey, she reigns prime in this sea of pretense and momentary euphoria [on a premiere basis]. Is there anything about her that we should know? Nada. She has maintained a sheer sheath of mysticism about her and maintains the fact that she is only as good as her last movie outing; sans the kitschy publicity stunts quite prevalent in the industry. There is something about her that must intimidate denizens of intrigue because in her almost nine years as an actor, nothing and no one has shook her privacy of roaches and spiders for the price of a movie appearance or even the lack of it. I have always been fascinated with uninhibited practitioners of her craft; in the '80s , I did several skin flicks [as Director Tata Esteban's preproduction groupie] and got chummy with 'bold stars' as they were called but no one came close with the way Ms. Cabral carries herself in this generation. Definitely, she cannot be tagged as anything but herself; she is her own genre! True. If you ask your fish monger or cigarette vendor if they have 'heard' of MERCEDES CABRAL, their reply would be : SINO 'YON? Artista? (Who is she? Is she an actress?). But you don't bother asking people in the industry that question. She is regarded in reverence ; a rare acknowledgement towards somebody who is young as she is on her mid-20s and still have to measure a decade in the business. Such is MERCEDES CABRAL. Before SERBIS, where International Director and indie guru BRILLANTE MENDOZA painted her innocence with tainted eroticism; she already had a string of casual independent film appearances. Her role in the Coco Martin starrer graciously etched her name on a wall where film greats have theirs too. It looks as if she is readily available for a day's work because if you watch the local movie cable/mainstream channels you would at times get a glimpse of her and that's it. It is more of a devotion rather than a calling. I was totally horrified when her manager Shandii Bacolod got stressed about her being bitten by a dog in a set! She must have been 'too into' her role that she was oblivious with the dangers that came with interacting in a film with canines. The movie, directed by Ralston Javier aptly entitled 'DA DOG SHOW' was such a show-stopper at the recent Cinemalaya Festival. The dogs took a back seat while Mercedes embossed her role notching another glamorous feather to her now quite kilometric filmography. Lately, her undaunted skill to wear coats far from her own garnered her no less a BEST ACTRESS stature at the WORLD PREMIERE FILM FESTIVAL [Filipino Cinema Category] for the quintessential portrayal of her role in Alvin Yapan's AN KUBO SA KAWAYANAN.

... beaming with Brillante Mendoza

... with her doting & dynamic manager Shandii Bacolod

Staying homey and sweet as she always has been, some are not aware that she is considered royalty in Denmark as my compatriots [I am half-Danish] raved in her performance as lead in ROSITA. The film shot entirely in the environs of Copenhagen had her as a mail-order bride who messed lives of the people she encountered there. A hit in the scandinavian air; she is just about to hop to Sweden to star in a Samir Arabzdeh outing. Now slowly becoming a household name and gaining fans, Mercedes is one of the characters of an ABSCBN late morning series NINGNING. MERCEDES CABRAL is indeed a gem in our midst, a third world actor with the flare way beyond our imagination... as a footnote, here is a short vignette [if you can call it that] from an album in FACEBOOK which featured gown designs that would only fit her : She is today's epitome of what an actress should be. True to form and oblivious to role limitations. She has graced all imaginable film festivals in this planet and after almost 9 years in the business , she has carved a niché where she reigns in subtlety and with awesome élan... FotoCredits: Ms. Mercedes Cabral's FB / credits to the owners With Director Brillante Mendoza / Shandii Bacolod,[MSB Talent Management]