AT THE BERLINALE AWARDS (from left): Raquela Rios, lead actor; Kristin Thordardottir and Arleen Cuevas, producers; Olaf Johannesson, director; and Beverly Tañedo, production manager.
Only in Hollywood Let’s hear it from the ‘queen’ of Cebu By Ruben V. Nepales Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 20:53:00 02/21/2008
LOS ANGELES, California—As we reported earlier, “The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela,” a film that stars Raquela Rios of Cebu, recently won as Best Feature in the Berlinale’s Teddy Queer Film Awards.
“Queen Raquela,” produced by Arleen Cuevas and directed by Olaf de Fleur of Iceland, was cited by the jury “for its ability to address race, gender and poverty in an entertaining way, while also playing with audiences’ expectations of form.”
Auraeus Solito, who won the same prize in 2006 for “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros),” wrote via e-mail: “I am very happy that a film produced by a Filipina won another Teddy. Also, another Filipino triumphed in Berlin—Brillante Mendoza won the Caligari Prize for ‘Tirador.’”
“Queen Raquela,” which tapped a mostly Cebu-based Pinoy cast and crew, was shot in the Philippines and Iceland, with footage from Thailand, Denmark, France and the US.
Olaf wrote the plot summary in the film’s imdb.com entry: “Raquela is a poor ladyboy prostitute who dreams of escaping to Paris, France to supposedly find her knight on Champs-Elysees, marry and have a family … But she has little chance of getting a French visa …
“When Raquela is discovered by a photographer, she gets a job working as a web cam host on a popular ladyboy website. Within six weeks, she becomes the first Filipino online porn star and earns 10 times the average salary in the Philippines. Wanting to escape, she surfs the Net to find that special guy who will take her to Paris but she is not fortunate: she is stood-up month after month at the airport.
“Things change when she meets, online, Valerie, the only ladyboy in Iceland looking for friendship and who promises to help Raquela with her visa so she can finally go to Paris.”
The real name of the film’s instant star is Earvin, a 24-year-old native of Cebu City. “Yes, you can address her as a female,” Arleen clarified upon our request. “She is a transsexual, but she hasn’t done any sex change operation yet. But she was taking some hormones for a while. So she is technically still male, but dresses and acts like a female.”
We e-mailed questions to the “Queen” and she graciously obliged. In the next columns, we feature Arleen and Olaf. Below are excerpts:
Can you describe the moment when “Queen Raquela” was announced as a winner at the Berlinale’s Teddy Queer Film Awards?
I never expected this. Last Christmas, Olaf sent me an e-mail that the film would be shown in the Panorama section of the Berlinale. I was overwhelmed. I told Olaf that I wanted to be there. I wasn’t expecting the film to win but I was hoping for it.
During the program, I almost fell asleep because it was all in German... And then suddenly, they announced the Best Feature Film nominees and our film was included. Then they called my name, “Queen Raquela.” It was amazing! I had an adrenaline rush.
I was quiet when I went onstage because of stage fright. But Olaf made a good speech. He’s such a nice guy. I never thought we’d win the same award that was given to “Maximo Oliveros.”
What do you remember most about the moment when you were told that you would star in a movie?
At first, I didn’t want to accept Olaf’s proposal. But I was happy to give him an idea and interview. I had an accident two weeks before Olaf went to Cebu and meet me. It was good I was out of the hospital just four days before he came. When we met, I was in crutches and plaster cast.
Then he did some interviews with me to know more about my personality. He called the next day and wanted to do some test shots. I was shy at first because we went to different locations with lots of people. I learned to love being in front of the camera although it was sometimes exhausting.
Before this movie, what was your life like in Cebu? At what age did you realize you want to be a girl? How easy or difficult was it for you?
I stopped going to school because it was hard for me.
I was influenced by other transsexual friends—they told me that in a relationship between a Filipino man and a transsexual/gay, money is always involved. But when I met foreigners in the mall, bars and on the Internet, it was different because I earned money from them in exchange for companionship and dating. They saw me as a woman, not as a gay man.
I have always wanted to be a girl since I was young. But it was difficult for me in school to go out as a girl because there was a uniform and short haircut policy. Also, my parents didn’t approve of me being like this so every time I went out of the house, I brought extra clothes, sandals and makeup in a bag.
In college, I met other transsexuals. They were pretty. I wanted to be like them. We had ROTC that time but what happened was all gays and effeminate men were assigned in the office to clean or be the secretaries.
I started growing my hair long. I also started to pluck my eyebrows on my freshman year. I told my mom, “I’m just cleaning all this excess hair. They look ugly.” My parents heard rumors from their friends that I was dressing up as a girl. But they got tired of reprimanding me.
I started taking hormones to make me feel and look more feminine but they gave me some complications. So I stopped using them. The good thing is that I am gifted with feminine looks. But in the future, I would like to invest on breast implants or hip augmentation. But right now, I don’t have money yet.
What were the highlights of your filming experience in the Philippines and Iceland? Have you acted before?
The highlight was when they showed how we normally live, how our “real life” is. The two girls in the film, Brax and Via, are really my friends. It also showed my past life working in a transsexual porn site. I wanted to get out of it.
In Iceland, I met the incredible Valerie. She is the only transsexual in Iceland. She was born in Negros to an Icelandic father and Filipino mom. She was nice. She introduced me to work in a fish factory. She has multiple jobs but she parties a lot. I envied her life. The highlight in Iceland was when I worked hard in the fish factory. I hated it because it was unglamorous. But I learned to love the job.
I have never acted before. I don’t have experience in theater or films.
Did you know anything at all about Iceland before your exciting adventure began?
I only know that Bjork is from Iceland. And I heard that it’s a volcanic island. Although its name is Iceland, it is actually very green, which is the opposite of Greenland, which is full of ice.
Was it Olaf then who first brought you to Iceland? How long were you there? What was it like?
Olaf was the one who brought me to Iceland for the film, with the help of our producer Arleen, and Beverly (Tañedo), our production manager. They took care of the paperwork. It was my first time to get a passport and travel outside the Philippines.
I love the Icelandic people. They are shy but nice and not violent when they get drunk. They love to party. They’re a happy people in spite of the very cold and depressing weather. I had sleepless nights during summer because it was 24 hours of daylight.
I stayed there for around four months ... I also got to see Paris and Copenhagen.
How was your experience packing frozen fish in a factory in Iceland?
It was cold. Even when I wore rubber gloves, I could still feel the flesh of the fish. It was an easy job—just piling fish in the package and standing for like eight hours in the factory. I met a couple of Visayan-speaking Filipinos. Also some good-looking Polish and Icelandic workers who were flirting with me. I wasn’t sure if they knew I’m a transsexual. Most of them don’t speak English.
Are you still based in the Philippines?
I’m in Cebu right now. I’m at home, just hanging out with my friends.
Queen Raquela’s dream is escaping to Paris, finding her knight on Champs-Elysees and having a family. She also fancies herself as the true queen of France. Are these your dreams as well?
I dream of going to Paris to work in the fashion industry. It was good that when Olaf interviewed me, I mentioned about my dream of Queen Raquela walking in the streets of Paris so that gave him an idea to bring me to Paris. It was a dream come true to go to such a romantic place.
I act like I’m the Queen of Spain every time I walk on the streets of Cebu. I tell my friends, “Queen Raquela of Spain is walking on the streets of Paris.” It’s just a joke—nothing special.
And what is the amazing truth about Raquela Rios?
A lot of people love me and care for me. I have a lot of friends from around the world. I am a happy-go-lucky person. I’m very laid-back and that’s what makes me survive. Even without the title and without the exposure, I’m popular already. I touch people’s hearts.
What’s next for you?
Hmm, I don’t know yet. When I was in Berlin, I got an offer to do another film, but it’s still under discussion so I’m not sure yet. I’m waiting for positive results. Maybe I will just stay at home and wait for my boyfriend to come and then we will get married in the Netherlands. Ha ha ha!
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