Amable Quiambao (January 19, 1947 – July 5, 2013), better known by her stage name, Ama Quiambao, was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She was best known for her roles in the films ''

Himala ''Himala'' (English: ''Miracle'') is a 1982 Filipino film directed by Ishmael Bernal and produced by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. It stars Nora Aunor as a young woman living in the province who claims to have seen a Marian appari ...

'' and ''Diablo''.

Early life

She was born ''Amable Quiambao'' on January 19, 1947 in

Bacacay, Albay Bacacay, officially the Municipality of Bacacay ( bcl, Banwaan kan Bacacay; tl, Bayan ng Bacacay), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 72,485 people. Bacacay ...

and had two siblings: Medgardo and Lui.

Personal life

She was married to former actor and

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

Gamaliel "Gammy" Viray. The couple had only one son, Ishmael Viray. Her sister, Lui Quiambao-Manansala, is also an actress and her niece,

Miriam Quiambao Miriam Redito Quiambao-Roberto (, born May 20, 1975) is a Filipino physical therapist, inspirational speaker, author, entrepreneur, actress, television host, real estate broker, endorser, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned ...

, was a former

Binibining Pilipinas Binibining Pilipinas (abbreviated as Bb. Pilipinas; ) is a national beauty pageant in the Philippines that selects Filipina representatives to compete in one of the Big Four international beauty pageants: Miss International and selects two ot ...

Universe winner and 1st runner-up at the

Miss Universe 1999 Miss Universe 1999, the 48th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 26 May 1999 at the Chaguaramas Convention Centre in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago. Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana was crowned by Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad ...

. She was also a former instructor of

St. Paul University Quezon City St. Paul University Quezon City, also referred to as SPUQC or SPU Quezon City, is a private, sectarian and coeducational university located in New Manila, Quezon City. It was previously an all-girls' school and turned co-ed beginning school year ...

for the students of AB Mass Communications.

Theatre

Quiambao began her career as a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

actress. Her first play was "Ang Mga Tagahabi", directed by

Rolando Tinio Rolando Santos Tinio (March 5, 1937 – July 7, 1997) was a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essayist and educator."Philippine Theater", Nicanor G. Tiongson (ed.), CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Volume VII, 1994 Biography ...

(an adaptation of

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fro ...

by Gerhart Hauptmann), when she was a drama student at the

Philippine Normal University The Philippine Normal University (PNU; fil, Pamantasang Normal ng Pilipinas) is a public coeducational teacher education and research university in the Philippines. It was established in 1901 through Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission '' ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in the 1970s. She later earned her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Drama Education from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

. She became a regular performer at the Teatro Pilipino and ''Bulwagang Gantimpala'' theatre groups at the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

in Manila. She played the role of President

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

at the 1986

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

''"Bongbong at Kris"'' at CCP's ''Bulwagang Gantimpala'' in 1986.

Film

Ama made her film debut in 1982, when she starred in the movie ''

'' (''Miracle''), directed by

Ishmael Bernal Ishmael Bernal (30 September 1938 – 2 June 1996) was a Filipino filmmaker, stage and television director, actor and screenwriter. Noted for his melodramas, particularly with feminist and moral issues, he directed many landmark Filipino films s ...

. Film director Bernal wanted to cast theatre and radio actors in ''Himala'', so theatre director Rolando Tinio recommended the casting of Quiambao. She was chosen for the role of Sepa, a disciple of the lead character Elsa, played by Nora Aunor. Her role in ''Himala'' earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the

Gawad Urian Award The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

s in 1982. She subsequently appeared in many other films. A restored version of ''Himala'' was screened at the 2012

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

to mark its 30th anniversary. Three decades later, Quiambao was cast as Lusing in the 2012 film, '' Diablo'', which was directed and produced by the married partners Mes de Guzman and Rhea Operaña de Guzman. Lusing was a very serious, strict character in the film, which Quiambao described as the opposite of her own personality. Her work in ''Diablo'' earned Quiambao the first acting award of her career. In 2012, she won "Best Actress in the New Breed category" at the

8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival The 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival was held from July 20 until 29, 2012 in Metro Manila, Philippines. The awards night was held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Entries The f ...

. In a later interview, Quiambao described her reaction to winning, "I was strangely calm,” she recalled. “I didn’t feel cold; I didn’t cry. I was glad that the trophy was presented to me by Iza alzado I’ve worked with her a number of times on TV and in the movies. I love that girl." She also said that she was thrilled to see other veteran Filipino actors win Cinemalaya awards that year, including

Anita Linda Alice Bueñaflor Lake (November 23, 1924 – June 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Anita Linda, was a Filipino film actress. A romantic lead in her youth, she later gained critical acclaim for her portrayals in maternal or elderly r ...

and

Eddie Garcia Eduardo Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 20, 2019), known colloquially as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. With almost 600 film and television roles and a career spanning seven decades, he ...

, which she called "the night of

senior citizens Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human biological life cycle, life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage ...

Death

Quiambao suffered a heart attack on June 28, 2013, while attending the premiere of the one-act play, ''Pamamanhikan'', in which she was performing as part of the ''Virgin Labfest 9'' theatre festival. She died at Capitol Medical Center in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

at 8:09 p.m. on July 5, 2013, at the age of 65. Her funeral was held at the Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City. Her younger sister, Lui Quiambao-Manansala, said that "she was surrounded by all members of her family and close relatives. Let us pray for the eternal rest of her soul... Let us all remember Ama with fondness as a colleague, a mentor and a friend." Quiambao's wake was held at Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City. Quiambao appeared posthumously in her final film, ''

Ang Kwento Ni Mabuti ''Ang Kwento Ni Mabuti'' () is a 2013 Filipino drama film and the official entry to the first CineFilipino Film Festival. The film was the first collaboration of the award-winning actress Nora Aunor and the award-winning director Mes de Guzman. T ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quiambao, Ama 1947 births 2013 deaths Bicolano people People from Albay Bicolano actors Filipino film actresses Filipino stage actresses Filipino television actresses University of the Philippines alumni GMA Network personalities ABS-CBN personalities Philippine Normal University alumni