Lilia Cuntapay
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Lilia B. Cuntapay (; September 16, 1935 – August 20, 2016) was a Filipina actress and former teacher. She is popularly recognized as the "Queen of Philippine Horror Movies" for her subsequent appearances in horror movies and exceptional contributions to Philippine film industry. Cuntapay's debut role was in the Filipino horror film series '' Shake Rattle & Roll'' in 1991. She found acclaim for her first leading role, in the film ''
Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay ''Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay'' is a 2011 Philippine mockumentary independent feature film starring Lilia Cuntapay which is written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone. The film won six awards in the 2011 Cinema One Originals Dig ...
'', which won her an award as "Best Actress" in the 2011 CinemaOne Originals Digital Film Festival. One of Cuntapay's final TV appearances was in the
teleserye Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'', Filipino telenovelas or P-drama, is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebi ...
''
FPJ's Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (lit. ''FPJ's The Provincial Man''; abbreviated as ''FPJAP'' and internationally known as ''Brothers'') is a 2015 Philippine action drama television series under ABS-CBN Entertainment replacing ''Nathaniel''. Bas ...
''.


Early life

Cuntapay was born in the Cabiraoan village of Gonzaga, Cagayan, on September 16, 1935. After she earned her BS degree in Education, she taught in the primary school levels in
Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao ( ibg, Siyudad nat Tugegaraw; itv, Siyudad yo Tugegaraw; ilo, Siudad ti Tuguegarao; fil, Lungsod ng Tuguegarao ), is a 3rd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component ci ...
. After Cuntapay stopped teaching, she ventured into the buy-and-sell trade. She also worked in various office staff-level positions in the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).


Career


Horror movie extra

Cuntapay was among the 40 actors trained in the first batch of acting workshops conducted by Lori Reyes and
Peque Gallaga Maurice Ruiz de Luzuriaga Gallaga (August 25, 1943 – May 7, 2020), better known as Peque Gallaga, was a multi-awarded Filipino people, Filipino film-maker. His most significant achievement in film was ''Oro, Plata, Mata'', which he directed aft ...
for LVN Pictures. In 1991, Cuntapay played the spooky nanny of
Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (born February 14, 1971), professionally known as Kris Aquino (), is a Filipino television host, actress, producer, socialite and businesswoman. Dubbed as Philippine's "Queen of All Media", Aquino has hos ...
's character in ''Shake Rattle & Roll 3'', and in the following year she was cast to play a character identified as an "
aswang Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and werebeasts (usually dogs, cats, pigs). The aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, s ...
" —a role for which she would later be typecast in many subsequent movie appearances, and these earned her the title "Queen of Philippine Horror Movies." After her death a film critic, who assessed the top five performancess of Cuntapay's career, said that in her role for the 1992 film ''Aswang'' :


Television appearances

In 2009, Cuntapay appeared as an
albularyo Albularyo is a Filipino term for a witch doctor, folk healer or medicine men. They practice folk medicine and use medicinal plants in their trade. Overview Role and functions An albularyo is a "folk doctor" commonly found in the more rural areas ...
in the ABS-CBN afternoon TV series '' Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Bud Brothers''. She was featured in the ''
Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho ''Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho'' (International title: ''One at Heart, Jessica Soho'' / ) also known as ''KMJS'', is a Philippine television news magazine show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Jessica Soho, it premiered on November 7, 2004 on th ...
'' 2009 Halloween Special. She appeared as Rosanna, a role which she shared with
Maricar Reyes Maricar Reyes-Poon (born Maricar Concepcion Pozon Reyes; June 20, 1981), is a Filipino actress. Early life Reyes was born in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. She graduated high school from St. Bridget's School in Quezon City. She finished he ...
, in the ''
Midnight DJ ''Midnight DJ'' is a Filipino language, Filipino reality drama-Horror fiction, horror-Action fiction, action-thriller television series about DJ who works at night and at the same time, together with his team, they work to find solutions to the pa ...
'' episode named "Kwentas ng Mangkukulam". Cuntapay was also cast as
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
in '' Lokomoko Highs spoof of the ''
Party in the USA "Party in the U.S.A." is a song recorded by American singer Miley Cyrus for her first extended play (EP) '' The Time of Our Lives'' (2009). It was released on August 4, 2009, by Hollywood Records as the lead single from the project. The son ...
'' music video. At the end of the year, she had a minor role in the film '' Nobody, Nobody But... Juan'' — an entry to the 2009 Metro Manila Film Festival. In 2010, Cuntapay played an old lady in ''
The Last Prince ''The Last Prince'' is a 2010 Philippine television drama romance fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Mac Alejandre, it stars Aljur Abrenica in the title role and Kris Bernal. It premiered on January 11, 2010 on the network's ...
'' and a fairy disguised as an old lady in the "Inday Bote" episode of ''
Wansapanataym ''Wansapanataym'' ( Filipinization of the English phrase "'' once upon a time''") was a Philippine fantasy anthology television series produced and broadcast by ABS-CBN. It airs every Sunday night. The series was aired from June 22, 1997, to Fe ...
''. The following year, she played Upeng in the mini-series ''
Sa Ngalan ng Ina ''Sa Ngalan ng Ina'' (English: ''In the Name of the Mother'') is a Filipino drama series by TV5. This is the first offering of TV5 Mini Serye which aired only for a month. It aired on October 3 after Wil Time Bigtime. Production Casting This m ...
'', the first offering of TV5's ''TV5 Miniserye'' series in the latter part of 2011.


''Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay'' and onwards

Cuntapay played a fictionalized version of herself in the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
''
Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay ''Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay'' is a 2011 Philippine mockumentary independent feature film starring Lilia Cuntapay which is written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone. The film won six awards in the 2011 Cinema One Originals Dig ...
''—described as a bittersweet fictional account on Cuntapay's life as a Philippine showbiz
extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...
, an entry to the 2011 Cinema One Originals and directed by Antoinette H. Jadaone. The film won six awards in the 2011 Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival, including a Best Actress award for Cuntapay. Cuntapay's last film appearance was ''
My Bebe Love ''My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore'' () is a 2015 Filipino romantic comedy film directed by Jose Javier Reyes, starring Ai-Ai delas Alas and Vic Sotto with Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza. It is an official entry to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festiva ...
'' in 2015, which was an entry in the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival. Cuntapay's final TV show appearance was in the action series ''
FPJ's Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (lit. ''FPJ's The Provincial Man''; abbreviated as ''FPJAP'' and internationally known as ''Brothers'') is a 2015 Philippine action drama television series under ABS-CBN Entertainment replacing ''Nathaniel''. Bas ...
''.


Personal life

Cuntapay never remarried but adopted 3 children: Gilmore, Magdalena and Elma.


Death

On August 5, 2016, it was confirmed that Cuntapay suffered from a spinal cord illness and that she was unable to walk. She sought help from her friends and colleagues in the film industry to be able to raise money for her treatment. On August 20, at about 6 a.m, Cuntapay died in her son's home at Barangay Tartarabang in
Pinili, Ilocos Norte Pinili, officially the Municipality of Pinili ( ilo, Ili ti Pinili; tl, Bayan ng Pinili), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,626 people. History Pin ...
; she was 80. Her grave was initially unkempt and marked only by a dilapidated tarpaulin due to her family's lack of funds to maintain it. On October 2019, it was subsequently reported that her grave had been properly marked and its surroundings cleaned after help from the provincial and local government.


Filmography


Television


Films


Awards and nominations


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuntapay, Lilia 1935 births 2016 deaths ABS-CBN personalities Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses Ilocano people People from Cagayan People from Ilocos Norte People from Tuguegarao 20th-century Filipino actresses 21st-century Filipino actresses