Hilda learns her lessons...

People know her as the serious actress whose eyes seethed with rage in Insiang, and cowered in fear in Maynila: Sa Kuko ng Liwanag. But there’s another side to Hilda she says only her close friends are privy to. It’s the side she has managed to hide all these years.

Take it from her. Hilda has a wacky side that bursts into laughter while telling a story.

"Oh, the real me is kalog, given to laughter all the way," Hilda says, revealing that trademark dimple that has graced many an award-winning film.

Or didn’t you see her in Vic Sotto’s Daddy Di Do Du, where she plays a campy character for a change?

Crying Ladies director Mark Meily did, and cast the award-winning actress as Doray, the the ex-B starlet who, in her fifties, still keeps reminsicing the "good old days."

Hilda, Sharon Cuneta and Angel Aquino play professional mourners, hired at the funeral of a deceased Chinese whose son thinks it’s his duty to give his father a good send-off to the afterlife.

Crying Ladies, a Metro Filmfest entry, is ironically a far cry from what its title suggests. No, the film is not a drama. It’s a comedy, a wacky take on the lives of three women, a tribute to their small victories as they go through their simple but colorful daily struggles.

Hilda’s life is in itself a series of hurdled trials. Pushed by necessity to start her acting career in her teens, Hilda learned her lessons early, too early it made her an old soul trapped in a teenager’s body.

She toed the line, as Lea Productions contract star.

"If your call time is 7 p.m., you had to be there at 6," she recalls the good old days.

That’s why it pains her to see today’s young ones, whom Hilda describes as so talented, but so spoiled.

"They’re not even that popular yet, but they already come to the set late," gripes Hilda.

These erring young ’uns get the brunt of the famous Hilda ire. And for this, she offers no apologies.

"I am reasonably frank," she says. "When somebody arrives late on the set, I ask why. When he blames traffic, I tell him, ‘Why didn’t you leave early’?" says Hilda.

If she sounds like a stern schoolmarm, it’s because the Lino Brocka protege ("He was my parent, my brother, my friend") practices what she preaches. She proudly proclaims that she has remained punctual, even in nonshowbiz functions.

"It has even become a disease," Hilda laughs. Except that this one enhances instead of pulls her backward.

Going backward is something she’s above doing at this point in her life. At 46, Hilda has hurdled enough obstacles to daunt lesser mortals.

When she quit showbiz for five years to make a happy home – or so she thought – Hilda ended up with a broken marriage and an ugly word war. So she had to return to showbiz because "this is the only job I know of that could pay me this much."

Never mind if the roles are a far cry from what she used to do. This time around, Hilda is confined to supporting roles casting her as mother to this fresh, young talent. No problem, she was expecting that, she says.

"When I returned to showbiz, I knew I would have to take roles for older characters," Hilda says matter-of-factly. Thus did she find a new dimension in her career. The roles may not be as high-profile as before, but they are challenging and meaty enough for her to sink her teeth into.

The trappings of stardom never blinded her in the first place. At first, the oohs and aahs were thrilling. But as time passed, when people she met abroad ogled at her and robbed her of privacy, Hilda got "sick and tired of it all."

Unless asked, for instance, Hilda will not tell you she has gotten happily married, thank you. That’s her life, and this time, she’s bent on keeping it to herself. Hilda also wants the same kind of privacy for her children, whom she has thus far kept away from the public eye.

"They must have a normal life. I want them to finish college first. I would have gone to school like everyone else, but I had to work." She managed to finish International Studies at Maryknoll College and took masteral units at UP in-between showbiz, though.

Hilda may not have finished her master’s degree, but all the hurt and pain she went through have given her what no school – however excellent – can teach: a knack for survival.

"When I was younger, I’d get depressed over problems. But, as I got older, my perspective changed," Hilda shares. "Now, I get scared the minute I stop dead on my tracks. It’s a sign of failure. You’ve got to go on and on. That’s what I tell my kids."

So when her marriage to a doctor fell apart, for instance, Hilda went on and faced the music. She returned to the waiting arms of showbiz. "I don’t run away from problems. I look at them straight in the eye, and, if needed, head for a collision course. You gotta get up and confront your problems," she adds.

Now Hilda no longer sneers when she hears her mother say, "Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako." Hilda used to shoot back, "Why didn’t we meet somewhere along the way?" Experience has tempered her acerbic tongue, yes.

But this doesn’t mean Hilda won’t correct an erring young star. She will, because she has not lost that spartan kind of discipline LEA Productions instilled in her when she was younger and more impressionable.

That, and sheer talent, will make Hilda get her big wish: to stay long in the business that has given her, not just popularity, but the can-do attitude that has made her a survivor many times over.