In 1954, Nida Blanca starred in the LVN musical-comedy Waray-Waray with her then favorite leading man Nestor de Villa. Nida played a tomboyish girl, a Waray ‘tamed’ by the dashing Nestor.
The movie was a big, big, big hit… as other Nida-Nestor starrers were in the ’50s.
The theme song, sung and recorded by Sylvia La Torre, also became extremely popular. Even the American singer, Earthe Kitt, had her own version, which she sang in her concerts all over the world. Kitt first heard Waray-Waray in Manila and fell in love with the song about a girl who doesn’t run away from a fight and romance. ‘Sa pagsinta at labanan… patay kung patay!.’
Maricel Soriano reprised the role in the ‘80s.
— RKC