Meet Philippine cinema's forgotten Andres Bonifacio
MANILA, Philippines — Before Senator Robin Padilla and Alfred Vargas, there was another great Filipino actor who portrayed Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio.
Eddie del Mar was a Filipino actor, screenwriter, director and movie producer.
He was known for his portrayal of National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal and won a FAMAS award for the 1956 film “Buhay at Pag-ibig ni Dr. Jose Rizal.”
After this, he endeavored to mount a film based on Rizal’s novel, “Noli Me Tangere," where he portrayed the lead role, Crisostomo Ibarra. Leopoldo Salcedo was Elias and the director was Gerardo de Leon, now National Artist for Cinema.
In his lifetime, Eddie made 56 films.
The last movie he produced under Bayanihan Films was “Ang Supremo,” where he played the lead role, as Andres Bonifacio, opposite the great actress Lolita Rodriguez.
His last film was “Tinik sa Dibdib” with Nora Aunor and Philip Salvador.
Eddie prepared himself well for every role assigned to him and developed so much love for his country while portraying the roles of Philippine heroes, particularly Jose Rizal. He raised funds to produce “Noli Me Tangere” and, after its commercial release, brought the film to different schools nationwide for Filipino students to watch for free to instill in them love of country.
He was an active member of the Knights of Rizal, National Historical Commission, Board of Censors, Film Academy of the Philippines, and Film Directors’ Guild. He was a favorite resource speaker on history and nationalism, and was also a poet and a writer.
Born Eduardo Sangalang Magat on October 13, 1919, Eddie debuted through the 1947 Sampaguita Pictures film "Ang Kapilya sa May Daang Bakal." He died on November 8, 1986, at age 67.
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