Why Vilma Santos has to cut short her holiday break
Lechon, embutido, sapin-sapin, and biko are among the staples on the noche buena dinner table in actress Vilma Santos’ home in Batangas.
“I don’t cook, but my mom did. She was a good one. She would really prepare for noche buena every year,” Santos said of her mom, who passed away in 2019 at age 93.
She added that the savory macaroni salad is also a Christmas dinner regular. For dessert, they would always have soft ensaymada dipped in mugs of thick hot cacao, or tsokolate. “That’s my sister’s specialty. When she’s here in the country for Christmas, she makes sure to make some for us.”
As the family grew bigger, Santos would often hire caterers to tend to all the meal preparations so she could focus on entertaining them.
In Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Santos grew up in a family that celebrated Christmas “the old-school way.”
“We would all hear midnight Mass first and then stay in the big house where we would eat noche buena together. The adults would all stay in one area, while there was a separate table for the kids. I really loved drinking tsokolate,” she began.
The next day, the kids would pay their respects to their aunts and uncles and godparents, who would then each hand them their aguinaldo (fresh peso bills in envelopes). “The biggest amount you could get from grown-ups then was P50. I was always so excited because I knew the money would be ours and would not be handed over to our parents. It would mean we’d be able to afford things we wanted, like candies, toys, or shoes,” she recalled.
She and her siblings always believed in Santa Claus. They liked hanging Christmas stockings by the window and waking up to find that they were already filled with candies and toys.
“It was much later that I found out that our parents would often ‘help’ Santa put those gifts in our stockings. I appreciated them more because of that. Now that I’m a grownup myself, I just ask the kids what they like as gifts,” she said, laughing.
For the family
Santos started working as an actor at age 9. Her first film was the 1963 drama “Trudis Liit.” When asked to recall an early Christmas memory, she recounted the time she spent the holidays in New York, and, ironically, how very sad she was then.
“I was shooting a movie there. It was just me and my mom, so I really missed my siblings. It was the loneliest Christmas I’ve ever had. We spent Christmas Eve with Mother Lily (Monteverde, the late Regal Films producer) and the production crew,” she said.
Santos said she swore to never allow this to happen again. She vowed to be present in all of her family’s Christmas gatherings. However, with her latest film—Dan Villegas’ thriller-drama “Uninvited”—being part of the 50th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), the actress would have to cut short her holiday break in order to physically participate in the promotions.
“I’ve had other MMFF entries in the past, but the promo then wasn’t as rigid compared to last year’s, when we had to campaign for ‘When I Met You in Tokyo.’ I’m expecting this year to be even more grueling because we’re celebrating its 50th year,” she pointed out.
“Whenever we did MMFF movies back then, we would just have a few interviews for TV and print media. Last year, it was the first time that I experienced selling movie tickets to people in person.”
She explained that promoting the 10 MMFF entries was necessary as a way to encourage the Filipino audience to return to watching movies at the cinemas.
“Dec. 24 will be for the family—there’s no excuse for being absent on that day. I’m just sad that I have to rest early because I have commitments on the 25th. It’s not that I don’t want to see my supporters. It’s just that I was raised by a family that values Christmas because it is all about Jesus Christ,” Santos said.
Santos is now a grandmother to Rosie, 2, daughter of her older son Luis Manzano and his wife Jessy Mendiola. She and her husband, Budget Secretary Ralph Recto, also have an adult son, Ryan Christian.
Productive year
When asked how she would assess her 2024, Santos said it had been a very productive year. Since she did not run for public office, she was able to make more time for herself and finish two full-length films. In 2025, however, she will be running for governor of Batangas.
The plan for Lifestyle to visit the Rectos’ home in Batangas was set long before Santos learned that “Uninvited” would be included in the 50th MMFF. Sadly, her schedule has become extremely hectic since.
As a way to keep her promise, she instead volunteered to have her photos taken by her own glam team in her other house (in a posh village in the south).
For this Lifestyle exclusive, Santos posed beside their seven-foot-tall Christmas tree, adorned with red and gold balls and flowers. She also sat by the pool area to show where she often entertains guests, occasionally singing videoke and dancing with them.
The other photos, which came from her iPhone’s photos folder, are some of the most memorable, she added. There’s one of the Gucci handbag that Recto gave her as a Christmas gift. She also sent photos of a pair of pearl earrings and a shawl that a longtime Vilmanian sent from New York, and a ceramic figurine of the Holy Family that she bought in 2023.
“Our Christmas celebrations have always been very simple. Yes, we always put up our Christmas tree and decorate the house. We also have Santa Claus figurines all around the place. But more than the decorations, what I value the most is the time I spend with my family during the holidays,” she said. “Also, we don’t just give money as presents. We make sure to buy gifts for everyone and even participate in Kris Kringle with my staff—our extended family.”
The 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival runs from Christmas Day to Jan. 7, 2025.
