Miguel Valdes
Rookie actor Miguel Valdes admits to feeling offended whenever people introduce him as “the son of Eula Valdes, the actress.”
“People would say this, but they never mention my name. I deserve my own identity,” insisted Miguel, who debuted as an actor in Giancarlo Abrahan’s “Paki (Please. Care).”
Miguel is Eula’s eldest child with former husband, character actor Ronnie Quizon. When the 23-year-old actor first raised the issue with Eula, Miguel said, “My mom took it the wrong way. She thought I wasn’t proud of her.”
Miguel added: “I had to explain to Mom that, yes, it’s normal for a person to link me to her if that person is really her friend, but not for those who don’t know Eula Valdes personally—like the mother of a classmate.
“I know that I will always be compared to her, or to my dad. I will always feel the pressure because people will expect that I am twice as good.”
This was why, Miguel said, “I want to package myself not just an actor, but as an entertainer. I plan to expand by also getting into singing and dan-cing. I kind of want to be like my grandfather. He did everything. He’s of a different class.”
Miguel was referring to Ronnie’s late father, comedy king Dolphy. “Growing up, I had this feeling that my lolo was a great man. People know what he had done. He was like a superhero to me, and also to most kids my age,” he recalled.
Miguel said he was lucky to be getting sound advice now that he is into acting. “Nobody forced me to join the biz. It’s kind of a ‘given’ already. My mom and I would discuss it a lot, but her advice that really struck me was: ‘It’s not really your skill that will make you last long in this industry; it’s your character.’”
When with his dad, Miguel said they would often talk about music. “He tells me he is proud of me. We just had dinner a few days ago and I mentioned that, like him, I want to compose songs. He told me to start writing poems, and since I am also a dancer, to imagine the beats. Dad said he himself wrote songs he wasn’t confident about, so I should just keep going.”