There had been dozens and dozens of movie queens in local cinema — from Carmen Rosales to Kathryn Bernardo, who is the hottest female star now on the strength of the box-office success of Hello, Love, Again. There is no denying though that the biggest movie queen in Philippine entertainment will always be Gloria Romero.

Seventy years in the acting profession. No one else can top that. Not even Mary Walter, who started her career (first as a Tahitian dancer) during the silent film era (circa 1928) and was still active in the movies shortly before her death in 1993.

Gloria’s career, however, wasn’t always on the up, up, up. She, too, had low moments. But even at her lowest low, she was still regarded a queen by the public.

Sadly, they don’t make movie queens like her anymore. In her case, it was the result of east meeting west. In her veins ran blood from three different parts of the world: Europe, the Americas and the Orient.

The Galla boys

The seeds of the Gloria Romero story were first sowed in the small town of Mabini in Pangasinan. Among the affluent families in Mabini at the turn-of-the-century were the Gallas, who owned vast tracts of land.

During the time of Rizal, the ilustrados went to Spain for further education. But by the time the Gallas became prosperous, the Americans had already taken over our islands. The trend then was for wealthy families in the Philippines to send their children to study in the United States.

During the first four decades of the 20th century, there were also “pensionados” or scholars who were given study grants abroad by the US government. The beneficiaries of such American largesse were bright Filipino students.

The moneyed Galla family had no need for such aid. They had enough resources to fund the college education of their three boys in the US. In the early 1930s, Pedro Galla and his two brothers set sail for America to look for a school.

But left without parental supervision, the Galla boys managed to turn the trip into a junket. Mesmerized by the climate and the various topographies of the continental United States, the Galla youngsters went all over America in search of adventure and totally forgot about school.

In Denver, Colorado, Pedro Galla met a 15-year-old girl named Mary Borrego-Miller. Her father, of Hispanic roots, must have descended from the Spanish conquistadores, who were the first to explore New Mexico and what is now Colorado. Mary’s mother, a Miller, was American.

Pedro wooed and won Mary’s heart. They got married in Colorado and had three children: Louise, who became a nurse; Gloria, who was christened Gloria Anne; and Pedro, Jr., who grew up to be the actor Tito Galla.

Raising a family in the US proved to be difficult for Pedro, especially since that was the time of the Great Depression. In 1937, Pedro thought it was best to bring his family to his native Pangasinan where they had landholdings.

Mary was hesitant at first to uproot herself from her native Colorado, but times were hard in America during that period. Maybe they could have a better life in the Philippines.

Back in the Pacific

Gloria was almost four and with curly light hair when she and her family crossed the Pacific Ocean aboard a boat that took a month before it docked at the Manila pier. Mary instantly fell in love with Manila, then dubbed as the Pearl of the Orient. The lights and the nightlife dazzled her.

But reality crept in after only a few days — when it was time to drive up north to her husband’s hometown. With their belongings, they boarded a truck and began the arduous trek to Pangasinan.

Passing through the towns of Bulacan, Mary was delighted by the sight of the verdant rice fields and the overall pastoral scenes. But when they reached Tarlac and everything was still farmland, she started to cry — dismayed at the prospect of what awaited them in Pangasinan.

By the time they got to the Galla ancestral home in Mabini, Mary’s world started to crumble. The sight of pigs tied to a post under the house almost made her faint.

In Mabini, Mary tried to blend in with the womenfolk — learning how to make rice cakes and studying the dialect. But she was still bored.

To give his wife a break from the monotonous barrio life, Pedro made it a point to bring the family to Baguio every weekend. They always checked in at the Zigzag Hotel when they were in the City of Pines.

In time, Mary also grew tired of Baguio. She started pestering Pedro about the possibility of returning to the US. The Great Depression was over, after all.

Next year, Pedro promised. He kept saying “next year” — until the Second World War reached the Philippines.

Through the war

The Japanese Occupation was particularly difficult for Mary because she was American. They often had to evacuate to the mountains — hiding Mary in a kariton (pushcart) covered in hay. Every time it was peaceful in Mabini, the family would return home for some comfort.

Then, one December evening in 1943, the Gallas were having dinner when they heard heavy footsteps — unmistakably military boots. Japanese soldiers barged into their home and took Mary with them.

As she was led away, some 30 Japanese soldiers marched behind her — all of them pointing their bayonets at the Caucasian woman with brown hair. An hour or so later, the Japanese returned to arrest Pedro.

At the Japanese garrison in town, Mary kept her composure. During the interrogation, she spoke in the Castilian tongue, insisting that she was Spanish and, therefore, a friend of the Japanese since Spain and Japan were both part of the Axis powers. The Japanese officials eventually let her go.

Deep into the war, Mary gave birth to her youngest, Gilbert (he grew up to be a doctor). Since blackout was enforced starting at 8 p.m., Mary had no choice but to navigate her way in the dark to attend to the needs of her newborn baby.

One time, she missed a step and fell down the stairs, breaking her nose in the process. But as months progressed, she became feverish and her body began to ache. It wasn’t until much later when a “manghihilot” (folk doctor) discovered she had broken three ribs in that fall.

Lingayen was among the first towns to be liberated by the Americans in Luzon. When Gloria and her siblings heard that food packs were being distributed in another part of the province, they crossed rivers and hills — unshod — to get their share of the bounty. They returned home carrying apples and chocolates with them.

Gloria and her siblings offered the goods to their mother in her sickbed. She was so weak. With much prodding from her children, she managed to have a light lunch and a bar of chocolate. She died right after. Mary was only 28.