Although very amiable in person, Dante Rivero had always been quite aloof to the press and rarely gave media interviews even at the peak of his career. But since he is this year’s recipient of the Natatanging Gawad Urian (lifetime achievement award) of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, he graciously granted me an interview a few weeks ago.

 We agreed to meet at my house where I served him a simple dinner. At 79, he said that he eats very little and only sampled a spoonful or two of every dish that was laid out on the table. But what a bacchanalian feast he shared about his life and career.

Sailor’s son

Born Louisito Mayer, Jr. on 5 August 1946, he is the only child of Paciencia Ramos of Floridablanca, Pampanga. His father was Louis Mayer, who was with the US Navy. Louis and Paciencia met in Zamboanga. Louis’ ship dropped anchor there after the war. Paciencia, meanwhile, was also in the same province around that time to work as a nursing aide. 

Love immediately blossomed between the two. The result of the brief union was a son they named Louisito, who was born in Zamboanga. Unfortunately, like any sailor, Louis had to sail off to another destination shortly after the birth of his son. With a child to care for, Paciencia decided to return to her Floridablanca hometown where she had immediate family to help her raise Louisito, who was then only about four months old. 

Paciencia and Louis’ parting apparently was bitter. Paciencia destroyed all mementos that would remind her of the sailor. As a result, Louisito never got to meet his father. To this day, he doesn’t even know his middle name.

As a single mother, Paciencia was very responsible. She set up a beauty salon and a sari-sari store in her rented house in the poblacion (town proper). Life was good for Louisito. He was enrolled at the Floridablanca Elementary School, which was right beside their home. For his secondary education, he went to Saint Agustin Academy.

As a half-breed, he had his share of bullies, who mocked him and called him “Kano” (slang for American). Fortunately, he also had a set of friends who looked after him. Collectively, they were known as “United Nations” because they also came from different lineages: Spanish, Chinese, French and American.

When he was in second year high school, life turned upside down for Louisito: his mother caught pneumonia that later led to consumption, which was incurable in those days. Since Paciencia was sick and could no longer work, she gave up her rented home in town and closed her businesses. Mother and son moved to a small hut in the middle of a rice field.

Their financial situation got so bad that Louisito dropped out of school to find work. He did mostly manual work since he had yet to complete his secondary education by then.

Playing ‘extra’

In the mid-1960s, he decided to try his luck in Manila. He had hoped to get a better-paying job in the city. He stayed with a cousin who lived on Cabrera Street in Pasay.

He was idle mostly during his first few months in Manila. Louisito spent his time playing basketball with a new set of friends he met in the city.

One day, they were invited to go to P. Tuazon in Quezon City — at the LVN Compound where there was a basketball court. That was where he was discovered – by the komiks writer Pablo Gomez.

LVN Pictures that time had stopped making movies. The compound had been turned into a film laboratory, while the rest of the space was rented out to offices. One of the tenants was Lea Productions, which was owned by the sisters Emilia Blas and Teodorica Santos.

Pablo Gomez lost no time introducing his new discovery to Mrs. Blas. She gave an outright no. The showbiz hopeful was dark and looked like a laborer (her own words). He really was a laborer – having done mostly menial work under the sun, burning his skin in the process.

Louisito did not lose hope. He decided to hang around the LVN Compound where there were other production offices. Maybe he could work as an “extra” in other film outfits. True enough, he got hired during the filming of Mga Bagong Salta sa Bahay Encantada that starred Dolphy. He played a cop there with no lines and merely stood in the background. His pay: P3.50 — as in three pesos and fifty centavos.

In his succeeding movies, he was cast mostly in “goon” roles. In time, he played meatier parts in the action pictures of Jun Aristorenas.

A screen name

In 1967, Batman became a popular show on television. On the big screen, the rage was Christopher Lee and his Dracula movies. It was then that Lea Productions decided to capitalize on the popularity of the two characters and came up with the film Batman Fights Dracula.

Jing Abalos, a popular action star then, was cast as Batman. But they needed a Dracula. Louisito was recommended to play Dracula. Mrs. Blas agreed to take him in this time since they were going to make him ugly anyway. But first, he needed a more movie star-sounding name. After a series of discussions, it was decided that Dante Rivero was going to be his screen name – based primarily on numerology. From that time, he embraced the name Dante Rivero.

While Batman Fights Dracula was showing in downtown theaters, Dante decided to visit his mother in Floridablanca. It was a triumphant homecoming for him. He was already Dante Rivero and he even brought a copy of the movie ad of Batman Fights Dracula with him to show to his mother. 

But like a scene from a soap opera, Dante was stunned by what he saw when he got home: His mother was already in a coffin. She had been dead for two days. Paciencia was 52 when she died. 

Back in the city, Dante resumed his showbiz career. Mrs. Blas saw the changes in him. His burnt skin had peeled off and his original rosy complexion reappeared. Even his build improved. He already looked like a movie star. Lea Productions gave him a secondary role in Nag-aapoy na Dambana, which starred Gloria Romero and Lolita Rodriguez.

His big break came when Amalia Fuentes chose him as her leading man in Adriana. Dante became household name though when he did Wanted: Perfect Mother that became a blockbuster hit. That was also the debut film of Lino Brocka. 

Serious actor

After he left Lea Productions, Dante became a perennial leading man to top leading ladies of the time: Susan Roces, Boots Anson-Roa, Liza Lorena and Charito Solis. He was even paired with Maureen Ava Viera, the representative of Aruba in the 1974 Miss Universe pageant that was held in Manila.

Dante spent the 1980s playing father roles to adult actors. It was not exactly the best of times for him. But that changed before the new millennium when he started doing truly significant movies with strong societal messages: Milagros by Marilou Abaya, Azucena by Carlos Siguion-Reyna, On the Job: the Missing 8 by Erik Matti and Gomburza by Pepe Diokno.

The lifetime achievement award to be given to him (in ceremonies to be held at De La Salle University on 11 October, with a delayed telecast on PTV-4) actually covers all 60 years of his career. He is being cited for helping elevate “komiks” into a popular art form. Dante rose to fame on a stack of “komiks” materials. Even if “komiks” was considered low-brow back in the day, he still attacked those “komiks” characters with conviction and seriousness.

Dante was also one of the few leading men who was able to transcend his pretty boy looks and evolve into a serious actor. He was also able to adapt to changes in cinematic trends. 

Although he has already received numerous awards as a performer and is considered one of the best actors in the country, he still thirsts for more challenging acting parts. Turning octogenarian next year, Dante Rivero feels there’s still much more to learn in the field of acting.

That must be the secret to his longevity. To him, acting is a never-ending process of learning. It is this kind of dedication to his craft that made the members of the Manunuri ng Pelikula decide to give him the Natatanging Gawad Urian this 2025.