Mila del Sol

Mila del Sol (born Clarita Villarba Rivera; 12 May 1923 – 10 November 2020) was a Filipino actress and entrepreneur. She began her career in the late 1930s and became one of the biggest box office draws of the 1940s, noted for her performances in Giliw Ko, Prinsesa ng Kumintang (1940), Sawing Gantimpala (1940), Ararong Ginto (1941), Villa Hermosa (1941), Ibong Adarna (1941), and Rosa Linda (1941). She appeared in fewer film and television productions from 1953 until 2010 and founded the Superior Maintenance Service in 1964, which became one of the biggest janitorial and professional cleaning service firms in the Philippines. Her accolades include the Lifetime Achievement Awards from Gawad Urian and Metro Manila Film Festival.

Early life

Del Sol was born in Tondo, Manila at the Mary Johnston Hospital. Her father, Amado C. Rivera, worked at the internal revenue service during the day, and was a waiter at night. He served as a guerilla in the Philippines during World War II. Her mother, Lorenza Villarba, stayed at home to raise eight children.

Del Sol attended Malate Primary School, San Andres Elementary, and Intramuros Intermediate School. She could not go to high school, since she had to start working, at the age of 12. This was the first movie of the storied film production company. She made twelve other films for LVN during this period, including Hali (1940), an early example of the Sarong genre, and Sawing Gantimpala (1940), which was based on a song written for del Sol by First Lady Aurora Quezon.

1946–1952 LVN stopped film production during World War II, when the Philippines was occupied by Japan. Del Sol volunteered for the Red Cross, and frequented Prisoner of War camps along with other "Blue Ladies" of the Philippine film industry. LVN's first post-war film, Orasang Ginto again starred del Sol. She made more than twenty other films during this period including Garrison 13 (1946), which recounted atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines during the war.

1960 onwards Del Sol migrated to the United States, and lived there and in Europe for much of the 1950s. She returned to the Philippines in the 1960s, when she made two more films, and starred in the hit television series Problema Mo Na Yan. She continued her work as an actress well into her 80s, most recently as a lead in the television series Rosalka.

Actors and directors Del Sol acted opposite all the male leads of her period, including Teddy Benavídez, Fred Cortes, Armando Goyena, Fernando Poe, Sr., José Padilla, Jr., Ely Ramos, Jaime de la Rosa, Rogelio de la Rosa, and Leopoldo Salcedo. She was directed by Lamberto V. Avellana, Emmanuel Borlaza, Manuel Conde, Ramon A. Estella, Gregorio Fernandez, Gerardo de León, José Nepomuceno, Vicente Salumbides, Manuel Silos, and Carlos Vander Tolosa.

Awards The Cinema's Living Treasure Citation, 1994, The Metropolitan Manila Authority and The Metro Manila Film Festival Nagtatanging Gawad Urian, 2013, Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino House Resolution No. 165 Honoring Clarita Villarba Rivera, Also Known As Mila Del Sol, For Her Contributions To The Movie Industry That Enriched The Philippine Culture, And To Philippine Society In General, 2014, Philippine Congress

Business and philanthropy

In 1964, del Sol founded Superior Maintenance Services, which has employed over 100,000 people, and continues to be managed by her grandchildren. and the Mila del Sol & Eddie Romero Fund for Community Development, which supports nonprofits and non-governmental organizations focused on local improvement. Del Sol has also been an active member or officer of several philanthropic organizations, including Lions Club, Mowelfund, the Philippine National Red Cross, and the Rotary Club.

Relationships Del Sol is the mother of Filipina actress and television host Jeanne Young, non-profit professionals Ancel Edgar Romero and Leo John Romero, grandmother of famed musician Ira Cruz, Philippine Congressman Gustavo Tambunting of Parañaque, actor Onemig Bondoc, and aunt of Former Mayor of Muntinlupa Ignacio Bunye.

Death She died on November 10, 2020, in Parañaque, Philippines at the age of 97.

Selected filmography Film 1938 - Ang Maya 1938 - Hatol ng Mataas na Langit 1938 - Mariang Alimango 1939 - Giliw Ko 1940 - Hali 1940 - Prinsesa ng Kumintang 1940 - Sawing Gantimpala 1940 - Maginoong Takas 1940 - Nag-iisang Sangla 1941 - Angelita 1941 - Hiyas ng Dagat 1941 - Rosalinda 1941 - Villa Hermosa 1941 - Ararong Ginto 1941 - Ibong Adarna 1942 - Caviteno 1946 - Orasang Ginto 1946 - Garrison 13 1946 - Alaala Kita 1946 - Dalawang Daigdig 1946 - Ang Prinsipeng Hindi Tumatawa 1947 - Maling Akala 1947 - Violeta 1947 - Binatang Taring 1947 - Sa Ngiti Mo Lamang 1947 - Romansa 1947 - Sarungbanggi 1948 - Malaya (Mutya sa Gubat) 1949 - Hiyas ng Pamilihan 1949 - Kuba sa Quiapo 1949 - Lupang Pangako 1949 - Batalyong XIII 1949 - Don Juan Teñoso 1949 - Milyonaria 1950 - Nuno sa Punso 1950 - Dayang-Dayang 1950 - In Despair 1950 - Tatlong Limbas 1951 - Reyna Elena 1951 - Anak ng Pulubi 1952 - Romansa sa Nayon 1952 - Haring Solomon at Reyna Sheba 1957 - Escapade in Japan 1960 - Pakipot 1960 - Tatlong Magdalena 1961 - Espionage: Far East 1962 - Santa Clarang Pinung-Pino 1969 - Young Girl 1974 - Batya't Palu-palo 1989 - Kahit Wala Ka Na

Television Counterthrust Rawhide Silent Service Problema Mo Na Yan Talagang Ganyan (with Leopoldo Salcedo, Dindo Fernando, and Jeanne Young) Rosalka (2010)