Stage actor and director Behn Cervantes has passed away on Thursday, August 15, 2013. He was 74. Cervantes died at 10:15 a.m. due to pneumonia with diabetes complications, his eldest sister, Lengleng, told ABS-CBN News. Relatives, friends and supporters may not be able to pay their last respects to Cervantes as the stage actor-director does not want any wake to be held. "Behn wanted no wake," Cervantes' brother, Tony, said in a text message to ABS-CBNnews.com. Cervantes would have been 75 years old this August 26.
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CERVANTES THE ICON
Apart from his prolific work in theater — ranging from the repertoire of Broadway to the protest theater movement of the 1970s and ‘80s — Cervantes was also critically acclaimed in Philippine cinema.
He takes pride in his 1976 film, “Sakada,” which counts among the great social-realist and allegorical films at the time. Cervantes’ other film credits include “Masikip, Masakit, Mahapdi” and “Bawal na Pag-ibig.”
“Sakada” also featured a diverse cast representing the vital chapters of Philippine cinema — including Hilda Koronel, Bembol Roco, Alicia Alonzo, Robert Arevalo, Rosa Rosal, Gloria Romero, and Pancho Magalona (whose son, Francis, would fashion his own distinct milieu in our country’s pop culture).
Together with the late film director Lino Brocka, Cervantes had been at the forefront of the anti-Marcos protest movement during the 14-year dictatorship. His wit and flair for drama still showed even in this theater, which, in hindsight, the actor-director jokingly qualified as the “ibagsak” genre. Yet alongside his political commitment were his encyclopedic knowledge of both the loftier arts and popular culture (topics he would write about for the “Philippine Daily Inquirer”) and his comprehensive appreciation of the social classes. These qualities have made Cervantes a widely admired icon in the community of art and culture and beyond.
SOURCES:
Rappler.com
ABS-CBNnews.com
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