Essay (Cover Story): "Nora Aunor, Banaue, and the Ties That Bind"

The first movie I ever watched was Banaue, directed by Gerardo De Leon. It was a film unlike anything I had seen before, and I will always cherish the memory of that moment. I was sitting in my grandmother’s house, a place where I spent countless afternoons, and together, we watched this film that would stay with me for years to come. My grandmother, a devoted fan of Nora Aunor, was a true Noranian, and for her, watching her beloved actress on screen was something magical.

As a child, I was accustomed to cartoons and lighthearted kids’ shows. But Banaue was an entirely different world. The film's portrayal of the native Filipinos before the Spanish colonization was so surreal to me. Growing up in a rural town in the Philippines, where Catholic traditions were deeply rooted and life was simple, this ancient culture felt almost foreign. It was as if I was watching a different people, a different time, and a different way of life. The attire, the rituals, the daily lives of these people — everything felt distant, like a story from another world.