Screen vixen Ara Mina was in Dubai recently. e+ caught up with the actress to ask about her latest ventures, her foundation to help kids and, of course, her much talked about personal life.
Filipina screen vixen Ara Mina has spent 16 years in show business. At 14, she was one of the regulars on the defunct teen show That's Entertainment. A few years later, she started taking on roles that not many actresses dared to.
"Taking the bold route was a calculated move," she told e+ during a recent visit to Dubai. "It gave me the chance to work with respected film directors who were then working on sex-themed dramas."
Ara is best known for her portrayal of complex female characters.
In the 2003 film Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa (The Last Virgin), she played a small town woman who conned a priest to pocket donations from devotees. Although Ara's role was originally meant for another young actress, her portrayal was powerful enough to win her two local Best Actress awards.
Her string of acting awards and nominations made her one of the few Filipina actresses who took the sexy route and ended up as respected artistes. Her success earned her the moniker Millennium Goddess.
"While I had always dreamt of becoming a movie star, I didn't expect I'd reach this far," the 28-year-old actress-singer said.
Ara was in Dubai for a one-night gig at the Chi Garden with Filipino rock ballad icon Wency Cornejo and jazz artiste John Ray. Here are excerpts from her interview with e+:
What do you think of Dubai?
This is actually my third visit to Dubai. My first time here was when I participated in Extra Challenge (a Filipino reality show patterned on the Amazing Race and Fear Factor) which was held here in 2005.
Two years ago I came here to do a show for the Filipino community. What amazes me is that there's always something new every time I come here.
Will you be making a return to Bubble Gang (a GMA show aired by Orbit)?
I took a leave of absence from Bubble Gang after I took on the role of Cassandra Ynares in Prinsesang Banyera (an ABS-CBN telly series shown on The Filipino Channel). I can still go back to Bubble Gang after Banyera since I have a good relationship with GMA.
How are business ventures faring?
Business in the Philippines is quite slow, so I had to close down my fine dining restaurant Osteria 88 as well as my Bubble Gang Toppings venture with my co-stars in Bubble Gang. But I'm opening a coffee shop to be called Café Mina at Marikina Riverbanks, where many call centres are located.
I still have my TV commercial casting company, Posh Films, and A-Mine Entertainment, which produced Ate. I'm also getting business partnership offers. There's a company that wants to produce a perfume line under my name after they read in a magazine that I collect perfumes.
What else keeps you busy?
My Ara Mina Foundation will be busy with medical missions this summer. We will also be donating computers to various public schools before the start of the new school year in June.
I'm planning to hold a fund-raising concert to raise money for children who need to undergo liver transplants. I'm actually flooded with letters asking for my help. How I wish I were as rich as Oprah.
Do you still have time for your personal life?
Whew! With all these projects and stuff to attend to, I can't even find time to accept dinner invitations or entertain friends.
My appointment book is packed with showbiz commitments. Business meetings are even squeezed into Sundays. There are times when I'm really dead-tired and doze off while reading my text messages. There are admirers milling around but frankly, I can't feel any magic.
But if ever I get into another relationship, I'd rather have a non-showbiz boyfriend so that the media will stop playing around with our relationship. (Just as Ara said that, she got an SMS from an "admirer" in Kuwait).
ARA in brief
Real name: Hazel Klenk Reyes Mathay
Screen name: Ara Mina, derived from her siblings' names – Mina Princess and Ara Christine
Age: 28
Height: 5'6"
Vital stats: 36-25-37
Family: Her father, Ismael "Chuck" Mathay III is a former congressman for Quezon City. Her grandfather, Ismael Mathay Jr., was vice governor of Metro Manila and served as mayor and congressman of Quezon City. Her younger sister, Cristine Reyes, is also an actress
Awards: 2004 FAMAS Best Actress for Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa and 2004 Golden Screen Award (Best Actress – Drama) for Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa.
Other interests: She has been collecting toy cars since she was a kid.
