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Former Encantadia star Iza Calzado moved a lot of people to tears with her heartfelt letter dedicated to her late father Direk Lito Calzado.

Direk Lito passed away in November 2011 due to liver cancer. He was 65.

Mommy Iza honored her dad by uploading a video clip on Instagram with her dad dancing.

In a report by PEP.ph, Direk Lito joined the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company in 1961.

“A star on the dance floor, he was larger than life. The way he filled a room and stage with his energy truly was a gift from above. His hugs, his love filled my life with the warmth I needed to survive and thrive.” Iza described her father.

She continued, “Here is a clip from a performance for a Bayanihan reunion that was shared with me last year by my dear friend @charmedandpolished just shortly after I gave birth. It is marked August 12, 1999 -- my 17th birthday. Clearly, he was telling me that, though he is gone from this physical world, the dance still continues for us. So dance, we must. The show still goes on. The show must always go on.”

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A post shared by Iza Calzado Wintle (@missizacalzado)

Iza observed that even her daughter Deia inherited some of her lolo's traits, too.

The actress shared, “Now, there is a new star in my life that fills up my heart with the warmth that I have been missing for years now. Her smile fills up our lives with so much joy. Her expressions even mirroring my father's in so many ways. To see this, to feel my father's energy through my daughter, is such a blessing.

“She is starting to move and enjoy music. I pray she moves to the rhythm and beat of her life with grace and that she enjoys it the way my father did, the way I do. The dance continues, the show goes on.”

Mrs. Wintle ended her post by greeting her father on what would have been his 79th birthday: “You are remembered, you are celebrated (though a day late) and you will always be loved, my daddy. Happy Birthday in heaven! Please visit me in my dreams so we can dance together again. I miss you so and I love you forever. “

In November 2023, Iza turned emotional during her guesting on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, when she finally stepped inside GMA-7, her former network for 12 years. According to the brilliant actress, she can't help but remember her dad at that moment.

Iza told Tito Boy then, “Actually Tito Boy akala ko I would be sentimental, of course pagbabalik ko. Pero ang unang-unang naisip ko no'n, kasi nagpa-picture ako roon sa may statue. Tumingin ako sa gazebo, na-miss ko 'yung tatay ko. Kasi laman siya nu'n eh.”

“Kung nakatrabaho ninyo ang tatay ko rito, nagsisigarilyo 'yun nakatambay. Somehow I visualized him greeting me with the warmest smile,”

Iza and her husband Ben Wintle will celebrate the first birthday of Deia Amihan tomorrow, January 26.