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Sheena Halili’s character in “MariMar" is so endearing despite the fact that she’s a kontrabida. Find out more about Monica and the actress that plays her.
“Bobita” (which Angelika calls her), “My Diego-babes” (Her term of endearment for her hubby played by Arthur Solinap), and “crème de la crème” (which she pronounced ‘cream de la cream’) are just some of the reasons why Sheena Halili’s character in “MariMar,” Monica, is so endearing despite the fact that she’s a kontrabida. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Everybody hates Monica! “Hindi ko nga alam na pwede pala akong maging kontrabida,” Sheena admits, saying that the only antagonistic role she portrayed was in Maynila, which is considerably light when you compare it to her current role in MariMar. When Angelika (played by Katrina Halili) and Monica became household names, Sheena noticed that the public started reacting to her character. “Kahit lola’t lolo ko, (sinasabi), ‘Sasabunutan kita bakit ginaganyan mo sa Marimar?!” Take note, however, that Monica only follows whatever Angelika tells her to. She’s the stereotypical sidekick, the eternal utu-uto. But still, Sheena inevitably irks avid viewers with her effective portrayal. “(Sa school, sinasabi ng) mga teacher ko, ‘Nagsampalan kayo kahapon ni MariMar ah?’ (“Yung iba naman, sinasabi), ‘salbahe siya no?’ (Ako naman), ‘Uy hindi po, doon lang po ako bad!’” Sheena’s dad once told her that the test of an effective kontrabida is when people get unconsciously irritated when they see you. Taking this into account, Sheena should actually be thankful that people hate her! She reveals, “Alam mo pati ako naiinis sa sarili ko! Hahaha!” What’s with the outfits? You may have noticed that everything Angelika and Monica wears is exaggerated. From the colors to the hairstyles, what they wear on the show is completely over the top and un-wearable in real life. If you think the show just has a bad stylist, you’re wrong! All their outfits are really supposed to look that way. “Pambahay ha, pambahay lang namin, (pero) naka-gown! Hahaha!” “Mayroon nga kaming mga lines doon di ba? Yung tipong, ‘Pupunta ka ba ng Awards Night? Ng Santa Cruzan?’” Sheena may have the guts to wear loud outfits, but up to this day, she’s not ready to bare too much skin. “Natatakot ako e. Kahit tiyan lang parang minsan nahihiya pa rin ako!” Bonding with Angelika For quite some time now, people have been wondering if the two Halilis are related. Sheena puts the issue to rest: “Malayo (kaming mag-pinsan). Ang alam namin, yung Halili galing sa Bulacan.” They fondly call each other “insan” (for pinsan), which started during their StarStruck 1 (2003) days. “Ayoko (lang) sabihin na pinsan ko siya (dati) kasi baka siya din, hindi niya sinasabi na pinsan niya ako. (Pero) dati naman sa StarStruck yun na talaga yung tawagan namin.” Sheena says that she and Katrina make it a point to really exert effort in their kontrabida roles. “Syempre si Katrina, maraming na siyang beses naging kontrabida. So ako ngayon, first time ko. (Yung scene na pinalayas ko si Corazon), talagang kinakabahan ako! Sabi ni Direk Joyce (Bernal) sa akin, ‘Dito (dapat) galit na galit na galit ka ha? (Nagawa ko naman!)” The amount of time Sheena spends with Katrina during tapings made them closer, and she says that they look forward to their afternoon girl talks over yummy snacks. “Talagang may sarili na kaming pwesto, tapos magkatabi yung bed namin! So pag afternoon, kumakain kami at nagchi-chikahan about boys!” Another co-star that Sheena frequently has scenes with in MariMar is Richard Gomez. “Mabait si Kuya Goma. Minsan nga, ikaw yung kinukunan ng camera, (tapos) nagme-make face siya para matawa ka. Haha! May mga line (din) siya na dinadagdag na nakakatawa, pero syempre hindi kami pwede tumawa di ba?” “Pag off screen naman, madami siyang dalang food (lagi). Tapos kunwari, galing ako ng Pampanga, sasabihin niya, ‘O, anong dala mong pagkain ngayon?’” Her crush! Sheena digs the tall, dark, and handsome, which she personally describes as “lalaking-lalaki.” Instead of crushing on a guy whom everyone’s in love with (“yung generic crush ba?”), such as Dennis Trillo or Richard Gutierrez, Sheena prefers the not-so-noticed ones. “Syempre marami naman ang nagkaka-crush doon (kina Dennis),” she explains. She admits that she likes a guy she met at the GMA Artist Center, whom she describes as “walang masyadong nagkaka-crush!” She adds, “Ayoko ng super batu-bato (yung muscles). Medyo lang, tapos matangkad (dapat). Eee! Matangkad yun!” she says with a giggle. Text SHEENA to 4627 to Feel the Fun with Fanatxt! (Each Fanatxt message costs P2.50 for GLOBE, SUN, and TALK N TEXT, while it costs P2.00 for SUN subscribers) You can also talk about MariMar in the iGMA Forum!