Ruru Madrid recounts unpleasant restaurant experience in Spain

Ruru Madrid recalled an unpleasant experience at a restaurant in Spain while filming the movie “Los Salvajes Bravos.”

In Athena Imperial’s report on “24 Oras,” Friday, the Sparkle star shared how a restaurant staff member allegedly threw his food in front of him while he was dining alone.

“I was eating alone at a restaurant, and then I ordered steak and fries. The person who served me just threw my food in front of me,” Ruru said in Filipino and English.

Ruru said he initially wondered whether he should just let the incident pass or speak up about how he was treated.

“What I did was call the manager. I typed a message on Google Translate on my phone to tell them that their staff member had treated me this way, that I had the means to pay for what I ordered, yet this was how I was being treated,” he said.

Per the actor, the person who served him eventually approached him, prompting him to express that such treatment was unacceptable.

“So the person who served me approached me, and I really told them that it was not right for us to be treated this way.”

Ruru also connected his experience to the discrimination endured by the Filipinos who were brought to Madrid, Spain, in the 1800s, the subject of “Los Salvajes Bravos.”

“They had already colonized us back then. Now that I have the means to buy my own food, you no longer have the right to do that to me because I am a customer. What the Filipinos who were brought to Madrid, Spain, in the 1800s experienced is something we still experience today. To this day, we still experience discrimination and are still not treated as equals,” he said.

The historical film tells the story of indigenous Filipinos who were brought to Spain in 1887 and promised a better life, only to find their dignity and honor at stake in exchange for their livelihood.

Ruru also said the film hopes to encourage Filipinos to be more discerning and thoughtful about the decisions they make, including the people they choose to put in positions of power.

“What are the choices we make in life? Who are the people we should put in certain positions? This film will open the eyes of many. Many Filipinos will wake up to the truth,” he said.

Ruru will star in "Los Salvajes Bravos" with Romnick Sarmenta, Michael de Mesa, Christian Vazquez, and more.

It is an official entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival 2026. It is produced by the same team behind "Gomburza."

—Carby Rose Basina/CDC, GMA News