Ara Mina explains the reason behind her different screen names

Before Ara Mina became a household name, there was a time when she used four different screen names.

Born Hazel Pascual Reyes, the award-winning actress shared the reason behind her screen name in "Fast Talk With Boy Abunda" on Monday. 

According to Ara, her screen name was derived from her sister Cristine Reyes' first name and their other sister.

"Inintroduce ako sa 'That's Entertainment,' Ara Mina 'yung name ko. And 'yung Ara Mina, 'yon iyong name ni Cristine [which is] Ara Cristine and Mina name ng isa kong sister Mina Princess," Ara shared, adding that it was her mom who chose that screen name for her.

After using the screen name Ara Mina for some time, she changed it to Ara Mina-Reyes for the 1995 movie "Si Mario at Si Goko."

"Nilagyan naman ng Mommy ko ng Reyes kasi parang ang dating daw kasi ng Ara Mina is parang first name lang. Parang walang apelyido, parang Ara Mina, Carmina ganoon. So nilagyan niya ng Reyes," she said.

The third screen name she used was Dara Mina, and according to Ara it was because of Donna Cruz.

"Ang story po diyan ay 'Nako, sikat na sikat sila Donna Cruz, sikat na sikat sila ganyan.' 'Yung mga initials ng mga sikat, so parang lagyan natin ng ano, gawin nating ano, alisin na natin 'yung Reyes, masyado raw mahaba," she recalled.

"So ginawa niya [mom] para ano, Dara Mina doon sa pelikulang 'Flor Contemplacion," Ara added.

The fourth screen name she had was Danica Gomez, which she used at the height of Charlene Gonzales' popularity.

"Sumikat si Charlene Gonzalez, so 'yung G, may letter G si Gonzalez. Sabi ni mommy, 'Nako masyadong maikli ang Dara. Gawin nating Danica. Tapos sikat sila ano Richard Gomez, gawin nating Gomez," she said.

Despite using different screen names, people knew her as Ara Mina, which ultimately led her to officially use the name.

In 2021, Ara Mina got married to Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) President and CEO Dave Almarinez. —Jade Veronique Yap/MGP, GMA Integrated News