The late Hajji Aejandro had much to be proud of in his colorful life, including his image (being the original recipient of the “Kilabot ng Kolehiyala” title), his music (which led him to sing the Ryan Cayabyab-penned classic “Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika”), and having a Rachel Alejandro for a daughter.
From afar, Rachel may be just one of those stars from the past with a few hit songs and, for whatever reason, you can’t describe as iconic. But a closer look at her accomplishments and the clean—as she is—image she has embodied throughout the years should qualify her as underrated. She deserves more praise than what she is getting. Of course, she’s not someone to voice that out. She’s too classy to make unnecessary noise.
While scrolling through social media, I saw a post from her about her gig portraying the role of a news anchor for the American crime drama Law & Order. She’s appearing in Episode 7, titled “Beautiful Disaster,” in Season 5 of Law & Order: Organized Crime, which is its seventh series.
Her post is a simple announcement with a few hashtags and her picture, where she looks genuinely happy and comfortable with how she looks. Someone else could have used the privilege to brag that she must have done something to deserve such a proud moment for Filipinos, or shown another picture flaunting how hot she is. But she is not that type of celebrity.
Rachel prefers to stay low-key and let her work do the talking. She has become a prime example of how a famous person from the Philippines should carry oneself in the US, or any other country outside of the archipelago.
Filipino-Americans navigating Hollywood like to use the word “mainstream” to denote that someone is making waves beyond the Fil-Am community. Well, Rachel has gone mainstream with her Law & Order stint.
When a swimsuit photo of her went viral because netizens compared her to former Vice President Leni Robredo, the former That’s Entertainment personality casually reacted to it and said in jest, “Netizens, nakakatawa kayo.” She could have overreacted by expressing deeply concerning political views or implying she could do what Laurice Guillen did for the People Power movie A Dangerous Life, where the lady director portrayed Cory Aquino.
Yet, as cool as she is, the girl who takes pride in having a small circle of friends she has known for decades, only mused why it’s always her picture in swimwear that attracts peopl,e urging to “Let Leni Lead.” She was quick to point out, too, that maybe her doe eyes resemble those of the now Mayor-elect of Naga.
The singer-actress is playing a true-to-life cultural advocate from Bohol named Equet Butalid in the multi-awarded movie Song of the Fireflies, which will be shown in Philippine cinemas beginning June 25. The musical tells the heartwarming tale of the Loboc Children’s Choir—which her character formed in 1980 and has won several accolades.
At the Manila International Film Festival, she won Best Supporting Actress for her work, while Morissette, one of the more celebrated singers of the current generation, bagged the Best Actress plum.
Rachel has also worked on a movie called Songs for Selina, which R&B King Jay R produced and starred his wife, Mica Javier. She plays a record label executive who, in the trailer, says with a display of bravura, “I think you could be the next big thing.” That bit alone may stay in your head for a while.
The link to music will always be there for Rachel. She started early, and probably not many realize she does have a good dose of pop hits and ballads: “Mr. Kupido,” “K.S.P. (Kulang Sa Pansin),” “Kay Tagal,” “Paalam Na,” and her version of “Nakapagtataka,” which her dad also recorded.
Hajji passed away last April, and Rachel posted “I love you forever DAD”—a few words that say it all. She likewise expressed pride in her brother Ali, who has an exhibit in Makati City, and joy regarding some development in her hubby’s citizenship status.
Family surely matters above all for this ageless beauty. Her career has stood the test of time partly because of this, and largely because she chooses to focus on good work and positive vibes instead of news-baiting intrigue and toxic drama.
