Marian Rivera’s Christmases these days are usually spent with her and husband Dingdong Dantes’ sides of the family—one big celebration where everyone cooks and brings a beloved dish to create a festive dinner spread.
“May mga toka kami (We have our dishes),” and hers, she said, laughing, is the “walang-kamatayang (eternal)” menudo.
“I have been cooking menudo for my husband for a long time now. But that’s still his request every time. ‘Di pwedeng pumalya (It has to be present),” she told Lifestyle at a victory party for her award-winning film, “Balota,” which enjoyed a five-week run in cinemas, and even had a special screening in Malacañang.
Cooking is one of the actress’ favorite things to do when she’s not working—especially so during the holiday season—because it reminds her of her younger days growing up in Cavite with her grandmother, whom she fondly calls Lola Ingkang.
“Back then, it was only me and my lola during Christmas,” recalled Rivera, whose mother, Amalia, used to be an overseas worker—first in Spain (where the actress was born and spent her first three years), and later in the United Kingdom.
Watching her grandmother work her way around the kitchen is one of Rivera’s fondest Christmas memories. “I super love cooking. She was the one who taught me. Every recipe I know now, I learned from her,” she said.
Filipinos dishes are her favorites, like caldereta and sinigang na hipon sa sampalok. But the one dish Rivera cherishes most and is most protective of is Lola Ingkang’s menudo whose recipe was entrusted only to her.
“Not even my mom knows it!” she said. “One time, I asked my lola, ‘Why not teach it to others … to my mom?’ She replied, ‘Cooking is what I do every year. If I give the recipe away, you won’t be needing me anymore.’ May ganun siya!” she related.
Secret recipe
But Lola Ingkang did reveal her secret to Rivera, who in turn, hopes to pass it down to her own kids, Zia and Ziggy. “Maybe I’m lola’s favorite!” quipped the actress, who used to take culinary classes and have her own cooking segment in her now defunct talk show, “Yan ang Morning!”
Needless to say, Rivera wasn’t about to divulge the recipe when Lifestyle tried asking her for it. She did let on, however, a little secret. “Bongga siya kasi halo-halo ang rekado. Hindi tinipid (It’s good because I don’t skimp on the many ingredients),” she said of her menudo. “And of course, it’s made with love.”
In fact, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she whipped up countless meal packs containing her menudo for front-liners.
Making this year’s holiday season even more special for Rivera and Dantes is their upcoming 10th wedding anniversary on Dec 30. Nothing really grand is planned, she said, just a simple gathering with family.
She doesn’t think a renewal of wedding vows is in order just yet as she still clearly remembers what she promised her husband in front of the altar, she added, laughing.
“Of the two of us, it’s actually Dong who’s more of the planner. He’s actually more sentimental about it. So when he realized that our 10th anniversary was approaching, he asked me if I wanted to celebrate it.”
Reason enough
That they’re still together and blessed with two children is more than enough. A celebration, she initially thought, wasn’t really a requirement. But when Dantes said it would be their simple way of thanking God for all the blessings He has given them throughout their journey, Rivera said yes—no more questions asked.
“He told me, ‘We reached 10 years together and God never failed to look after us. So, not for anything else, let’s celebrate the occasion to give it back to Him.’ And I was sold,” she said.
And after giving it more thought, Rivera realized that it would be nice for the kids to see them celebrating their 10th anniversary. “I think it’s important to for them to know the importance of this milestone. This is how it all started for them … for us,” she said.
Much like her approach to cooking—which relies in good part on instinct and good ‘ole tantiyahan (eyeballing)—Rivera can’t say there’s an exact formula or recipe for an enduring marriage. But there’s one ingredient they just can’t do without.
“We always put God at the center of everything,” she said. “And maybe this is part of growing older, but we no longer sweat the small stuff.”
There’s a lot of to be grateful for this year. Winning the best actress trophy at the Cinemalaya Film Festival for “Balota” was definitely one of the highlights. How does she plan to reward herself?
“I will buy myself more plush toys!” quipped the GMA 7 star, one of the many bitten by the Labubu bug.
But more than career achievements, it all goes back, as she often says, to her family. “When you already have kids, every waking day, and seeing them, is already a blessing. Personal and career achievements are just bonuses,” she said.
Schedule permitting, Rivera hopes to cap off this eventful year with a well-earned vacation with her family. “It doesn’t matter where. The important thing is we’re complete. I think more than material things, we should give our children memories. Going on vacations helps us create more of those precious moments,” she said. INQ