Dyesebel | |
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Publication information | |
Created by | Mars Ravelo |
In-story information | |
Species | half-human/half-mermaid |
Dyesebel is a popular mermaid character in the Philippines. The comic book character was originally conceived by the Filipino comic book illustrator, Mars Ravelo. Dyesebel is a prominent character in Philippine cinema and television.[1]
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In the Philippines, the lore of Dyesebel began with the story of a girl born to a mermaid-obsessed Filipino mother. Whilst pregnant, Dyesebel 's mother obsessively looked at a collection of mermaid pictures from a calendar which eventually affected the infant's form when it was born with a fishtail instead of normal human lower extremities. Dyesebel's father, angered by his child's deformity, wanted to abandon the child, only to be hindered by a bolt of lightning during a typhoon. To avoid the stigma of having a mermaid child, the couple decided to leave their village and relocate where they can raise Dyesebel in secret, hidden from prying eyes. The mermaid Dyesebel eventually met other mermaids while spending time by the seashore, and through her sea adventures, she comes into contact with Diangga, a sea-witch who had the power to transform sea-creatures like Dyesebel into normal humans. Dyesebel fell in love with a normal human man. But after her secret of being a mermaid was exposed, it prompted the jealous former girlfriend of the man with whom Dyesebel was in love, to kidnap Dyesebel and place her in a carnival. Dyesebel was later saved by her human lover. Diangga, the sea-witch, eventually transformed Dyesebel into a permanent female human with normal lower extremities.[1][2]
After a decade, Gerardo de Leon reunited the cast of the blockbuster 1953 movie Dyesebel in a sequel based on Mars Ravelo's Anak ni Dyesebel. The movie introduced Alona (played by Eva Montes), the daughter of Dyesebel (Edna Luna) and Fredo (Jaime dela Rosa).
The 1973 Dyesebel movie directed by Emmanuel H. Borlaza was closer to Mars Ravelo's heroine mermaid. The character inhabits an undersea kingdom of mermaids, outcasted from the land of humans due to the belief that mermaids are the cause of misfortune. Dyesebel became attracted to a male human being and swore to find any means to be transformed into normal human woman, in order to be with the man that her heart desired.[1][3] In this movie, Vilma Santos played the role of Dyesebel making her the only actress to play both Darna and Dyesebel, both classic Mars Ravelo creations. Romeo Miranda played Fredo.
Dyesebel (Alma Moreno) was a mermaid born to a rich couple. The husband claimed his wife had an affair with a merman. Still loving and accepting, they moved to their beachhouse where Dyesebel was kept in a wheelchair covered with a blanket to hide her tail. It was only her parents and her nanny who knew her identity as a mermaid. As she grew up into a lady mermaid (still on shore) the family hires Fredo and his dad as their gardener. Fredo and Dyesebel fall in love and after Dyesebel reveals herself to Fredo, they decide to get married (complete with Dyesebel wearing a wedding gown, in a fishtail). Shortly after they got married, Dyesebel's parents died in a plane crash. Then, Dyesebel discovered that Fredo is a womanizer. In full despair, she heard (after a long, long time) the ocean calling her and she joined the mermaid kingdom. Trying to be happy, she admitted that she misses Fredo and asks Banak (Nova Villa) how to be become human. She leads her to Dyangga (Bella Flores), a human octopus, where with the help of a merman friend, kills Dyangga to get the magical pearl on her head. She becomes human for an hour or so, only to break up with Fredo and decide to be a mermaid forever, and live in the ocean she was deprived from since birth.
Perhaps the most memorable Dyesebel movie to date, this version is common that makes Dyesebel of what it is now: it was the first Dyesebel to use the "orange-colored" fishtail, which is commonly used now. She used real underwater scenes, in the aquarium, showcased a combination of her life on the water and on land, thus having mermaid-human transformations, and to show a realistic storyline on love and relationships.
A couple found a wounded and stranded pregnant mermaid on shore, who died after giving birth. Being childless, the couple adopted the mermaid's daughter and named her Dyesebel, From Dyesebel's childhood through her teenage years, she and her family moved from place to place to get away from angry mob. The teen Dyesebel (Carmina Villaroel) starts to ask questions why she's a mermaid and shows signs of wanting to become a human. It was at this time that they decide to let Dyesebel go into the sea with the other mermaids (not shown on screen) where she has the chance to encounter with Edward (Robert Ortega) as a teen. Fast forwarding to the present day where Dyesebel is now a lady (Alice Dixon). She then sees Edward (Richard Gomez) again as an adult, then searches Banak, a sea witch this time, to help her acquire human legs through a magic shell. However, its only temporary, the shell has to be within her reach 24/7 or else she'll have her tail back.
She finds shelter by Marina (Malou De Guzman) and Iday (Judy Ann Santos) who later on discovers her identity but still remain true to her. She also found Edward's wallet washed from the shore. Still having Edward's wallet that was misplaced on the water (similar to Splash) Dyesebel and her friends look for Edward and becomes a famous model by a friend of Edward's. Dyesebel and Edward finally meets and become lovers, however, Malou, Edward's almost-stalker-like-girlfriend-wannabe tries to break their relationship, at the same time, Dyesebel has a hard time keeping her identity a secret to Edward. Until she finally admits it to him, and shows him her true self, where they broke up for sometime. Edward realizes he cannot live without her, they are about to become closer and Malou accidentally finds out, and exposed Dyesebel's mermaid identity in a birthday party for Edward. The media and the government took interest on her, as a display on the country's underwater museum. Edward rescued her, and Malou discovered Dyesebel's magic shells, steals it and breaks it. However, it only turned Dyesebel into a human permanently and Malou into a mermaid, permanently.
Dyesebel is a 1996 film version Charlene Gonzales played Dyesebel with Matthew Mendoza as Fredo. It was directed by Emmanuel H. Borlaza.
In the movies, Dyesebel was portrayed by Filipino actresses, Edna Luna, Vilma Santos, Alma Moreno, Alice Dixon, and Charlene Gonzales. In television, she was personified by the actress Ara Mina in a cameo appearance in Mars Ravelo's Darna (2005 TV Series) and portrayed by Marian Rivera in Mar's Ravelo's Dyesebel, year 2008. Vilma Santos and Marian Rivera are only the two actresses who played two of Mars Ravelo's komiks characters respectively, namely Darna and Dyesebel.[1]
Year | Actress | Role | Title |
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1953 | Edna Luna | Dyesebel | Dyesebel |
1964 | Ruby Abucot | Dyesebel | Anak ni Dyesebel |
1973 | Vilma Santos | Dyesebel | Dyesebel |
1978 | Alma Moreno | Dyesebel | Sisid, Dyesebel, Sisid |
1990 | Carmina Villaroel | Teen Dyesebel | Dyesebel |
1990 | Alice Dixson | Dyesebel | Dyesebel |
1996 | Richanne Suarez | Young Dyesebel | Dyesebel |
1996 | Charlene Gonzales | Dyesebel | Dyesebel |
2005 TV Series | Ara Mina | Cameo appearance of Dyesebel | Mars Ravelo's Darna (2005 TV Series) |
2008 TV Series | Kirsten Jane Singrit | Young Dyesebel | Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel (TV Series) |
2008 TV Series | Marian Rivera | Dyesebel | Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel (TV Series) |
Year | Actor | Role | Title |
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1964 | Jaime dela Rosa | Fredo | Anak ni Dyesebel |
1973 | Romeo Miranda | Fredo | Dyesebel |
1978 | Matt Ranillo III | Fredo | Sisid, Dyesebel, Sisid |
1990 | Richard Gomez | Fredo but in this version he was named Edward | Dyesebel |
1996 | Matthew Mendoza | Fredo | Dyesebel |
2008 TV Series | Arkin Luciano Magalona | Young Fredo | Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel (TV Series) |
2008 TV Series | Dingdong Dantes | Fredo | Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel (TV Series) |
GMA Network had announced that they will be doing a TV series of Dyesebel for 2008,It begins airing on April 28, 2008. They are eyeing Rhian Ramos for the title role but it ended up with Marian Rivera.It was also said that Dennis Trillo had the part of Fredo but turned out to be Dingdong Dantes, Marian's leading man in MariMar. The same network has earlier made a TV series of Mars Ravelo's works like Darna and Captain Barbell.
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