Life As Her Canvas

Bea Alonzo talks about painting her world her own way and how her life has imitated her own works of art-and the other way around

- BAM ABELLON

To the northeast of Madrid, Spain, a district called Salamanca holds a charming, old five-story condominium building that’s a few blocks away from historical sites, shopping areas, parks, and schools. It has only two units per floor, and the neighbors are a mix of Filipinos, actors from different countries, and a wide range of artists.

One of these units belong to actress Bea Alonzo, who had put the finishing touches to her new home in December last year. “It’s warm minimalist,” she describes the place, adding that she plans to visit it in September. In this city, Bea is miles away from the country she calls home, where she is flanked by fans wherever she goes and where her every move is magnified tenfold.

Here, she is free to be herself, a concept she has been gleefully embracing only in recent years. “The easiest way to get to know me is to eat with me—and travel with me,” she says, smiling at the mere thought of it. “I guess I’m just more carefree outside of the country because I can do things that I can’t do here, not because I’m an actress—that never really bothered me. I still go to malls here, but I don’t ride the taxi kasi nandiyan si Kuya Lito [her driver]. I don’t walk around here a lot kasi mainit, even if I want to. Also, it’s probably because you know a lot of people here. In other countries, you feel like a stranger.”

The idea of being a stranger for someone as popular as Alonzo can be a bit perplexing to the mere observer. But she’s willing to clasp this contrast every once in a while, especially that she has recently been more pellucid, thanks to her social media presence. Her YouTube channel, for instance, has more than three million subscribers as of press time.