Background
Nela — whose official name is Manuela Álvarez Rocha — was born November 9, 1919, in Carigara, Leyte, Philippines.
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Nela Alvarez
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Career
She was the youngest child of Julio and Juana Álvarez, who had one son, Salvador, and two other daughters, Benigna and Solita. After graduating from high school, she and a friend started auditioning for acting roles in movies. Nela—whose stage name was Nela Álvarez—immediately got a part as an extra.
In the late 1930s, before the onset of World World War II, American-occupied Philippines had an insatiable appetite for movies, which led to the formation of Licensed Vocational Nursing Pictures and other studios.
In 1936, Nela was featured in her first film, “Mga Kaluluwang Napaligaw,” which means lost souls. She continued to act in six more movies before the Philippines was plunged into World World War World War II Film production in the Philippines was halted after the Japanese invasion in 1941.
Nela did not act again until 1948, when she was featured in “Sierra Madre: Bundok ng Hiwaga” with Leopoldo Salcedo. Besides acting, Nela was the star catcher for one of the first women's softball teams in the Philippines.
In fact, when a team of touring American Major League Baseball players visited Manila, Nela was chosen by her team to catch the ceremonial first pitch from Babe Ruth.
