PNS — CHIN CHIN Gutierrez is known as a staunch environmentalist who landed on the cover of Time Magazine as one of their Asian heroes and is a TOWNS winner (Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service) in 2004. She’s also a supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and a vegetarian who talks to trees and plants. Deeply spiritual, she’s helping fund the canonization of Sr. Candida of the Hijas de Jesus for which she’ll hold a concert on August 9 at Manresa School. Her late mom, Sr. Carminia, was a former nun. Would she one day join the nunnery herself? “Only God knows kunsaan Niya tayo dadalhin. If it’s His will, wala akong magagawa,” she says.
She started acting in 1992 in “Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal” and as Maria Clara in Eddie Romero’s “Noli Me Tangere.” How come she now plays only villain roles, like in “Maging Sino Ka Man” and “Dahil May Isang Ikaw”? “Yun ang gusto ng production and I just try my best to deliver. Very wholistic naman ang stories ng characters ko. In the end, they get the punishment they deserve.”
She has just finished taping for Cristine Reyes’ new show and plays Marcela Agoncillo, the flag maker in “Watawat.” Very active in indie films, she has done “Cul de Sac,” “Handumanan (Remembrance)” and “Rigodon.” One asset of Chin is her luminous skin. “Parts of my face got burned when our house was razed some years ago,” she says. “But thanks to the products of Fred and Carleen Reyes’ Skin Station that I endorse, nawala ang peklat.”
Why did they get Chin as endorser? “She’s the epitome of the natural and classic beauty we stand for. We also believe in her environmental advocacies,” says Carleen, a nurse, while husband Fred is a chemist who cooks up all the beautifying skin care preparations sold in Skin Station under the CliniCare brand. They now have branches in Bel-Air Makati, Robinsons Ermita, SM Fairview, SM Marilao, Robinsons Tagaytay and Metrobank Bldg. on Timog Ave, offering various services like acne cure, slimming and whitening treatment at affordable prices.
Chin is also a painter and 22 of her artworks are now shown in an exhibit entitled “Our World” at Manny Valera’s Rave Art Gallery at Sct. Magbanua St. corner Roces Ave. with the paintings of Mike Austria. She has had five past solo exhibits: Whispers of a New World, Canvasses and Canticles, Hedgestones of Faith, Altars of Love 1 and 2, and Journey to Love. Her paintings show her love for Mother Nature and exudes the serenity of someone at peace with God and the world.