Dyesebel
More than a Komiks Character

BIG CHARACTER Originally written/drawn for Pilipino Komiks (second photograph from top), Dyesebel has become a fixture of everything Filipino, making it in film (above), television, et cetera. Mars ravelo's creation has become an icon.

Mermaid, in the Philippines, is synonymous with Dyesebel, Mars Ravelo’s 1953 comic (Pilipino Komiks) creation of a half fish, half human that more than takes after Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid, but gives life to every local folk story about the sirena.  This, the “half-ness,” is what makes her a gay icon – particularly since, stereotypically, a gay person was deemed half man, half woman, an incomplete being.

The Dyesebel that is now known is a mermaid born to a provincial couple, with the father, disgusted by the baby, wanting to get rid of her (the mother was somewhat to blame, since she was obsessed with mermaids when she was still pregnant, a lihi turned into reality), except that, when he was about to do so, the heavens (with thunder and lightning, kulog at kidlat, as the signs) disagreeing with him – in the Philippines, after all, the differently-abled are deemed suwerte, lucky charms (saves them from harm, but, yes, de-humanizes them).  The couple then moved to some far-flung place (to avoid tsismis, the Filipino’s love to gossip), where Dyesebel had her experiences – from meeting other sea creatures (and other mermaids, too) to finding that mahiwagang kabibe (mystical/magical seashell) to turn her into a human to falling in love with a Fredo character to... everything, until, as is demanded (and given) by Filipino storylines, everything is closely tied for a happy ending (yes, yes, she stays human to be with her man...).

The original characterization is, of course, closer to Andersen’s Little Mermaid (sans the sad ending, of course) – here’s a mermaid outcast from an undersea kingdom (not that the Little Mermaid was outcast), heading to the land of humans to fall in love with a man (this one is classic Andersen, just as Dyesebel had to go to a sea witch for her to become human).

There have been numerous incarnations – e.g. Alma Moreno’s version had a Dysebel born to a rich couple, ending up married (yes, married, gown and all, despite her fish tail) to a womanizing Fredo, and actually ended up going back to the sea (where she is deemed to really belong).  This one somehow promotes empowerment (so-so, but definitely better than the excruciatingly sadly pathetic characterization in television of Marian Rivera’s Dyesebel), though, with Dyesebel turning human for an hour just so she can break up with Fredo (!).  all the same, the character’s popularity is undisputed – in the first year it was released, Dyesebel was turned into a movie, under the direction of Gerardo de Leon, starring Edna Luna, whose career was defined by her portrayal of the character.  The others portraying the character were also, at large, defined by Dyesebel – from Vilma Santos to Alma Moreno to Alice Dixon and to Charlene Gonzales.  In fact, every other Filipino mermaid character has been touched by Dyesebel’s narrative (not that it’s that unique, truth be told), from Marina to Mutya to... everyone.