Filipina stars in New Zealand's longest-running medical drama
By Jaleen Ramos
A Filipina recently joined the cast of New Zealand's longest-running medical drama “Shortland Street."
Marianne Infante, who hails from Sindalin and Minalin Pampanga, plays the character of Madonna Diaz, the first Filipino nurse to join the drama since it first aired in 1992.
Madonna was a well-respected Director of Nursing, running a tight ship at a local hospital in Manila until she met a patient, a Kiwi, whom she fell in love with. She moved to New Zealand and was married to the Kiwi. They later separated.
"We're both very outspoken, determined, loud and tenacious when it comes to our work and our roots,” said Infante in an interview with TVNZ about herself and the character that she plays in the drama.
Infante and her family migrated to New Zealand when she was 11.
Playing the role of Madonna, Infante said she took inspiration from her parents who made sure they provided their children with a better future in another country.
“I have a lot of gratitude for the hard work and sacrifices my parents did,” she said in an interview with ANCX hosted by New Zealand-based PSTV5online.
“A lot of my groundwork for building Madonna is based on that tenacity—making sure that solo mothering is honored and raising a child in a foreign land is implemented well in the story,” she added.
Infante said she auditioned for the role of Madonna through a self-tape.
“The first time I read the script, I said, ‘I’m going to be me.’ In terms of my voice, how I would deliver the line—it’s like how I would speak if my Mama was talking to me,” she told ANCX.
“I just connected with the character and I unapologetically spoke in our Filipino accent," she added.
Infante also believes that her role could give more opportunities to more Filipinos to be represented in New Zealand's screen.
Normalizing Filipino's moreno and morena faces onscreen has also always been a dream for the Filipino actress. “I’d like to make people aware of how Filipinos sound and look like."
Infante earned her degree in Bachelor in Performing and Screen Arts degree at Unitec, Auckland in 2016.
She also previously starred in Aotearoa’s first Filipino-NZ theatre production titled “Pinay,” which was directed by Kiwi-Filipino writer and comedian James Roque.
Today, more than 5,000 Filipino nurses gained qualifications in New Zealand, making up more than nine percent of the workforce, according to Monina Hernandez, nurse, Massey university lecturer, and head of the Filipino Nurses Association of New Zealand.