Rosalinda Medina Rupel: The accidental actress

By Cristina DC Pastor

For Rosalinda “Linda” Rupel, life has never followed a straight path. It has always been one that meanders through complicated twists and turns but always driven by purpose and sometimes pain.

From her early years in the Philippines to her professional journey in librarianship and international multilateral organizations, Linda’s story is one of quiet strength and creative spirit. Her ‘second act’ following the demise of her second husband was a total revelation: performing on stage as Tina Turner and reading passages from Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues.”  

That’s how I came to know Linda, 79, as a PAFCOM (Philippine-American Friendship Community) leader. I attended an organization gathering and in a musical intermission, she burst on stage showing a leggy Tina Turner look complete with the spiky wig. The crowd was all praise but was also somewhat surprised. The Linda they knew as a conservative, strait-laced community leader had something else up her sleeves. From that moment on, I decided I needed to meet this woman who dares to live her life boldly and unapologetically.

Linda first came to the United States in 1985, assigned to work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on a special project involving three international agencies.

“In the Philippines I was  the chief project librarian of the United Nations Development Programme, the  World Bank and NEDA for a regional planning project. These three agencies worked together to make the Philippines a regional planning center that it is now.” She worked on the project from 1978 to early 1985.

Her posting was supposed to last only two years, but it opened doors that would reshape her life. “I was proud to represent the Philippines.”

After her assignment, Linda spent six months in the Netherlands on a scholarship on the subject of Map Curatorship. She was also hoping to explore a life in Europe. It was the 1980s, a time of political and global transformation marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Returning to the U.S. was not easy. 

“It took me five years to adjust,” she said. Her academic credits from the University of the Philippines were not recognized in American institutions, so she started anew, studying in Queens and earning an MS Library Science degree in C.W. Post, Long Island University.

In the U.S., she met second husband Arthur Rupel, a scientist at the U.S. Army Research at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. Linda has three children and seven grandchildren from her first marriage.  

Finding her voice amid a disability

Linda’s vivacity has roots in childhood. Growing up in a well-to-do family that later faced hardship, she learned the value of education  and hard work. 

But she also carried with her a painful personal story—one that framed her identity and outlook.

“When I was young, I was very outspoken,” she recalled with a faint smile. “My father, a guerrilla lawyer and a disciplinarian, would get angry when I answered back. One day, he hit me so hard that I became half-deaf. I was about 8 or 10 years old.”

Her hearing impairment brought both isolation and insight. 

“People called me engot (slow),” she said in a matter-of-fact narration. “But I found comfort in reading. Books became my friends.”

Despite her partial deafness, Linda developed a keen sense of empathy and a love for the arts, a passion that would later usher her to the stage.

The accidental actress

Acting came later in life, but it was always in her heart. 

“When I was young, I loved watching movies from Lea Productions,” shared Linda, one of 11 children in her family that hailed from Malabon. “But my parents were strict. Seven girls, four boys—no acting dreams allowed!” She was invited by a talent scout to appear in a Lea Production movie, but it was refused by her father. An ABS CBN radio drama acting after a school play in Malabon town plaza was another opportunity brushed aside.

That changed in America. Encouraged by friends in the Filipino community, Linda began performing in Filipino stage plays across New York and New Jersey. Her performances have ranged from comedy to drama, from domestic satire to stories of love and loss.

She has appeared in film productions such as “Thanksgiving” (2018) and “Chocolate Hills of Bohol” (2023). 

She performed in Filipino stage plays across the Tri-State Area under director Tino Capili, including “Walk in the Park” (NJ and NY), “Ang Asawa kong Sabungera”, “Looking for William”, and in “How to Cook Adobo” playing a grandmother who reigned in the kitchen.

Her performance was heartfelt and humorous, reflecting her natural warmth and emotional depth. “I’m not shy on stage,” she said proudly. “I can be Tina Turner or a sabungera (cockfighting wife) —whatever the role demands!”

Linda also joined the Filipina Women’s Network’s 2007 interpretation of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” voicing the lament  about domestic violence and comfort women. “It was emotional,” she said. “It was about a woman who still loved her abuser. I felt her pain.”

A PAFCOM advocate

Linda’s introduction to the Philippine-American Friendship Community (PAFCOM) came through friendship and curiosity. 

“In 1985, when I lived in Jersey City, my office mate said, ‘Let’s be roommates,’” she recalled. “That’s how I became an observer at PAFCOM events. Later, I met Lita Peña in Journal Square—she was my neighbor and friend—and I got more involved.”

By the late 1990s, Linda had become an active participant in PAFCOM’s programs, drawn by its mission to uplift Filipino Americans through cultural, civic, and social initiatives. 

“I liked the people,” she said simply. “PAFCOM feels like home.”

She expressed her hope for the organization: “I hope PAFCOM will continue on. I want the younger generation to do more—to carry on what we started. The parade and festival are expensive, yes, but they bring pride to our community. My heart belongs to PAFCOM. Whoever sits in leadership, I will support—truly and wholeheartedly.” She was Overall Chair in 2008, President in 2019, and Chairman of the Board, 2004-2005.

Linda embodies the spirit of the Filipino diaspora—resilient, resourceful and full of heart. From overcoming personal adversity to building a meaningful life of service and art, she shows that fulfillment has no age, and that one’s true calling may bloom even into her seventies.

“I’m grateful,” she said softly. “For my family, my friends, and for the chance to still be here.  Life gave me many challenges—but also, many blessings.”