LEILA Barros captured hundreds and thousands of Filipino hearts in her first visit to the Philippines 25 years ago for the 2000 World Grand Prix.
And even after all this time, ‘Leila Mania’ continues to live on in the heart of her 40-year-old superfan Maan Guevarra.
Guevarra was among select Barros fans invited to be with the Brazilian icon in a meet-and-greet event at the Mall of Asia Arena as part of the festivities for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
Moments after finally seeing Barros in the flesh again, Guevarra couldn’t contain her joy after a euphoric reunion with who has now become her lifelong hero.
The then-sixth grade Colegio San Agustin Makati student showed her mementos of newspaper clippings, magazine cutouts, and autographed photo with the Brazil star herself back in 2000 — one she bought with her meager school money, as such materials were priced roughy 20 centavos at the time.
“Nu’ng time na nag-start sila grade school, high school, ano bang magagawa ng budget natin nu’ng time na yun? Kinukuntsaba ko yung nagbebenta sa’min ng newspaper. Sabi ko, anything with Brazil team, with Leila on it,” Guevarra shared with SPIN.ph.
“Marami, pero siguro yung last na when they won tapos everybody was cheering for her," she continued after being asked about her most vivid memory back then. "They won third place, pero from the feels of it, parang sila yung nanalo ng championship kasi the whole arena was cheering for her.”
Guevarra was the youngest member of one of the first Filipino fan clubs Barros had at the peak of the 2000 World Grand Prix.
She braved the wave of locals at ULTRA in Pasig, mostly comprised of adults when she recalled the phenomenon, just to have a photo with her idol.
And it even took her getting good grades in school to convince her mom to buy her tickets to watch Barros live.
Not once did she think it would be possible for her once-in-a-lifetime dream to come into fruition, but fate found a way and she’ll forever be grateful for it.
“‘Yung isang kuha kong solo sa kanya, sa dami ng nagpa-autograph sa kanya, hindi ko akalain na makakaabot sa kanya at mapapapirmahan sa kanya,” Guevarra recalled.
“Sa dami ng mga nagpapirma talaga sa kanya, sino ba naman ako grade school na maliit na mag-isa lang na nag-aabot ng pentel pen, pero kinuha niya pa rin at pinirmahan niya.”
Leila’s ‘silent strength’
For some, it might just be Barros’ captivating beauty and demure aura that sprung her longstanding fanfare in the country.
Others might point towards her explosive brawns on the court that even earned her the best opposite hitter nod in the 2000 World Grand Prix.
Guevarra sees it as a mix of both. And the way she eloquently puts it, Barros’ ‘silent strength’ was felt all over.
“Yung silent strength niya talaga,” she said. “Looks can be deceiving, but still, nandun yung power, nandun yung strength niya, nandun yung passion niya.
“Pareho naman tayong passionate sa mga Brazilian or any other countries. ‘Pag tayo naman, ‘pag puso, puso. Dama natin lahat. Sigaw nga natin yan na, ‘Puso, puso!’ ’Pag nagdama, mabilis kumalat and she reciprocates that attention and the love being given to her.”
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