I
t’s something when you’re given a teleserye role you like to dig into. It gets juicier when the character is almost you in real life.
Julie Ann San Jose won’t deny the fact that her role for new musical rom-com series My Guitar Princess mirrors her very own experience before she hit it real big. She plays 18-year-old Celina Raymundo who sings and plays guitar but whose mother Adele (played by Sheryl Cruz) disapproves of.
To stress her point, she said that her loving and protective father, Jonathan San Jose, used to discourage her of joining showbiz. “I’ve been there too. Ayaw ng dad ko na mag-showbiz ako dahil sa intriga kaya I had to make a deal with him. Tatapusin ko ang pag-aaral ko with good grades,” she informed.
Fortunately she was able to make do with her promise, taking up 30 units per semester in the lead-up to graduation. She finished communication arts in Angelicum College two summers ago.
She remarked, “I really worked hard for it and eventually managed to do it kahit nawawalan ako ng tulog. Binigyan ako ng strength ni Lord.” She often utters the line “Thank you Lord.”
Celina’s mom surely has a more intriguing reason as to why she’s discouraging her daughter to pursue music in this TV series helmed by indie film director Nick Olanka and featuring a good-recall theme song Walang Kapalit. But Julie Ann and her fictional counterpart certainly lock together in terms of psyche and gift. It is a connection that should help strengthen the framework of My Guitar Princess.
This offering from GMA Public Affairs also stars heartthrobs Gil Cuerva as a 20-year old singer who falls for Celina and Kiko Estrada playing Justin, or that friend who eventually falls in love to his lady pal. Others in the cast are Isabelle de Leon, Jazz Ocampo, Marika Sasaki, Marc Abaya, Kier Legaspi, Frank Garcia, and senior actress Lui Manansala.
“I was born to make music and it’s nice to be positive all the time,” related the 23-year-old recipient of “Diamond Record Award” from PARI (Philippine Association of the Record Industry) for her eponymous debut album released in 2012.
Asked about her love for guitar playing, she replied with quick honesty, “I only play by ear. I was introduced to the instrument when I was seven and I was thought of playing basic chords.”
Further she noted, “Guitar is usually my accompaniment when I write songs. I like it kasi challenging ang tiklada niya. Mamali ka lang ng konti sa tipa mo, out of tune ka na.”
My Guitar Princess is written by Jessie Villabrille, Jerome Zamora, Conan Altatis and Mario Banzon who, like me, was a member of Ricky Lee’s 14th Scriptwriting Workshop (called “Katorse” in social media circles). Director Adolf Alix, Jr. is involved in its conceptualization.
Julie Ann has all the reasons to be upbeat: “I feel great to be working and do stuff I love doing.”
My Guitar Princess premieres today and airs weekdays before GMA-7’s Eat Bulaga. Kapuso viewers may also catch it on GMA Pinoy TV (www.gmapinoytv.com).