Rachel Alejandro to settle down in New York with spanish journalist husband

RACHEL ALEJANDRO played the lead roles in such Atlantis Productions’ musicals as “Avenue Q” and “Xanadu”. So why did she agree to support Ima Castro who plays the title role in the Elton John musical, “Aida”? “But I love my role as Amneris,” she says. “’Aida’ is my favorite Broadway show as I love its music. When I first saw the play on Broadway, naisip ko na agad na sana, I get to play Amneris when it’s staged here. Doing the role is a different experience for me. Although she goes in and out of the show, she’s a very crucial character whose every scene is important as she forwards the story. Fashionista siya rito and a comic character, but there’s a transformation in the end.”

Rachel’s experience as a theatre actress is truly impressive. She appeared in her first musical when she was only 8 in “The Sound of Music”. By 15, she played the title role in “Peter Pan”. On TV, she started at 12 in “That’s Entertainment”. At 15, she recorder her first album that spawned hits like “Kay Tagal” and “Mr. Kupido”. In films, she starred in films like “Mumbaki”, “Blue Jeans Gang”, “Notoryus”, “Beach Boys” and many more. Last January, she finally tied the knot in Boracay. Her husband is a Spanish international report, Carlos Santamaria.

“He’s based in Bangkok and I work here,” she says. “He visits me once a month, but he already got an assignment in New York and we’ll relocate to settle down there.”

What endears him to her? “I’m his first serious relationship. Never had one before me. I can feel that I’m his priority in his life. Before me, his aim is to be a war correspondent in Afghanistan. He changed his lifestyle for me.”

In “Aida”, she gets to work with her dad, Hajji. “The last time we worked together was in ‘Larawan’ more than 10 years ago at the CCP so I welcome working with him again. We have two scenes together.” “Aida”, megged by Chari Arespacochaga, run from June 24 to July 10 at the RCBC Carlos Romulo Theatre Makati. For tickets, call Atlantis at 892-7078.