Glaiza de Castro in three Cinemalaya movies

GLAIZA DE CASTRO is the busiest Cinemalaya actress as she’s in three films. She’s a dedicated teacher paired with Marvin Agustin in the Directors Showcase entry, “Patikul” by Joel Lamangan. She’s a new graduate who has on-the-job training in a funeral parlor paired with Carlo Aquino in the New Breed entry, “I-Libings”, directed by Rommel Sales. And she’s in the closing film, “Rakenrol”, as the lead singer of a band called Hapipaks paired with Jason Abalos and Diether Ocampo, directed by Quark Henares. On TV, she plays Binayaan in “Amaya”, the half-sister of Marian Rivera who her mom, Lani Mercado, thinks is Amaya. “Maraming nag-aabang kung kailan mabubuko ni Ms. Lani na I’m not really her daughter but a fake Amaya. I get to sing in my role as Binayaan.”

She’s so thankful that “Rakenrol” is finally in the cast after five years in the making.

“When I auditioned for it, Direk Quark asked me to sing a rock song,” she recalls.

Quark says big name stars auditioned for Irene and Glaiza was the last one. “I don’t know her but someone said give her a try. The others sang mga Alicia Keys. When she sang a song from Velvet Underground, an obscure 60s band managed by Andy Warhol, I was blown away. Siya na si Irene.”

“Since then, ang dami ng nangyari,” says Glaiza. “I was worried: itutuloy pa kaya namin ang movie na to? I left ABS, lumipat ako sa GMA, I did villain roles, nagbida ko sa ‘Grazilda’, now I’m in ‘Amaya’. Nang ipatawag ako to resume the shoot, I was so happy as I really love my role as Irene, the vocalist of Hapipaks. I get to sing four original songs. Sana maglabas sila ng original motion picture soundtrack. Hindi naman ako nahirapan balikan ang role ko after some years as I can relate talaga kay Irene. I have new energy and enthusiasm to continue the role at nang finally, mapanood ko na, wow, ang ganda lumabas. We’re all proud of this movie that opens nationwide on August 10.”