How about her other sisters? “Si Baby Samantha (daughter of Genevieve, Gabby’s wife now), I see her when I visit papa. Si Chloie (daughter of Jenny Syquia) is in Sweden. We’ve never met, but she was able to contact me through Facebook and we communicate with each other. I also have a brother, Miguel, 15, and sister, Rafaelle, 12, on my mother’s side.”
When did she first meet Gabby? “When I was 14. My mom had a convention in the States and she met papa’s sister by accident. When she came home, she told me, it’s about time you meet your dad. I was sent to the States and my dad fetched me at the airport. He hugged me, but I didn’t know what to feel. It was awkward, weird. Nangangapa kami pareho. I stayed there for two weeks and we slowly discovered things about each other. We’re still building up our relationship up to now. He’s supposed to direct my music but he got so busy.”
Did she miss her dad while growing up? “Of course. In school, may affairs na father-daughter, so magtataka ka, bakit wala siya. I grew up with some resentment. When I see him on TV, I change channel. Pati gabi sa sinigang, ayoko kainin. But when I was 13, I told myself, why should I hate him? Dapat, I should listen to his side of the story muna.”
Now managed by Vivian Recio, she took voice lessons with Annie of The Company and Nelson Caruncho. Born on Dec. 23, 1988, she started singing when she was 3. “But my told me to venture into singing pag tapos na ko ng college and I agreed with her. I now have a degree in hotel and restaurant management, major in tourism, from St. Benilde.”
Her album has 11 original songs and 1 revival, “I Can” (first recorded by Donna Cruz.) The songs are mostly composed by Edith Gallardo for easy listening. The carrier single is “Relaks Lang Tayo” which says we should be cool in the face of problems. Other notable cuts are “Bilib Ako Sa’Yo”, “Walang Sandaling Di Kita Minahal”, “What If It’s You”, “Kasi Nga Wala Ka”, “Just Like Always”, “Baby You Are” and “Totoo”.
