Glaiza de Castro talks pursuing acting and singing career

Glaiza (left) holds the latest edition of Philippine Canadian Inquirer (PCI). Also seen in the picture is PCI’s Ms. Laarni Liwanag.

The Philippine Canadian Inquirer sat with GMA Kapuso actress and singer Glaiza de Castro from the sidelines of ‘Pinoy Fiesta, Unang Hirit sa Tag-init’ at Memorial South Park on Ross St., British Columbia and talked about her acting and singing career and how she’s able to juggle both.

Before Glaiza serenaded the Filipino crowd with songs from her new album, Magandang Simulain, she recalled what ignited her passion for the screen and music.

“Love ko po talaga ang singing. Bata pa ako, priority ko talaga ang pagkanta. Our family is musically inclined so I think doon ko nakuha ang passion and love ko for music [I really love singing. Even when I was young, singing was really my priority. Our family is musically inclined so I think that’s where I got my passion and love for music],” Glaiza recalled.

Glaiza was born to a family of singers and an actor. Her parents were musicians who toured Asia while her uncle is the Filipino actor Dan Alvaro.

“But when I was growing up, I was having more opportunities as an actor so mas nagtagal po ako doon at mas nagconcentrate ako [so I spent a longer time in it and concentrated more (to it)]. I grew up loving the job,” Glaiza added.

Glaiza acted and sang simultaneously. Her acting career started in 2001 when she landed a role in the television series Ikaw lang ang Mamahalin. She was 13. During the same year, her first album, Magbalik Ka, was released.

Since then, Glaiza has been juggling acting and singing. Despite having regular TV shows when her acting career took off in the mid-2000s, she didn’t put music on the back burner. She continued to star in hit TV series as well as the big screen and release music albums in 2006 and 2015.

As she launched her third album titled Synthesis in 2015, Glaiza realized how she can use music to express herself.

“Noong [In] 2015, I produced an independent album. That was Sythesis, puro originals ‘yan [it was all original]. Mas nag-grow yung passion ko sa music kasi own compositions ko na ‘yon. Kumbaga, mas na e-excite ako to share my music to people. [My passion in music grew because those are my own compositions. In a sense, I am more excited to share my music to people],” Glaiza said.

Two years later, Glaiza is back on track to take over the Filipino music scene with her latest album, Magandang Simulain. Released May this year, Magandang Simulain features original composition as well as revivals of classic Original Pinoy Music (OPM) songs.

“Magandang Simulain, that’s my fourth album and it’s under PolyEast Records. It’s a co-production between me and the label,” Glaiza said.

“Exciting kasi mayroon po akong apat na revival songs na puro OPM tapos may apat din ako na originals. Yung mga revival songs ko naman galing sa Asin, sa Juan dela Cruz [It’s exciting because I have four revival songs of purely OPM and I also have four originals. The revival songs are from Asin, from Juan dela Cruz],” she added.

As for her acting career, Glaiza assured her fans that they will still be seeing more of her on screen.

“Yung acting, for sure. May nakaline-up na but we haven’t discussed it yet. So baka po pag-uwi ko, magmeeting kami para doon sa bagong TV show [The acting, for sure. There’s one lined-up but we haven’t discussed it yet. So maybe when I head home, we will have a meeting for the new TV show],” she said.

Teased about her lovelife, Glaiza said that she tying the knots is unlikely to happen soon.

Glaiza was on her second trip to Vancouver. “Everytime na nag va-Vancouver ako, palaging bitin [Everytime I go to Vancouver, it always feels too short]. I come here, have a show, and fly out. Sana next time mas matagal na [I hope that my stay would be longer next time],” she said.

Glaiza is heading to Toronto on August 20 for the final leg of her Canadian tour. Fans can catch the actress-singer at Prestige by Night on Dufferin St.