Katya: The bitter with the sweet

Katya Santos is undergoing a smooth transition in her career these days. From a child actress to sexy star, she is shifting gears to play serious and dramatic roles via Dangal, GMA 7’s Now and Forever seventh season offering to premiere today.

The 24-year-old Katya is happy no end that the network offered her to play the role of Iyanna in the afternoon teledrama as she long wanted to again show her dramatic prowess.

She started her showbiz career at nine in a children’s show and bloomed into a young lady doing drama and eventually sexy roles.

"I’m glad GMA gave me the break. I’ve long been wanting to veer away from the sexy actress tag. This time, I want to be known only as an actress since I am stereotyped in daring roles. I can portray whatever character offered me," Katya says.

Proof to this is the three Viva projects she will be doing: a revival of Working Girls, a horror and a sexy film. Katya strikes while the iron is hot as she is also doing a suspense thriller, Ligalig, with Cesar Montano as entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Her tight schedule doesn’t mean she will cease to be a Viva Hot Babe member and stop doing pictorials for men’s magazines. This time, she will limit herself to doing daring roles. Katya feels it’s high time for her and other Viva Hot Babe members to show their talents not only as sexy performers.

"I will gladly leave to more younger sexy stars the roles I used to play. I wish that like Ella V. and me, other Hotbabes will get the chance to show what they’ve got," she says.

Katya’s out-of-the-country shows left her with many experiences which made her a better, stronger person. In Guam, Katya and her group went through an hour-long interrogation by the immigration people due to its strict policy for entertainers in that country. She learned to follow rules religiously. One of them is not accepting tips while performing onstage. Though the authorities in Guam are strict, Katya says she enjoyed the island because she made friends there.

"I also love doing shows in Japan as they are generous in giving tips to performers. They are kind and easy to please, just give them a nice performance," she says about her stint in Japan.

Katya also appreciates her boyfriend of more than a year since he is very supportive in all her endeavors and even accompanies her on trips abroad.

The GMA teledrama inspires Katya to come to the taping early and prepare herself well for the character she plays: the maid Iyanna who becomes a friend of Alta (Jennylyn Mercado) but eventually gets psychotic after her child’s death.

Asked if she had a hard time with her role, Katya says, "I used to do drama before. That’s why I didn’t have a hard time sinking my teeth into the role. Iyanna will become a contravida in the latter part of the show."

Even if she’s busy, Katya still spends quality time with her family. Her being a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in International Academy of Management and Economics has come in handy in her businesses like the convenience store Mini Stop and the newly-established courier service Quick Serve.

"My mom is helping me manage Mini-Stop while my sister assists in our courier service business," Katya says with pride.