A fairy tale for the city

Once upon a time, there was a girl from a middle-class family in Valenzuela City. She was hitching her wagon to another star (as a flight attendant because she wanted to travel) but fate landed her in showbiz.

“It has been a struggle,” recalls Glaiza de Castro, the girl whose life story runs like that of Cinderella.

What a struggle it has been!

The family earned its meager keep by supplying goods (very limited volume) to a supermarket in Parañaque City, making barely enough to sustain the needs of five siblings, one of them Alcris Galura, also an actor (in indie films).

In most of the five years that Glaiza has been in showbiz, she went through the hard grind. When the family’s second-hand car (“That leaked”) was out of service, Glaiza, accompanied by her mom, would take the jeepney or the MRT and, if their finances permitted, the cab to keep her appointments.

“I really started from scratch,” she says. “We didn’t have any connections in showbiz. We were on our own.”

Glaiza hopped from one company to another, starting in German “Kuya Germs” Moreno’s past-midnight show Walang Tulugan, cast in a bit role in the Regal youth-oriented flick Dudes, tried her luck at ABS-CBN (Maalaala Mo Kaya, etc.) and, after more than four “struggling” years, tasted a semblance of real success when she was cast as a kontrabida (to Maxene Magalona) in the GMA soap Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin. That was after she played an api-apihan in Kaputol ng Isang Awit, another GMA soap.

“I never imagined myself a kontrabida,” admits Glaiza, “but I seem to shine in that kind of roles.”

Again, she was cast as a kontrabida in yet another GMA soap, Stairway to Heaven (opposite Rhian Ramos), overlapping with Diva (touted as “ang unang kantaserye sa telebisyon” which has obviously inspired the new ABS-CBN Sarah Geronimo soap starrer Idol) as Regine Velasquez’s nemesis.

With Geoff Eigenmann, one of Glaiza’s co-stars.

Glaiza’s long wait is over. The real-life fairy tale is heading toward a happily-ever-after ending. Glaiza has caught her star.

She’s cast in the title role in Grazilda which gives a modern twist to the Cinderella story. How did the director, Dominic Zapata (who also megged Diva, with Ricky Davao as second unit director) and the writers (led by Kit Villanueva-Langit and also including Aloy Adlawan, Renato Custodio Jr. and Luningning Ribay) do it? See for yourself as Grazilda unfolds starting tonight after Survivor Philippines Celebrity Showdown.

As Grazilda, Cinderella’s wicked sister in Fantasia, the fantasy-world portion of the story, Glaiza and the other actors wear bulky costumes.

“It takes two hours for me to put it on, including the make-up,” volunteers Glaiza who is one of the new top-rater Kapuso stars and is, in fact, rightfully the network’s new princess.

In a reversal of fortune, such as what happens in Grazilda, Glaiza is seeing her efforts paying off — beautifully. Her career is well on the right direction. She now goes around in a nice car and lives with her family in their own house (bought on installment basis) in Quezon City.

“All feels new to me,” says Glaiza. “I’m still learning how to live with it.”

(Also starring in Grazilda are: Cherie Gil as Veronne, Grazilda’s stepmother in the real world; Rio Locsin as Matilda, Grazilda’s mother in Fantasia; Geoff Eigenmann as Eric, the handsome mortal who becomes Grazilda’s knight in shining armor; Bodie Cruz as Ben, Eric’s good friend; Yasmien Kurdi as Cindy, Grazilda’s evil stepsister in the real-world portion of the soap; Stef Prescott as Tonette, Cindy’s spoiled younger sister; Djanin Cruz as Anatalia, the other evil stepsister; Jolina Magdangal as the Fairy Godmother; newcomer Benedict Campos as Prince Charming; Dominic Roco as Vicente, the Prince Charming’s factotum; newcomer Gwen Zamora as Cinderella; Joel Torre as Fernando, the real father of Grazilda and Anatalia; and Angeli Nicole Sanoy as Jik Jik, Grazilda’s friend in the real world.)

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