Sanya Lopez embodies legendary warrior princess in Mga Lihim ni Urduja

After learning and enjoying the ropes of rom-com acting via First Yaya and First Lady, Sanya Lopez returns to the fantasy drama genre, with action, in the upcoming GMA Telebabad primetime series, Mga Lihim ni Urduja. Yes, viewers will see her in the title role and don the costume of a warrior princess, which is somewhat similar to her Sanggre-Hara Danaya in Encantadia. Her character then was a diwata-queen.

It’s safe to say that Sanya is treading on a familiar acting path.

“Actually, when it was first offered to me, I got surprised that they included me in (it),” said Sanya, who also tried her hand at action with Sen. Bong Revilla’s TV starrer, Agimat ng Agila, about the show, described as a mythical and megaserye of 2023, in a recent press conference. “Of course, I was excited with the people I would be working with. There’s Gabbi, there’s Kylie, there’s also Pancho, whom I worked with in Encantadia.”

Yes, Gabbi Garcia and Kylie Padilla played the roles of Alena and Amihan, respectively, while Pancho Magno was Hitano, a soldier and commander. So, Mga Lihim ni Urduja may be seen as a reunion project for these stars from the 2016 installment of Encantadia.

“(It reminds me of) the samahan (the working relationship we have established) before,” added Sanya. “Doing Mga Lihim ni Urduja is also a big opportunity and I find it important because Urduja is ibang klase siya (she’s one of a kind), and everybody knows she’s a legend, and it’s (another) good role for me that’s why I accepted it.”

In a previous interview, the Sparkle GMA Artist Center actress said that, project-wise, she fully trusts her management because the latter always looks after her. Her team has been successful in making her career strong and resilient from the pandemic times to the new normal. With that, she is up for the challenge that every acting assignment presents.

Regarding her preparation for portraying the legendary warrior princess, Sanya affirmed that “it’s perhaps a big help that I’ve also played a warrior princess (in Encantadia) before… but iba naman po ang timpla ng Encantadia sa Urduja (the composition of Encantadia as compared to Urduja, when it comes to story and characters is different) and it’s something that we all should look forward to.”

To look the part and develop the stamina for portraying the character, Sanya said in her TV interviews that “we were given the chance to work out at nagpapa-abs ulit ako, meron ulit tayong mga action na ginagawa, so kaya kailangan natin magbalik alindog program again.”

She had to be physically fit to confidently wear the character’s costume, embellished with precious gems of the warrior princess. Sanya had daily training in arnis, the Philippine martial arts, archery and horseback riding. While doing all of this, her memories about Encantadia all came back. “Remember nung nag-uumpisa pa lang tayo sa Encantadia, yung kung paano tayo nag-training noon,” she shared. “(This new project) is drama, a love story, historical and fantasy… there’s also action.”

The multi-genre Mga Lihim ni Urduja is expected to appeal to audiences of all ages. Looking back on her TV work, one can say that Sanya has proven her versatility as an actress, who has done supernatural drama and action drama in Haplos and Cain at Abel, respectively, as well as the crime-thriller drama Dahil sa Pag-ibig.

A day before the press conference, everybody celebrated Valentine’s. Sanya was inquired about how that special day went for her and shared that she had a busy schedule. She attended an event in the morning, had a TV guesting at noon and worked on the set of Urduja at night.

“Ganun yung nangyari sa akin kahapon (That’s how my yesterday went), but I’m thankful and I really feel so blessed,” she said.

Sanya had also the chance to speak about her being NBSB or No Boyfriend Since Birth. “Yes… but I’m not saying na hindi po ako nagpaligaw, yun para lang malinaw din sa mga nagtatanong sa akin (I’m not saying that I did not entertain suitors… I did). Nagpaligaw pero walang (official). Hindi ko po alam, eh kasi yung mga bagay naman na mga ganyan ay hinihintay at binibigay sa tamang panahon (I don’t know when I’ll have a boyfriend, things like that will come at the right time).”

Again, Sanya is Urduja, while Gabbi and Kylie are Crystal, the jeweler, and Gemma, the police woman. Based on the information available on the show’s website, the two characters come together in a special law enforcement operation, with the mission to recover “precious, pre-colonial jewelry, which is believed to have belonged to the legendary and mythical Queen Urduja.”

The primetime series also features Zoren Legaspi, Jeric Gonzales, Vin Abrenica, Rochelle Pangilinan, Michelle Dee, Kristoffer Martin and Arra San Agustin. Directed by Jorron Lee Monroy, Mga Lihim ni Urduja will premiere on Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. on GMA.