Dream Girl
Showbiz’s most promising star of 2020 reflects on the charmless past that she was born into, the hard knocks that tested her resolve, and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that became her ticket to the life that she only used to dream about.
Text By Cherry Sun
Photos By Michael Paunlagui
Getting by on the margins
Becoming an artista almost sounded ridiculous for Sanya who grew up as a small-town girl.
Sanya, or Shaira Lenn Osuna Roberto in real life, did a lot of moving around, transferring from one province to another in search of a home, during her growing up years.
She never got to meet her dad who passed away when she was just two years old. And making ends meet in the midst of life’s hitches meant living away from her mom and her brother, Jak Roberto.
“Dumating sa point na ako nasa Bulacan, kuya ko nasa Laguna, mommy ko nasa Manila, nagke-caregiver,” she recalls.
“’Yung kuya ko nag-aaral ng college sa Santa Cruz, Laguna. Ako naman nag-aaral ako ng high school dito sa Bulacan.
“Ako lang at lola ko. Ako nag-aalaga kay lola. Pag nagigising ako nang maaga, ako nagluluto para sa kanya bago ako pumasok sa school. Ako rin naglalaba. Since wala kaming washing machine, mano-mano talaga ako.
“Kaya natuto na rin ako siguro na kahit iwanan mo ako mag-isa, kaya ko mabuhay. Ako na rin nag-aasikaso sa lahat basta’t kaya ko pa, pag may oras pa bago mag-alas siyete ng umaga.”
"My Lola is my life's inspiration."
-sanyalopez (IG)
In the province, tuning into the boxy black and white television her grandparents kept at home was her simple entertainment.
She shares with a wistful reverence, “Kapag nanonoood ako ng TV, nai-inspire na talaga ako na maging artista. Parang, ‘Ang saya siguro maging artista. Ano kayang pakiramdam na maging sikat?
“’Yung parang ang daming taong nagkakagusto sa ’yo, parang ang daming taong humahanga sa ’yo.’”
While she began to desire for the limelight, she doubted herself.
“Iisipin mo nung bata ka sino ka ba naman, di ba? Tapos ’yung buhay niyo pa hindi ganung kasing-may kaya tulad nila. Kami as in halos wala. Dumadating sa point na nangungutang kami.”
Her showbiz dreams eventually gave way to practicality.
The young and ambitious Sanya aimed to be a nurse, thinking the job would help her family rise from poverty. She also thought of becoming a chef, a passion borne out of hours in the kitchen cooking up whatever their measly budget afforded her and her lola.
In the rare times she would get to travel to Manila, she would find herself passing by the walls of GMA Network and marveling at the gigantic billboards of Kapuso celebrities.
That always piqued her curiosity, and she began to dream.
Sanya admits, “Kapag nadadaanan ko ’yung GMA Network kapag lumuluwas kami, sabi ko nung bata ako, ‘Ano kaya ang itsura ng loob ng GMA?’ May ganun ako. Ang dami kasing artistang may tarpaulin, billboard.
“‘Siguro ang dami-daming artista sa loob. Ano kayang pakiramdam?’ Ganun, sobrang naging fan din naman ako kaya parang hindi ko inakala na makakapasok ako sa showbiz.”
A series of fortunate events followed soon after. She visited Jak at the now-defunct variety show Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman, where she was eventually discovered by the starmaker himself, German “Kuya Germs” Moreno.
Sanya started living her dream.
Taking control
“‘Mag-artista na ba talaga ako? Ito na ba talaga ’yung gusto ko mangyari?’ Ganun na ’yung nasa isip ko. Inisip ko rin ’yung pag-aaral ko, paano na? Kasi siyempre sayang.
“Pinakanagbigay lang sa akin ng lakas ng loob at nakapagdesisyon lang ako agad dahil sa situation nga namin. Kumbaga… kung hindi ko kukunin ’to, hanggang kailan kaya kami ganito?”
While weighing the pros and the cons of showbiz, she couldn’t deny herself and her family the promise of a better future, either.
Sanya was, after all, in the honor’s roll in her second year of high school when she decided to pursue showbiz.
She tried her best to make her schedules work. She’d pack her things for taping, bring them to school, then take the bus to Quezon City after her classes had been dismissed. This was her routine until she graduated from high school and decided to commit to showbiz full time.
Sanya couldn’t simply let the chance pass by. While she was not exactly sure if showbiz would give her all that her heart desired, she knew that it could be her ticket out of poverty.
“Kailangan ko i-sacrifice ’yun. It’s because, eto na eh. And then ’yung life situation namin hindi pa ganun ka-okey. Parang nasa iyo na ’yung blessing kaya i-grab mo na.
“Sayang kung iisipin na hindi mo tinuloy ’yung college mo pero mas sayang dahil kung tinuloy ko ’yun, baka wala ako dito ngayon,” she says.
Her patience and sacrifices eventually paid off.
She started taking on bit parts in GMA shows like Prinsesa ng Buhay Ko (2013), Dormitoryo (2013), Magdalena (2012-2013), and The Half Sisters (2015).
She became a household name when she breathed life into Danaya in the retelling of the hit fantasy series Encantadia in 2016.
Building her dreams
Her life might have drastically changed since but a big part of Sanya remains the same.
She continues to be a risk-taker. And she steadily works on her dreams.
“I have my own business. I have my own house, siguro houses. Wow, houses! Siguro may boyfriend naman na ako nun, ’no? (laughs) Nakakatawa pero, siguro ano pa?” she teases herself.
“I’m very happy na with my family, mommy ko and kuya ko. May time na kami na magbakasyon na magkakasama. Nagbabakasyon siguro kami noon by that time. Stable na kami, feeling ko,” she smiles with content as she predicts the future.
With all the unexpected yet beautiful twists in her life, Sanya keeps being humble, but she doesn’t forget to give herself a pat on the back for all the good and the right things that she has done.
She tells her old self, “‘Little Shai, ang lakas ng loob mo na kinaya mo ’yung mga ganitong bagay at a younger age. May mga pagsubok na siyempre hindi ganun kadali, pero ang importante nalagpasan mo ’yun. ’Tsaka nakuha mo ’yung mga bagay nang wala kang inapakang kahit sino mang tao at nagpakatotoo ka sa sarili mo.’”
She doesn’t intend to slow down nor doubt and second-guess herself anymore. She takes responsibility of all her chances and blessings, the power which was once elusive from her.
She cheers herself on, “‘Hindi pa dito nagtatapos ang pangarap. Marami ka pang kailangang tuparin. Marami ka pang malalaman, matututunan sa buhay mo. Basta wag kang mapagod. Darating ’yan pero daanan mo lang, ’wag mo tambayan. Kaya mo ‘yan. Pagsubok lang ’yan, sabi nga nila. Kaya mo ’yan, lakasan mo lang loob mo. May tiwala ako sa ’yo.’”
