Ang pangako ni Carla Abellana

Unti-unti nang nabubunyag ang mga sikreto sa "Rosalinda," hudyat na nalalapit na ang pagtatapos ng show. With a few weeks more before the show ends, we chatted with Carla about her experience as the lead sa kanyang first-ever soap. Text by Jason John S. Lim. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Never nagkulang si Carla Abellana sa preparations niya to portray the titular role of Rosalinda. Sinabi niya noon that she will do anything to prepare for the role--and she did; pinanood pa nga niya ulit ang original version ng kanyang soap! "Inaral ko nang mabuti 'yung Rosalinda, the original one, pati 'yung character," the actress tells us nang makausap namin siya. "Marami akong nahugot from the original character, the way Thalia did it, pero ang dami rin ng pagkakaiba nila dito sa Philippine version." "Still patterned after the original," Carla explains. "Pero kaunting iba na siya." In a way, naging blessing para kay Carla ang changes sa kuwento ni Rosalinda. She was able to explore the character more, and even make it her own. "Medyo nilaro ko siya ng kaunti, lalo na doon sa parts na nababaliw na siya, and now that she's Paloma, ibang-iba na." For one thing, may Alex Durantes (Jomari Yllana) na sa buhay ng kanyang character. Kung noon ay isang leading man lang ang pinagtutuunan ng pansin ni Carla, now she has two: Jomari and her original partner Geoff Eigenmann, who plays Fernando Jose. "I've worked with Geoff ever since the beginning, so we're really closer to each other." And they're relationship has been chronicled in numerous articles and interviews. Pero with Jomari, Carla tells us this: "I just met him more-or-less a month ago." And even though puno ng tension ang mga eksena nilang dalawa, at ang mga eksenang kasama rin nila si Geoff, Carla commends Jomari's professionalism. "Magaling, magaling na artista si Jomari Yllana." Dagdag pa ni Carla, "And okay siya. He's a good person—and he makes us laugh all the time." Ibang-iba sa very serious character na si Alex, right? But Carla disagrees. "Kasi parang, for now, ang nakikita mo 'yung dark side ni Alex Durantes e." Carla promises, "you'll see his softer side, you'll see how Paloma would take good care of him, kumbaga baliktad na—the other way around na siya." And though alam na nina Fernando Jose na iisang tao lang sina Rosalinda at Paloma, Carla tells us the story is far from ending yet. "Marami pang mangyayari—action-packed, more emotions: marami pang iyakan, marami pang kilig—ang dami pa." With this fast-paced story telling, no wonder marami ang nahuhumaling sa ganda ng Rosalinda! Kaya naman Carla wants to thank all the viewers who are supporting the show: "Naku, thank you to all the fans out there who watch Rosalinda. Number one, our ratings are high and patuloy siyang tumataas. So buti na lang they're enjoying the story. I hope that they'll continue watching." She adds din na sana her fans would continue "supporting me also in all my other projects—especially sa StarStruck na mag-uumpisa na." Abangan kung anu-ano ang mga susunod na mangyayari sa Rosalinda sa GMA Telebabad—gabi-gabi pagkatapos ng Stairway to Heaven! Get the latest scoop about Carla from Carla herself! Just text CARLA(space)ON and send to 4627 for all telcos. Each Fanatxt message costs PhP2.50 for Globe, Smart, and Talk N Text, and PhP2.00 for Sun subscribers. (This service is exclusive for the Philippines only.) Abangan ang pagbabalik ni Carla at Geoff sa iGMA Live Chat on November 5, 2009, from 2pm to 5 pm. Kaya log on lang sa www.igma.tv/livechat!