Geneva Cruz before song: 'Takot na takot ako!'

Geneva Cruz has proved the naysayers wrong by belting out her finest performance yet as she sang the Philippine national anthem before the Manny Pacquiao-Jorge Solis fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas yesterday, April 15. The Filipino boxer won the fight by knocking out his Mexican opponent in the 8th round. S-Files got the chance to talk to Geneva live on the phone a few hours after the fight and asked about how she felt after giving probably the greatest performance of her life. "Actually, dinala nila [organizers] ako dito from San Francisco and kahapon lang, kinabahan ako dahil kumakain kami sa fast food ni KC [Montero, Geneva's husband] and nakita namin yung isa sa mga managers ni Manny Pacquiao. Sabi niya ‘You better do well, Gen, because si Manny dumedepende sa performance ng kumakanta ng Philippine national anthem,'" narrates Geneva. Geneva adds, "Siyempre, napakabigat sa balikat ko no'n. Parang feeling ko, na hindi ko alam kung if I would do well. So ipina-Diyos ko na lang." So what did Gen do to motivate herself when the time came to sing in front of millions of viewers? "Unang-una, inisip ko na lang yung magulang ko at pamilya ko. Yung mga taong naniniwala sa akin na nandoon sila para sa akin," she says. Geneva also adds that she didn't talk much to preserve her voice. "Takot na takot ako!" Geneva admits. "Pero nung nasa stage na ako, wala na akong choice." Geneva also observed that only 30% percent of the people inside the Alamodome were Pinoys. She was surprised to know that most of them still remember her. After the performance, Geneva got a second-row seat to the fight, getting an up-close experience of the two champion boxers with their sweat and blood spraying all over the place. "To be honest with you, I didn't want to watch it," Geneva reveals. "Parang pakiramdam ko, hindi ko kasi kaya manood ng boxing, e. Pero I stayed, and I'm glad that I stayed." On a different note, is Geneva planning to stay in the US for good and try her luck there as a singer? "Actually, naisip ko na rin na, yes, gusto ko mag-try na for at least a year while waiting for my Greencard," she admits. Geneva, however, adds: "Pero sa dami ng talent dito, hindi naman ako mage-expect na something will happen. May mga offers naman somehow, hindi ko alam kung kaya ng powers ko." - Philippine Entertainment Portal