JELA Cuenca is the busiest Viva bombshell as she has a new movie streaming every week on Vivamax. This started with ”5-in- 1 Patay Kang Manyak Ka” with Wilbert Ross, followed by “Girl Friday” with Jay Manalo, “Pabuya” with Diego Loyzaga and the latest is “Relyebo” with Sean de Guzman. That’s a veritable Jela Cuenca film festival! Isn’t she afraid of being overexposed?
“When I was shooting these movies, hindi ko naman po alam na sunod-sunod ang playdates nila,” she says. “Ako naman, basta trabaho lang nang trabaho. Natutuwa nga akong sunod-sunod ang projects na ibinibigay ng Viva sa akin kasi tumutulong ako sa family ko.”
She’s a battered wife in “Girl Friday.” Has she ever experienced being physically abused by a boyfriend?
“Ay no, never. Kasi I won’t tolerate it. Nakita ko how my father used to hurt my mother kaya hiniwalayan siya. Noon pa, sinabi ko nang oras na saktan ako, better to separate na lang.”
In “Relyebo” that opens this Friday, she plays a mysterious femme fatale who seduces a guard, Sean de Guzman, in the condominium building where she lives. The guard has no inkling she will be using him for her nefarious activities. This is directed by Crisanto Aquino, his first for Vivamax after the did the award-winning “Write About Love” for the Metro Manila Film Festival in 2019.
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‘[“Hearts on Ice”] will focus on figure skating and Ashley will be playing the role of Ponggay, a top figure skater.’
Photo from Ashley Ortega’s Instagram account
Ashley Ortega played one of the leads in the hit GMA primetime crime-mystery drama, “Widow’s Web.” She is now given the chance to star solo in a new series, “Hearts on Ice,” where she is paired Xian Lim.
The show will focus on figure skating and Ashley will be playing the role of Ponggay, a top figure skater. She has been training for this role for six months now. Only a few people know Ashley used to be a champion figure skater, but she stopped when she joined showbiz and forayed into acting four years ago.
“Figure skating is really my first love and it’s been my dream noon pa na, sana, gumawa ang GMA ng show on figure skating at heto nga, nagkatotoo na, so I’m very thankful to GMA,” she says, “As soon as they told me about the project, bumalik na ako agad in my training as an ice skater to prepare for my role in ‘Hearts on Ice.’ So far, I already got back my skills in doing spins and jumps on ice. I’m sure the viewers will find the show very entertaining.”
This is GMA-7’s second sports drama after “Bolera,” about billiards which was received very well by viewers. Figure skating is definitely a much more strenuous sport than playing billiards. GMA has given Ashley and Xian a powerhouse cast to support them, led by veteran stars Amy Austria, Rita Avila, Tonton Gutierrez and Lito Pimentel, along with Ina Feleo, Cheska Iñigo, singer Ruiz Gomez and Sparkle’s fresh talents Kim Perez and Roxie Smith.
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Jay Manalo was the top male sex symbol of the ‘90s. He was leading man to new sexpots being introduced then, like Amanda Page in “Gayuma,” Joyce Jimenez in “Masikip, Mainit Paraisong Parisukat,” Rica Peralejo in “Balahibong Pusa,” Rufa Mae Quinto in “Gloria Gloria Labandera,” Assunta de Rossi in “Hubog,” and Aubrey Miles in “Prosti,” for which he won the Urian best actor award.
To his credit, Jay may now be 47 years old but he still gets paired with younger ladies. In Vivamax movies, he has romanced sexpots like AJ Raval in “Iskandalo,” Cara Gonzales in “Siklo,” Jela Cuenca in “Girl Friday” and Angeli Khang in “Mahjong Nights,” “Girl Friday” and now, “Selina’s Gold.” He says he hesitated when first offered to do sexy roles.
“When Boss Vic offered me to do sexy, sabi ko puede pa ba ako diyan?” he says. “Kasi I think I’m too old for that and let’s just leave it to the younger actors. Pero sabi nila okay lang naman daw. I consider Viva my home kasi dito talaga ako nag-start, so kung sa ikabubuti ba ng movie, sige.”
At first, he imposed some limitations. “Ang request ko sana, upper half body lang ang ipapakita ko. But in each new movie, pa-grabe nang pagrabe. In ‘Girl Friday’ and now, ‘Selina’s Gold,’ may butt exposure na uli ako. Ako, trabaho lang naman ang hanap ko. Kung sa tingin ba nila, credible pa rin akong magpa-sexy, e di salamat sa tiwala nila sa akin.”
Is he willing to do full frontal nudity? “Naku, siguro kailangan ko munang mag-gym para may maipagmalaki ako sa katawan ko. Kung merong magandang future project, tingnan natin kunsaan ang pwede kong abutin.”
