Geneva Cruz fulfills childhood dream of playing a nun in ‘Nasaan si Hesus?’

Geneva Cruz at the media conference of “Nasaan si Hesus?” on Wednesday, Jan. 8 | Image: INQUIRER.net/Jessica Ann Evangelista

Geneva Cruz is set to fulfill her childhood fantasy as she takes on a nun role in the highly anticipated musical film “Nasaan si Hesus?”.

In a one-on-one interview with INQUIRER.net after the film’s media conference on Wednesday, Jan. 8, Cruz shared that before she became a member of the band Smokey Mountain, her childhood dream was to become a nun because she got inspired by her grandmother.

“Excited ako because I’ll be reconnecting with who I wanted to be when I was young, and that was to be a singing nun. Kailangan ko balikan ‘yung feeling na ‘yon and paglalaruan ko from there to create this character,” she said.

“Nasaan si Hesus?” is a musical film that depicts the struggles, both personal and political, that have put the residents of a community’s spirituality to the test. The cast is set to start filming this January as they eye a March to April release just in time for Holy Week and before the 2025 midterm elections. 

When asked how she was going to approach her character in a way that the current generation could relate, considering they are the most politically inclined and less spiritual, Cruz underscored that they would try to make the musical appealing to the young ones.

“I have a 10-year-old daughter and a 28-year-old son, so lagi ko tinitignan in general ‘yung mga kabataan because I was also once a youngster. I think ang pinaka importante is to show everybody kung ano ‘yung intention ng movie. Ngayon dahil musical siya, you know music is universal; it doesn’t matter kung ano ‘yung age mo. Sinabi rin naman ng ating musical director, they are going to try to cater to the young ones by making the sound more modern, more TikTokish,” she explained.

“‘Yung pagiging madre naman, ‘yung iba sa kanila pumapasok ng maaga, mga bata pa, so tignan natin, kasi may mga kabataan naman na gusto ng mga religious rin. Let’s just wait and see, but I’m hoping they give it a chance,” added the singer-actress.

“Nasaan si Hesus?” was written by the late Nestor U. Torre, and the film adaptation is set to be directed by Dennis Marasigan, with music and lyrics from Lourdes “Bing” Pimentel and musical director and arranger TJ Ramos. It was first staged in the mid-2000s and re-staged in 2017.

Aside from Cruz, the play also stars Rachel Alejandro, Janno Gibbs, Jeffrey Hidalgo, and The Voice Kids’ Gianni Sarita, among others.

Meanwhile, after revealing her new boyfriend, Jiu-Jitsu national athlete Dean Roxas, in December of last year, Cruz shared that she is delighted over keeping her relationship lowkey, as she stressed that the relationship feels “magical” and not a fast-paced kind of love.

“You know, as someone who grew up in the business, I was very, very careful. I didn’t want it to be, alam mo naman living in the fish bowl tayo since I was a kid. It’s just that this relationship [has been] three years, kumbaga three years in the works. We dated three years ago, then it became friendship, and then someone nag-reconnected kami, and the love was still there, so it wasn’t just a flash in the pan, like a fast-paced type of love; to be honest, it’s more like a slow-burn type of love, which I think is always better for people, para sigurado ka,” she stated.

“I’m excited for this new journey in my life. He’s a professional athlete. I really admire and respect him. He’s in Japan now. Training. We communicate every day, a lot of times a day. I’m just really happy. Wala lang parang high school lang. Ganon ‘yung feeling. Sarap din to give love another chance and to receive it just as much as you give. It’s wonderful. It’s magical. I’m really grateful,” added the singer-actress.