MANILA, Philippines — The 11-minute primer for the upcoming historical series "Pulang Araw" revealed many surprises, including Julie Anne San Jose as Katy de la Cruz, who was hailed as the Philippines' "Queen of Bodabil," and the use of Ben&Ben's collaboration song with SB19.
It is a reunion of sorts for the stars of "Maria Clara at Ibarra" when Julie Anne was flashed in a special guest role in the upcoming drama.
"Pulang Araw" stars Dennis Trillo, David Licauco and Barbie Forteza, who were Julie Anne's co-stars in the hit 2022 historical portal fantasy show inspired by the novels of Dr. Jose Rizal, namely, "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo."
In "Pulang Araw," Julie Anne plays the role of Katy de la Cruz, who was known as the Philippines' "Queen of Bodabil." In a reference on Wikipedia that cited the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art Vol. II, Bodabil is described as an "indigenized form of vaudeville," which is a theatrical genre and a form of entertainment that originated in the latter part of the 19th century in France. Bodabil features "musical numbers, short-form comedy, dramatic skits and magic acts."
Julie Anne's fellow singers were also featured in the 11-minute primer.
Ben&Ben's collaboration song with SB19 titled "Kapangyarihan" was used in the primer released just hours after the show's press conference last Tuesday.
The nine-piece band performed the powerful song about holding people in power to account and reminding them who truly yields the power in the positions that they were elected into. SB19 members did the rap part of the collaboration song and it ends with all members from two of the Philippines' most popular acts right now fusing together in a powerful ending to their song.
Apart from them, the primer also revealed the participation of theater actress Isay Alvarez, beauty queen Rabiya Mateo, Derrick Monasterio, and Japanese actors Jacky Woo and Maria Ozawa in the series.
"Pulang Araw" is set during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines during World War II.
The show will stream first on Netflix on July 26 and will premiere on July 29 in GMA-7 right after the newscast "24 Oras."
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