Sanya Lopez almost did not make it as Danaya in GMA-7’s 2016 remake of Encantadia.
During her PEP Exclusives interview on July 29, 2021, Sanya described the moment as “muntik-muntikanan.”
After going through several auditions, she was held in suspense because GMA-7 took a long time making a firm decision.
Aside from Sanya, other actresses who were lined up to audition for Danaya were Louise delos Reyes, Ritz Azul, and Thea Tolentino, among others.
Sanya recalled, “Nag-audition ako nang ilang beses pero muntik-muntikan po iyon.
“Hindi ko alam kung dapat ko bang sabihin ngayon. Iyong Danaya na sinabi na sa akin ‘tapos biglang nabawi siya ‘tapos nagpa-audition ulit.”
Sanya first shared this story in her PEP Main Attraction cover story in August 2019.
She first auditioned for the villainous roles of Agane and Gurna, and later, for the major roles of Lira and Mira.
Later, GMA-7 asked her to audition for the Danaya role, a well-loved character first played by Diana Zubiri in the 2005 version.
Sanya did ace the auditions and got the coveted role.
But when the results were leaked online, many Encantadia fans reacted negatively to a newbie bagging the Danaya role.
Sanya recalled during her August 2019 interview, "Dumating pa sa point na nagkaroon pa ulit ng something.
"Siguro dahil may mga kumalat na nag-bash sa akin, kung sino ba ako, da who.
"Medyo parang kumakalat na. So, parang hindi maganda iyong result sa kanila.
"Hindi ko rin naman maano kasi malaki iyong role ni Danaya sa Encantadia. So, hindi ko maaalis sa kanila na medyo mag-doubt, di ba?"
Meanwhile, the important roles of Pirena, Amihan, and Alena went to Glaiza de Castro, Kylie Padilla, and Gabbi Garcia, respectively.
WHAT WAS HER BACK-UP PLAN?
During her PEP Exclusives interview, Sanya said she took it like a good sport when told she would be pulled out of the project.
“Ako naman sabi ko sa inyo, basta ibinigay sa akin, ibibigay ko iyong best ko pero sabi ko nga, kapag hindi ibinigay sa iyo, baka may mas magandang ibibigay sa iyo.
“So iyon iyong laging nasa isip ko that time kaya okay lang naman.”
Her back-up plan back then: “Kung hindi siguro binigay sa akin ang Encantadia, baka ipinagpatuloy ko ang pagiging beauty queen.”
At that time she was auditioning for the Encantadia role, Sanya was also undergoing pageant training with Aces & Queens of Jonas Gaffud.
But Danaya was meant for Sanya. When told the second time she bagged the role, Sanya broke into tears.
She narrated, “Doon talaga ako mas naiyak. Actually, naiyak na ako noong sinabi sa amin noong umpisa.
“Pero noong sinabi sa akin ng pangalawang beses, mas naiyak ako kasi ‘Lord, ito na talaga! Thank you po, thank you talaga.’
“Sa mga taong nagtiwala rin sa akin that time, alam ko iyong mga taong nandiyan sa akin from the very start na naniniwalang ‘Kaya mo iyan, nandito kami para sa iyo,’ sa kanila talaga ako may utang na loob.
“Ito iyong gusto ko, e, ito talaga kaya thankful talaga ako.”
When the revived series finally aired, Danaya silenced the bashers.
And as the story went, much like in the original version, Danaya became the crowd favorite.
RENEWAL WITH GMA ARTIST CENTER
Five years later, Sanya continues to reap success in her career. She just finished the prime-time series First Yaya, which registered high ratings during its run.
On July 29, Sanya signed a renewal contract with GMA-7 and GMA Artist Center.
Sanya said about her renewal, “Alam mo, sabi ko talaga sa kanila na hindi ako iiyak pero naiyak ako, nakakahiya!
“Pero masaya lang talaga ako, sobrang happy ako. Sabi ko sa kanila, nararamdaman ko sobrang kaba, pero sobrang nae-excite din ako kung anong mangyayari after kong pumirma ng kontrata.
“So sobrang na-excite din ako and, at the same time, iyong pagiging thankful ko talaga, kulang ang salita para maipakita ko.
“Basta ang sabi ko lang sa kanila, ang maipapangako ko sa inyo ay gagawin ko po ang best ko at ibibigay ko ang lahat para mapaganda ang bawat project na ibibigay nila.”
According to Sanya, there are more surprises waiting for her at GMA-7.
“Sabi lang nila sa akin marami silang surprise para sa akin and nae-excite akong malaman kung ano iyon, wala pa sila ino-open sa akin, e.
“Alamin natin kung ano sabay sabay nating malaman.”