Carla Laforteza assures EYEKONS: Sophia’s hiatus is‘for her own good’
MANILA, Philippines — Carla Guevara Laforteza, mom of KATSEYE leader Sophia, emphasized that her daughter needs to rest following her announcement of a hiatus from the girl group in early August for her “personal health and wellness.”
Sophia is the second member of KATSEYE to go on a break, following Manon.
HYBE and Geffen Records announced Monday that Sophia will not be joining KATSEYE on the European and United Kingdom stops of the group’s “The Wild World Tour” this month.
“She needs to rest. She needs to take care of herself because she’s intelligent enough to say, ‘Mom, my body needs to rest. My brain needs to rest.’ And she deserves that. We’re so grateful to the EYEKONS (KATSEYE’s fandom) for supporting that and for waiting for her. All of them, they all work equally hard,” Carla said in an interview during the press event for “The Notebook: The Musical,” where she is part of the cast.
Sophia’s hiatus was “inevitable,” according to the theater actress. “They’re human beings. It’s given. We’re human, not robots. We get tired, we get sleepy, and sometimes, we get our periods. It shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s expected, and it should be accepted and supported. That’s what’s important.”
Carla assured EYEKONS that Sophia is “really resting” and that it is “for her own good.” “And this is what I love about her management (HYBE and Geffen Records). They recognize when the girls are tired. They all work equally hard. But in Sophia’s case, she’s the leader, and she’s a Capricorn, and I super, super, super relate to her. I know exactly what she’s feeling. I know exactly what’s happening in her brain and her body.”
“I have the luxury that when I’m tired, I can say, ‘Ah, I’m not going to do the next show.’ But she’s not able to because they have a responsibility to EYEKONS. So, they really have to work, and they have a schedule to follow. She’s just really tired, and it’s a good thing that she is resting so that she’s stronger when she comes back,” added she.
When queried if Sophia is going to return to the girl group, Carla shared that she does not ask her daughter about it. “I will be very honest. I don’t ask her. Because again, as a Capricorn, we don’t like being asked, we don’t like being pressured. So, I know what she’s thinking. I’m just being her mom, (asking her), ‘What do you need? What can I do for you? How can I help?’ I do that instead of saying, ‘What happened to you? What’s gonna happen?’ I don’t do that.”
On why Sophia is frequently spotted at Disneyland while on a hiatus, Carla explained that it is her daughter’s “happy place.”
“My husband was based in Hong Kong for a time. Ninety percent of the cast at Hong Kong Disneyland are Filipinos. The musical director there is Oreo’s (son) godfather. So, we went there every day, and she grew up there.”
In “The Notebook: The Musical,” Carla plays the Mother opposite Floyd Tena. The international premiere of the musical runs from Sept. 3 to 20 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati.
But with Sophia currently on a break, will she be watching her mom’s show?
“Again, I don’t know. As much as possible, I just want to be her mom. When her dad and I talk to her, it’s really a parent-child relationship. I’m also in the performing arts. So, I don’t really want to talk about work when I’m at home, and I get that with her, too. So, when we’re at home, it’s like, ‘Oh, what did you cook today?’ Or she goes — because she’s been baking a lot — and says, ‘I want to do this recipe.’ That’s the kind of conversations we have… Everything is for everybody’s own good. So, let’s put it that way,” she told The STAR.
“The Notebook: The Musical,” mounted by Theatre Group Asia, is based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel and the beloved 2004 film. The musical features music and lyrics by acclaimed singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, with a book by Bekah Brunstetter.
According to the media release, the musical follows Allie and Noah, whose extraordinary love story unfolds across multiple stages of their lives. Through memory, time, separation and the choices that shape a lifetime, “The Notebook: The Musical” explores what it means to love someone deeply, to grow alongside them and to hold on to the stories that make us who we are.
The cast features Celeste Legaspi as Older Allie opposite Rody Vera as Older Noah; Morissette as Middle Allie, with Laurence Mossman as Middle Noah; and Sheena Belarmino as Young Allie alongside Benedix Ramos as Young Noah.
The Manila production is directed by Filipino-American theater director Nicholas Polonio (“The Self Improvement and Male Preservation Society, or S.I.M.P.S.,” “Mary Stuart,” “The Police” and “POV: U Run Joe Biden’s TikTok”).
Meanwhile, Carla has always been a fan of “The Notebook” and would watch the film whenever she wanted a “good cry.”
“This is a fact. I torture myself twice a year because when I really want a good cry, I watch ‘The Notebook.’ I’m like Allie in ‘The Notebook.’ They (my parents) didn’t know who he was (then boyfriend and now husband, dancer and chef Godfrey Laforteza III). They didn’t know that I was dating him. And they were surprised when I told them, ‘Mom, I love him. This is who I want,’” Carla shared.
After telling her parents about their relationship, Carla recalled that she was “exiled” to the United States.
“Mr. M knows this. I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna go to the States because my dad said, ‘You cannot stay here in the Philippines because it’s gonna be too noisy.’ I was exiled to New York, and my then-boyfriend, who is my husband now, followed me. That’s when we got married (in 2002)… My parents fell in love with him the moment they got to know him.”
(Tickets for the musical are available through TicketWorld).
- Latest
- Trending
