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Fun Facts About Cuban-American Actor Jason Canela, Who Stars in "On Your Feet!" Musical

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<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782965088123716722680_18592663165002620_3941358207930548036_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Jason Canela</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>Cuban-American actor <strong>Jason Canela</strong> is in the Philippines for the Manila production of the jukebox musical <strong><em></em></strong>&quot;<strong>On Your Feet!</strong><strong></strong>&quot; by <strong>Rockwell</strong> and <strong>9 Works Theatrical</strong><strong></strong>, set to be staged at the Proscenium Theater starting this July 10.<strong></strong></p><p>The musical is based on the lives and music of the 26-time Grammy Award-winning husband-and-wife team<strong> Gloria </strong>a<strong></strong>nd<strong> Emilio Estefan</strong>. First premiering in Chicago in 2015, &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; then played on Broadway within the same year, running for almost two years with a total of 746 regular performances. The musical began touring thereafter, with one of its stops in <strong></strong>Miami<strong></strong> marking Jason&#x27;s theater debut.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CY88o4guBYP/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A3210768.3999999985%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="567" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>In &quot;On Your Feet!,&quot; Jason plays Emilio Estefan. &quot;I was the first Cuban ever cast to play Emilio. And when we were telling this story, it was so incredible to me,&quot; Jason said, adding that the fact that the lives of Gloria and Emilio mirror those of their families made the project even more significant to him. &quot;If you&#x27;re Cuban, Latino, and you grew up hearing Gloria and the <strong>Miami Sound Machine</strong>, you almost felt like they were a part of your family... There&#x27;s so much pain in my culture. And so, when we crossed paths with the story of Gloria and Emilio being Cuban, I didn&#x27;t really have to search because it&#x27;s a story that&#x27;s ingrained in my DNA... I mean, it&#x27;s their story, but it&#x27;s my story. And so, to get to be a voice, just a small piece of the puzzle that is &#x27;On Your Feet!&#x27; and get to share with the world, in a place as beautiful as Manila, what these incredible human beings had to go through to get to where they are today, it&#x27;s special. It&#x27;s very special to me. It means the world to me, again, being Cuban and getting to tell the story of these Cuban giants.&quot;  </p><p>As Jason prepares to get on his feet and put himself into Emilio&#x27;s shoes once again, here are some fun facts about the actor who&#x27;s sure to make the audience fall in love with him in Rockwell and 9 Works Theatrical&#x27;s upcoming musical.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783263236738731390850_18598997437016860_5997019189967367334_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @prosceniumtheater</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>He is 34 years old.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Jason was born on April 25, 1992 in Miami, Florida to Cuban parents Lisette and Heriberto Canela. He is the youngest in the brood of four, and actor-singer Jencarlos Canela is his brother. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>He started acting at 14.</strong></div><p>Jason&#x27;s first experience in acting was through a workshop that exposed him to the Meisner Technique, wherein the actor is taught not to focus on himself, his thoughts, or feelings associated with his character, but instead to concentrate on the other actors in the scene. &quot;It really teaches you to know that you have the character within you. It&#x27;s all about imagination. And I remember coming across, years into being part of this workshop, I crossed paths with a Method workshop, which is another technique. And I immersed myself in that. I had a great time. And the coach at the time was like, &#x27;Hey, you know, if you really want to take this seriously, you have to leave Miami.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><strong></strong></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaXonvYitqC/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1539288.6999999955%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="746" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>He studied acting.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Upon the advice of a coach he met, who also wrote a recommendation letter for him, Jason moved from Miami to New York to study at T<strong></strong>he Lee Strasberg Theatre &amp; Film Institute in New York City. He was 18 at the time. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>He was part of a long-running, highest-rated daytime soap opera.</strong></div><p>Like many actors, Jason began in the industry with supporting roles in shows like <strong><em>¿Dónde Está Elisa?</em></strong>, <strong><em>SoBe Real</em></strong>, <strong><em>Cosita Linda</em></strong>,<em><strong></strong></em> and <em><strong>Pitch</strong></em><strong></strong><strong></strong><em><strong></strong></em>. But a breakthrough in his career came when he was cast for the main role in the American television soap opera <em><strong>The Young and the Restless</strong></em>, joining the show in 2018 as <strong>Arturo Rosales</strong>. The series is set in the fictional Midwestern town of Genoa City and revolves around the complex lives, romances, and rivalries of its residents. Jason&#x27;s character, Arturo, was a contractor and a central member of the Rosales family during his time in Genoa City.</p><p><em>The Young and the Restless</em> began airing on March 26, 1973, and is currently in its 53rd season. It has held the title of the highest-rated daytime drama on American television for over 30 consecutive years. CBS renewed the series to run through the 2027–2028 television season.</p><p>He was also part of ABC&#x27;s procedural series <em><strong>The Rookie</strong></em><u></u> and Apple TV+&#x27;s period comedy-drama <strong><em>Palm Royale</em></strong>. He made his big-screen debut in the 2015 American action-thriller film <em>Camino </em>and had a cameo in the 2019 American rom-com film <em><strong>Always Be My Maybe</strong>.</em><em></em><em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hrD8tB1sf/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A4794203.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-8" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>He made his theater debut via &quot;On Your Feet!&quot;</strong></div><p style="text-align:left">Gloria and Emilio themselves contacted him to be part of the musical. &quot;Knowing that I&#x27;m from Miami and whatnot, they offered me the role to play in Miami,&quot; Jason recalled. &quot;Although I had studied theater, that was the first time that I had ever done theater. And I absolutely fell in love with the process. Like, I mean, for me, I&#x27;m just grateful to God anytime I get to do what I love, whether it&#x27;s on a TV set, a film set, or in this case, on a stage.&quot;</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>He said if he could choose, he would want to be on stage &quot;every single time.&quot;</strong></div><p><strong></strong><strong></strong>In an interview with <strong>Metro.Style</strong>, Jason shared that he fell in love with the process of theater and that there&#x27;s something special about how the show comes together. He also appreciates that the experience feels different in every show and that there&#x27;s instant gratification in how the actors can already tell whether the audience is loving their work or not. </p><p>Jason gushed, &quot;There is something so special about coming together with a group of people, the rehearsal process. You know, seeing where the show starts on day one, watching it all come together, and building these relationships, spending so much time together, and then seeing where the show goes, right? And then when the show actually starts, it&#x27;s a different show every single night. I mean, obviously, it&#x27;s the same lines, the same music, but everyone&#x27;s in a different headspace every single time that they get up on that stage, and they do it. And, you know, whether you know it or you don&#x27;t know it, whatever&#x27;s going on is impacting how you are moving on that stage and what you&#x27;re vocalizing, and it might even impact the register of where your voice is—if you&#x27;re using your head or if it&#x27;s coming from your chest. And so, it&#x27;s the same lines, but it&#x27;s different every time. And you know if the crowd is liking it or not liking it, as opposed to with film and TV, you give your heart to this, and then you have to wait five, six months, sometimes over a year, to see the work. So you have no idea. By the time you see it, you don&#x27;t even remember what happened. However, with theater, it&#x27;s right there, right now. You give what you have. You receive what you receive. If you&#x27;re lucky, it&#x27;s a good reception. If you&#x27;re not, well, then that&#x27;s another thing. But I absolutely fell in love with the whole process of everything theater has to offer.&quot;</p><div><strong></strong><strong></strong><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-6" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CbBcI42OyeE/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A6%2C%22os%22%3A3441190.099999994%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="746" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-6" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>He is a family man.</strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><p>Jason proposed to Jana, a fitness trainer, in January 2020. For Jason&#x27;s birthday last April, Jana shared a message for him on social media, writing, &quot;You’re truly the most incredible person I ever met . You’re the best friend, partner, dad, son one can have. I am so blessed to call you my man and the father of my children.&quot;</p><p>Jason and Jana welcomed their first child, daughter Jovie Rose, on February 10, 2023. In October 2025, the couple announced they were expecting baby no. 2. Their second child, son Jovani, was born on April 20, 2026. It was around the same time that Jason landed the opportunity to reprise his role in &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; in Manila. And so, their family traveled to the Philippines with a six-week-old Jovani, and they&#x27;re enjoying their time exploring a new place as a family. </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783269085539724275947_18591932815056037_4785063880644064091_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo from @janaarc</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><em>Catch Jason Canela in &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; this July 2026 at the Proscenium at Rockwell. Get your tickets now at </em></strong><a href="https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/show.aspx?sh=ONYRFEET26" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>ticketworld.com.ph</em></strong></a><strong><em><br id="isPasted"/></em></strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><em><strong><em></em><em></em></strong></em></div>

<p>Get to know the Cuban-American actor playing Emilio Estefan in Rockwell and 9 Works Theatrical's staging of "On Your Feet!" at the Proscenium Theater.</p>

Get to know the Cuban-American actor playing Emilio Estefan in Rockwell and 9 Works Theatrical's staging of "On Your Feet!" at the Proscenium Theater.

'On Your Feet' Star Jason Canela Was in This Top Daytime Soap Opera—Fun Facts About the Cuban-American Actor

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'On Your Feet' Star Jason Canela Was in This Top Daytime Soap Opera—Fun Facts About the Cuban-American Actor

Grace Libero

Published July 05, 2026 10:00 PM PHT

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Updated July 06, 2026 12:44 AM PHT

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Jason Canela

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