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Ayen Laurel and Pinky Marquez Share Their Fave Songs From 'On Your Feet!' Musical

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<p><strong>Rockwell </strong>and <strong>9 Works Theatrical </strong>partner once again, this time for the Manila production of &quot;<strong>On Your Feet!</strong>&quot; musical at the <strong>Proscenium Theater</strong>. The jukebox musical, centered on the lives of power couple <strong>Gloria</strong> and<strong> Emilio Estefan</strong>, is known for combining impactful music, electrifying dance performances, a spectacular vibe, and a heartwarming story of love, dreams, and a partnership like no other. </p><p>The Manila staging promises a memorable run, with talented actresses and singers <strong>Kayla Rivera</strong> and <strong>Molly Langley</strong>, paired with Cuban-American actor <strong>Jason Canela</strong>,<strong></strong> at the center of it all. Beyond the lead cast, the ensemble is composed of some of the most seasoned and acclaimed performers in the theater scene, including <strong>Ayen Laurel </strong>and <strong>Pinky Marquez</strong>, who play Gloria Estefan&#x27;s mother and grandmother, respectively.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-6" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZq1xcWpT5_/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A6%2C%22os%22%3A11618101.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" 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" spellcheck="false"></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>&quot;I know about Gloria. I know all her songs,&quot; Pinky told <strong>Metro.Style</strong>. &quot;But I didn&#x27;t know the story—what it would evolve from 10 years old to 17 to 35, American Music Awards, her accident.&quot; With her songs speaking volumes about Gloria&#x27;s talent and passion for singing and songwriting, it&#x27;s not surprising that these compositions have had a life of their own. Perhaps many are like Pinky, who initially knew Gloria&#x27;s songs but not really who Gloria is behind the music and lyrics. And so, that&#x27;s what &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; is exactly about—it presents the story of Gloria and her husband, Emilio, and what it took for them to introduce the world to those songs that have become timeless classics today. </p><p>If people step into the theater to watch &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; for the music, we bet by the time they leave the theater, it&#x27;s not only the lyrics and beats that will linger in their minds, but also the inspiring messages. &quot;They will appreciate it more than the music, more than the dancing. They&#x27;ll appreciate the heart of the story, what she [Gloria] was feeling, how she started,&quot; Pinky shared. </p><p>When asked about her favorite Gloria Estefan song, Pinky was quick to say &quot;<strong>Anything For You</strong>&quot; because she used to sing it a lot when she was much younger, starting in showbiz. &quot;I&#x27;ve always loved &#x27;Anything For You&#x27; because when I started coming out on television in the past, 19-something, that was always my song, &#x27;Anything For You,&#x27; on TV. Because before, we would not have pre-recorded voice in the studio. We would sing it live. So that&#x27;s my first song, &#x27;Anything For You.&#x27; Really beautiful. Up to now, everybody loves it. And now, when I listen to the other songs, I like so many. All the songs bring me to tears. And even the love songs. I used to sing &#x27;<strong>1-2-3,</strong>&#x27; &#x27;<strong>Turn the Beat Around</strong>,&#x27; and &#x27;<strong>Conga</strong>.&#x27;&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ9qcCkj_ny/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=971&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A12896138.400000006%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1269" 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><p>Meanwhile, for Ayen, it was hard to pick a favorite. Teasing, perhaps, one of the most emotional parts of the musical, Ayen shared, &quot;The one that was written for this musical is the one you&#x27;re going to hear in Act 2, and that&#x27;s &#x27;<strong>If I Never Got to Tell You</strong>,&#x27; and that&#x27;s a song for Gloria Estefan while she was in the hospital. So, that was written for the musical. And that&#x27;s really special because that was the time when she was asking, well, not verbally asking for forgiveness, but you can say that that&#x27;s the part when she [<strong>Gloria Fajardo</strong>, Gloria Estefan&#x27;s mother] realizes that she wasted time not seeing her daughter for years.&quot; While the audience will get a glimpse of the relationship between Gloria Estefan and her mother, Ayen said people should also look forward to the heartwarming scenes between Gloria Fajardo and Emilio Estefan. In a scene, Gloria sings the abovementioned song to Emilio with the lyrics, You&#x27;re the son I always wanted.&quot;</p><p>Ayen said that the scene was so emotional that she could barely hold her tears. &quot;It&#x27;s so hard for me to really hold on to my emotions, and I couldn&#x27;t cry. I shouldn&#x27;t be the first to cry, so it&#x27;s the push and pull of everything. It&#x27;s so special, and the music is beautifully written,&quot; she said. But she did end up crying while rehearsing and had a hard time finishing the song while she was overwhelmed with emotions. </p><p>&quot;On Your Feet!&quot; is like a homecoming to the theater scene for Ayen, who has been working on television projects and films. After being away from the stage for some time, Ayen said, &quot;You know, if you&#x27;re talking about the passion, I thought that it disappeared then, but then when I started doing it again, it&#x27;s like riding a bicycle, but at the same time, the passion is still burning. It&#x27;s just buried deep down inside.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-10" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaFltgjD3yJ/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=971&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A10%2C%22os%22%3A14063205.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1359" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-10" 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><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong><em>Catch &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&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23943592947&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAox7kPO7jMlTxBNOhBqZdI8Sh2KLW&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwx7LSBhB3EiwAjcodxIhwhvXqRWxtQ8xOUQRq2y0kYAOeSGA4MM3nZYdNxHvyO3S0zUfafBoCPdQQAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>Ticketworld</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong></div>

<p>Beyond the lead cast of "On Your Feet!," the ensemble is composed of some of the most seasoned and acclaimed performers in the theater scene, including Ayen Laurel and Pinky Marquez. Here, they talked about their favorite songs from the musical.</p>

Beyond the lead cast of "On Your Feet!," the ensemble is composed of some of the most seasoned and acclaimed performers in the theater scene, including Ayen Laurel and Pinky Marquez. Here, they talked about their favorite songs from the musical.

Ayen Laurel and Pinky Marquez Share Their Fave Songs From 'On Your Feet!' Musical

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Ayen Laurel and Pinky Marquez Share Their Fave Songs From 'On Your Feet!' Musical

Metro.Style

Published July 08, 2026 12:45 PM PHT

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Updated July 08, 2026 01:32 PM PHT

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People

On Your Feet

Rockwell

9 Works Theatrical

Ayen Laurel

Pinky Marquez

Gloria Estefan

Emilio Estefan

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