In the first advanced screening of GomBurZa at Gateway cinema, Paul Cedrick Juan, who played Padre Jose Burgos, was just initially checking out how technically good the movie was.
But less than 30 minutes into the movie, Juan, more known to the public as Cedrick, decided he would be like any regular moviegoer, rather than a reviewer of how his character fared.
Before long he found himself carried away by the tragic story of the three priests.
When the lights turned on after the screening, one saw Cedrick’s face buried in his hands, obviously in tears beside Enchong Dee who played Padre Jacinto Zamora.
Paul Cedrik Juan as Padre Burgos
He would tell us later: “Yes, I cried after watching GomBurZa for the first time. It was more like big relief knowing our preparations paid off, with that kind of enthusiastic audience response.”
He said that initially he was coming from a technical point of view, watching out for the scenes the editors kept in the final edit. “I know it’s a habit of some actors to criticize ourselves whenever we watch our films, movies or TV shows. Some actors might pay attention to how they look on screen. What I was concerned about was, if I gave truth to every scene, or if it worked according to the emotional arch of the script.”
The martyred priests in ‘GomBurZa’ played by Dante Rivero, Paul Cedrik Juan, and Enchong Dee
He told himself during the screening that he should stop being technical. “What I wanted to find out was how the film’s message came across to the audience. I cried because the message was clear to me. It was a tragic death for the three martyred priests because they were accused of something they didn’t do. The tragic consequence of what they did to elevate the status of Filipinos cost them their lives. And the painful truth is that it is still happening today.”
The message of GomBurZa was not lost on both critics and audiences.
A group of reviewers calling itself the Goldwin Reviews described the film as “one of the most decent and visually stunning Filipino historical films in recent years.”
Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said that the film is a “well-researched historical film that will bring you back to the first spark of patriotism that forged the Filipino identity that eventually united us Tagalogs, Kapampangans, Ilocanos, Cebuanos, natives into one nation in the last quarter of the 19th century.”
He added: “It is Class A in all aspects of film production— acting, directing, screenplay, research, cinematography, sounds, among others.”
National Artist for Film Ricky Lee greeted director Pepe Diokno with a moving congratulatory message: “I left the theater very proud as a Filipino after watching your film.”
After the opening day of the Metro Manila Film Festival on Christmas day, GomBurZa received more accolades. Veteran theater critic Gibbs Cadiz posted on FB that he walked four floors down the mall, tearing up, unembarassed over GomBurZa.
Cadiz reserved the best tribute to the actor who played Padre Burgos: “Paul Cedrick Juan I am over-the-moon proud of you.”
Cedrick considers GomBurZa, his first major role, as the most demanding. “To be part of this landmark historical film, one must go beyond memorizing the lines and acting the given emotions of every line and every scene. Equally important is that one must dig deeper into what is literally on the script and beyond historical accuracy.”
Equally important for the actor is that he should be able to project the human side of an historical icon. “That is the tough part after memorizing the lines.”
The truth is Cedrick was cast as La Madrid when casting director Danna Simbre messaged him to audition for GomBurZa.
Reading the whole script written by Rody Vera and Pepe Diokno, he became emotional.
The script brought out the actor in him. “I can’t help being emotional because of the way the script was written. It strengthened my love for our people and country. I became hungry for more lines as becoming Father Burgos is a pivotal role and a dream role for every actor. Fr. José Burgos was one of the three priests who inspired our heroes, notably Dr. Jose P. Rizal. I imagined the gravity of the role and the time and effort needed to prepare for it. It was the acting challenge I’ve been looking for the past 10 years since I pursued acting as a craft.”
Getting into the body and psyche of Father Burgos was difficult enough, but it became easier because he was always fascinated by history. “I love historical films. History was my favorite subject as a student. I am always curious how people lived in medieval times. It was not hard for me to try to live in the 1800s because of my innate love of history. Actually, I was excited to do my own research and to know all the available historical accounts from Jesuit Communications. I created my interpretation of Fr. Jose Burgos’ persona based on my own researches and historical accounts. I actually enjoyed it. The cassocks of the priests also contributed to my characterization and movements of Father Burgos who was an educator and a priest.”
Cedrick Juan in a photo by Jojit Lorenzo
Before filming day, he read the script many times because he wanted to understand deeply the context of every scene and the required emotional arch.
With many lines in Latin and Spanish, he realized that language barrier would be one of the hardest parts of the script.
He asked JesCom (the producers) for a language coach who could answer every question that would arise in the routine of studying the script and learning the languages.
Initially, they connected him to his first language coach, Julio Perillán, a Spanish actor who was in the first film, Ignacio De Loyola. “He sent me in email his recordings of the scenes with Spanish lines with coachings on how to say and pronounce them. It was very technical at first. We progressed by injecting intentions and emotions into the lines. He also gave me recordings, with gaps and pauses for scenes, that Father Burgos had in Spanish. The idea was to record it thereafter, and send it back to him for comment on how to make adjustments to make it as conversational as possible. The idea was for me to relax and make it seem natural. He wanted me to make it seem as if it was my first language and to build muscle memory for the language. It was based on a perspective of an actor speaking a foreign language who wanted me not to be burdened by the language. It was pointed out it would be more different and harder for me to deliver the lines if I acted using an unfamiliar language. He said it would ruin my composure and acting.”
The second phase of language coaching was a face-to-face workshop with a Mr. Chaco, a Spanish-looking Filipino coach whom he had the chance to throw Spanish lines with.
The last language coach was Roven Alejandro, a Filipino linguist. “He gave me the confidence I needed. He was the language coach on the set and even became a co-actor of Enchong Dee in the pangguinge scenes.”
They also worked on stylizing the Latin lines of Father Burgos in the classroom scenes. “We decided to make Latin lines more ecclesiastical than classical Latin because of Fr. Father Burgos’ stature as a priest.”
Cedrick also researched on the history of the secularization of the Church—how Fr. Pedro Pelaez (played by Piolo Pascual) started it and eventually championed by Father Burgos.
Other preparations included studying and understanding the different social classes in the country during the Spanish colonization. He got to know the Peninsulares (full-blooded Spaniards, born in Spain and living in the Philippines ), the Insulares (full-blooded Spaniards born and living in the Philippines, and the Ilustrados (the wealthy class in the Philippines and schooled abroad), the Chinese/Spanish mestizo (people of mixed racial origins and economically self-sufficient), the Indios (native, full-blooded Filipinos), the Sangleys (full-blooded Chinese living in the Philippines), and the Negritos (the indigenous people).
“I studied their differences because those were the main problems before and even to this today, including the rampant discrimination based solely on race and social classes. They also realized that it wasn’t just about secularization. It was actually about the color, the race, and social status that have been the problem of the Philippines for almost 300 years under the Spanish regime.”
After his research on Father Burgos’ life, Cedrick realized that the martyr priest was about his age—early 30s—when was executed at Bagumbayan.
Cedrick Juan as Co.l Jose Leyba in ‘Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral’
The casting director also noticed his facial likeness to Father Burgos. “I think the similarities I have with Father Burgos was more on his life as a student. I have his sense of curiosity and this yearning to learn more. It is second nature to me as I hone my craft as an actor. As an actor, I still have a lot to learn. I figure we really never stop learning. Father Burgos’ curiosity led him to find out what’s happening inside the church hierarch,y and how willing he was to help Father Pelaez in the secularization of the Church, and in his last years, fighting for equality and love of country.”
He thinks getting the part of Father Burgos was not just about him; it was larger than his personal career agenda. More than the film exposure, Cedrick has realized that his main mission is to help Filipinos today recognize the significance of the death of the three martyred priests, and how they inspired our heroes to break free from the colonialism and exploitation of 300 years. “GomBurZa is a classic lesson in history and how we can learn from it,” added Cedrick.
Paul Cedrick Juan during premiere night of ‘GomBurZa’
He likes it that the director, Pepe Diokno, the son of prominent nationalist lawyer Chel Diokno, is a director who would want his actors to go beyond the script. “We always had small talks on and off the set. There were questions that he asked me that weren’t in the script. He was so collaborative and calm. He knew he was the captain of the ship and being calm would enable him to best articulate his directions. He was the one who made me realize the core objective of the Burgos’ role—that the martyr priest was inspired by Padre Pelaez’s works as the champion of secularization of the church. Come to think of it, it was Father Burgos who inspired his students, Paciano Rizal and Felipe Buencamino. Pepe (Diokno) was collaborative and made sure his actors were comfortable creating their characters.”
Born in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, and a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the Far Eastern University, Cedrick was into theater before he went into film and television.
He had stints with Dulaang UP where he was mentored by Joey Ting, Jose Estrella, Alexander Cortes, among others.
Cedrick Juan in the play ‘Adarna’
His “big brothers” in theater included Noel Escondo and Jojit Lorenzo. The latter he considered a brother he never had. “He always reminds me of my values in life. He’s the type of friend who would never tolerate your wrongdoing. He will always tell the truth even if it hurts you. He is also an actor and I learned a lot from him through the years of his experience as a theater and screen actor.”
Before GomBurZa, he was Col. Jose Leyba in Goyo Ang Batang Heneral, he was Valentin Ventura in GMA’s Ilustrado, and Alex in the Netflix series, I Am You, among others.
For him, for acting to work, it must always be about finding the truth about a character one is portraying. “That works for me on every platform. I’ve been acting for 10 years and I can’t count how many times I did supporting roles. It’s not a problem with me. It’s a job at the end of the day, and for sure it will help me grow as an actor and as human being.”
Paul Cedrick Juan with cast of ‘Panti Sisters’ (Photo by Idea Frist Company)
(GomBurZa directed by Pepe Diokno stars Dante Rivero as Padre Mariano Gomez, Paul Cedrick Juan as Padre José Burgos, and Enchong Dee as Padre Jacinto Zamora. Piolo Pascual plays the very special role of Padre Pédro Pelaéz, the Filipino clergy leader who was mentor of Padre José Burgos. Others in the cast are Epi Quizon, Jaime Fabregas, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Fernando Josef, Khalil Ramos, Elijah Canlas, Neil Ryan Sese, Paolo O’Hara, Tommy Alejandrino, Gerry Kaimo, Dylan Tay Talon, Jomari Angeles and Bon Lentejas, among others. The producer is Jesuit Communications (JesCom), the media arm of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines and the company behind the 2016 action-drama biopic Ignacio de Loyola. GomBurZa is official entry in the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival. It is now showing in cinemas in Metro Manila and Iloilo City and other select theaters in the provinces.)
