Rising star Jess Martinez recalls the first day of taping for TV series: 'Nanginginig ako nun'

 

Jess Martinez (Images courtesy of Instagram)

By Robert Requintina

Published Jun 27, 2025 03:57 pm

Everything is looking up for rising star Jess Martinez, who has shifted her focus from being a social media influencer to pursuing a career in acting.

After spending some time concentrating on TikTok, Jess seems to have discovered what truly brings her joy and fulfillment.

'I'm not testing the waters. I want to go full-time now. I love showbiz,' said Jess during an interview in Boro, Quezon City recently. Portraying different characters allows her to showcase her talent.

'I'm not in showbiz for fame, but what I like about it is that I get to express my emotions. I love acting because it allows me to showcase my diverse personalities. Being an influencer is routine-based. However, in show business, I get to portray different characters,' she said.

Her love for acting started when she started watching TV series. It was then that she told herself she wanted to try showbiz.

'My family is in business. It is my personal decision to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. When I watched different series like Marimar, I told myself I want to be a star one day, or be seen on television,' said Jess.

Jess currently appears in the Kapuso series 'Sanggang Dikit' starring Dennis Trillo and Jennylyn Mercado. But her first acting gig was for the popular afternoon series 'Abot-Kamay Na Pangarap.' Then she also guested in Regal Studios and Pepito Manaloto. 'Memorable ang 'Abot-Kamay' dahil four weeks ako roon. Whenever I have scenes with Wilma Doesnt, who is my Tita there, she helps me out.'

She excitedly recalls her first taping day with versatile actress Carmina Villaroel. 'My first taping day ever was a scene with Carmina Villaroel. Nanginginig talaga ako nun. Isa lang ang line ko noon pero kabado talaga ako. Natutunan ko talaga dapat mabilis ka sa catch up and meron kang presence of mind kasi minsan kung may binigay sa'yo na script, hindi assurance na yun na talaga ang sasabihin mo. Pwede siyang tanggalin or baguhin. Dapat, you have to be in the moment. You have to be fast. (My first taping day ever was a scene with Carmina Villaroel. I was nervous then. I only had one line then, but I was nervous. I learned that you have to be quick to catch up and have presence of mind, because sometimes, even if you are given a script, it doesn't guarantee that you will say it. It can be removed or changed. You have to be in the moment),' said Jess. 

Having a recurring role as a policewoman in 'Sanggang Dikit,' Jess said she feels comfortable working on the set of the new series.

'Super bait nila Jennlyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo. I'm comfortable with them because we had workshops before the taping. In that training, nakabulo na kami ng friendship. (Jennlyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo are super nice. I was comfortable with them because we had workshops before the taping. In that training, we have developed a friendship.)'

Before acting, Jess was heavily immersed in social media, particularly in the fashion and lifestyle sectors. 'Through TikTok, I get to express who I am. I get to dress up and get a glimpse of how my family is.'

However, Jess wanted to explore other fields, so she decided to venture into the entertainment industry. She's one of the exclusive talents of the Artist Circle, headed by its President and CEO Rams David.

''They are family to me because they accept me for who I am. I'm happy I chose Artist Circle because I'm not only improving as an artist, but also as a person,' Jess said.

Born in Cotabato City, Jess grew up in Davao City. Then Jess and her family moved to Manila in 2020. Since then, Jess hasn't returned to the province.

At 23, Jess admitted she only had crushes. 'Wala pa akong pinapakilala sa parents ko. I've never been in love, but I have crushes.'

Jess admires celebrity siblings Atasha and Andres Muhlach, Alden Richards, Kyle Echarri, and Heart Evangelista.

On love teams, Jess said: 'I'm not closing my doors to love teams. But if I had the chance, gusto ko iba-iba ang partner.'

Actress Shyr Valdez is also guiding Jess in her journey in show business. Asked what she learns from Shyr, Jess said: 'Always stay grounded. Kahit ano ang maabot mo sa showbiz, dapat grateful ka sa mga tumutulong sa iyo sa industry. (No matter what you achieve in showbiz, you should be grateful to those who help you in the industry.)'

Is Low German closer to English than it’s to German?

 

Lady in a Castle

 · 

Loves LanguagesMar 14

Is Low German closer to English than it’s to German?

Yes, it is.

Both Low German and English didn't suffer High German consonant shift, besides the two languages are from North sea Germanic branch, so somehow they're a bit related to. Low German is the modern descendant of Old Saxon the language spoken by ancient Germanic tribe, Saxons but those Saxons stayed on their original fatherland that it's nowadays northern Germany and northeast of the Netherlands instead of migrating to England with Angles, other Saxons, Jutes and Frisians, where there with all the mix of their dialects it formed Anglo- Saxon language, the earliest version of English spoken nowadays.

Certainly it's very possible that it existed a great degree of intelligibility between Old English and Old Saxon, but nowadays both languages are not intelligible, because English centuries back was very influenced by Old Norse and Norman French, and then English adopted foreign vocabulary from many different languages on later periods.

Low German on the contrary was strongly influenced by standard German on recent eras in terms of vocabulary, orthography and grammar structures, losing some of their original characteristics for this reason, nowadays Low German it's more considered a German dialect more than an independent language itself, although it is. Low German dialects spoken in The Netherlands have received more Dutch influence in terms of vocabulary, orthography and grammar structures, in The Netherlands Low German it's known as Low Saxon.

The pursuit for unity of life

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

IF we really know what the real and ultimate purpose of our life here on earth is, for sure we would do everything to organize our life in such a way that all the elements involved would work together to pursue that purpose.

This is what we may call as the duty to develop a sense of unity of life, where we integrate everything in our life, starting with our ordinary activities and work, our prayer and other responsibilities—social, family, apostolic, etc.—into a constant occasion to sanctify ourselves, i.e., to always do God’s will.

In this way, we would be affirming our true identity as children of God who wants us to be like him. That is why in the gospel, Christ always compares us with God our Father. “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy,” he said. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5,48)

We have to learn to turn everything into an occasion, means and reason to know, love and serve God, and to do the same to everybody else, since our relation with God is always developed through our relation with others and with everything else in our life here on earth.

This would mean that we have to learn how to find God in our daily lives and in all the events and circumstances of our life. If we have the proper frame of mind that is guided by our Christian faith, we know that everything can and should be sanctified, and by so doing, we also sanctify ourselves and others.

We should never forget that our life is not only biological, it relies simply on our biological functions. Neither is it just purely physical or material that requires merely material nourishment.

Our life has many more important aspects and dimensions that need to be integrated into one whole consistent thing. There’s the manual and intellectual, the active and contemplative, personal and social, the material and spiritual, the temporal and eternal, etc.

And precisely because of our spiritual nature, we open ourselves to a supernatural level. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. Thus, we should also be aware of what is natural and supernatural in our life, the mundane and the sacred.

I must say that of the different pairs of distinctions among the aspects of our life, that of the natural and supernatural is the most tricky, and therefore the most ignored, the least appreciated and lived with consistency.

And yet, we also have this intriguing reality that a good portion of the people all over the world, usually the poor and simple, automatically realize that our life has both these natural and supernatural dimensions.

The challenge we have is how to integrate all these elements in such a way that we live this unity of life as much as possible with uninterrupted consistency and continuity. This would definitely require God’s grace, first of all, and our all-out effort. 

There will always be a need for daily struggle. It would be helpful that as soon as possible we realize and start to do something about it. We may never reach perfection in this regard, but at least we can try and try, making progress little by little.

To be sure, it will be a very demanding life that we should have, but also one that would give us a certain sense of inner joy and peace that the world cannot give.