CARLA GUEVARA-LAFORTEZA REFLECTS ON HER 9/11 EXPERIENCE THROUGH 'COME FROM AWAY'

Whenever Carla Guevara steps on stage as Hannah in the critically acclaimed musical "Come From Away," she doesn't just portray a character; she somehow relives a part of her own life.

- By NATHALIE TOMADA

Set during the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, "Come From Away" tells the true story of how a small town in Newfoundland, Canada welcomed 7,000 stranded airline passengers when U.S. airspace was shut down.

For Carla, who plays Hannah, a mother desperately trying to reach her firefighter son in New York, the story hits close to home, not only as a mother herself, but as someone who was in New York on that fateful day.

"I was actually in New York when this happened," Carla recalled to The STAR. "I had just given birth to my eldest son on Sept. 1. Tapos Sept. 11 'to nangyari. Medyo hilo-hilo pa ako as a new mom."

Her husband, then working as a delivery guy, was supposed to be near the Twin Towers that day. "I knew he had deliveries in Tribeca and in the Twin Towers kasi dun yung assignment niya for that day," she shared. "Pero na-late yung delivery guy na friend niya. Kung hindi late, nandoon sila sa Twin Towers nung nangyari yun."

That memory has added an emotional layer to her performance. "It was really a personal connection and experience. Dun ko na kuha yung hugot. I don't know if it's fate... kasi sila GMG (the producer) did not know my history... and to cast me in that particular role, not knowing that I actually experienced those feelings in real life, 23 years ago... So, it's crazy, right?"

Looking back on her proximity to the 9/11 tragedy, The STAR asked if Carla, who eventually came home to Manila due to her husband's job, felt traumatized by the experience.