When a person would hear Josh Santana’s name, one would instantly think of “Meteor Garden” as he was the voice behind one of the show’s soundtracks. But Santana has left his showbiz career behind him and is now a licensed physician.
Santana, or Michael Pamular in real life, began his showbiz career in the early 2000s when he starred alongside Carol Banawa in the now-defunct teleserye “Bituin”.
However, it was during the Meteor Garden fever when Santana became a household name after recording “Biyahe”, the tagalog version of “Qing Fei Di Yi”.
Aside from the Meteor Garden soundtrack, he also had a promising singing career after releasing two 10-track studio albums titled “John Santana”, and “John Santana: Eres Tú”. He also sang the theme songs of a number of television series including “Basta’t Kasama Kita”, “Dito sa Puso Ko”, and “Qpids”.
“I think nabigyan ako ng tamang mga proyekto, masasabi kong I had the biggest break, to be able to sing theme songs in different TV series especially yung sa Meteor Garden, ang laking blessing nun for me” Santana said in an interview with CNN.
However, he decided to have a shift in career, leave show business and chose to pursue a career in the medical world.
The former singer-actor, who was an AB English graduate from Far Eastern University, admitted that he had a hard time adjusting to his new chosen career path as he had no medical background.
He also admitted that he doubted leaving show business while pursuing his medical degree.
On March 15, 2018, the list of the passers of the Physician Licensure Examination were released, and one of the names on the list was that of Santana.
Overwhelmed by the feeling of passing the licensure exam, Santana posted an image on his Instagram to thank God, his family, and his friends.
“There are a lot of people that I need to thank that this page may not be enough. Again, none of this would be possible without God’s approval. During the exam, I felt Him beside me, reminding me to trust in myself because He has made me His warrior and that I had everything I needed to answer the questions. It was the strongest connection I felt with Him ever. Thank you, Lord,” he said.
“I thank my whole family for the support and I also apologize for my absence in most family occasions. I thank my friends who made this journey so much easier to take. Tama na, haba na! Basta thank you, thank you, thank you!” he added.
Santana also added that even though he now has a medical license, he is still open to returning to show business.
