Alana de la Garza has been cast as Rosa Santos, the youngest of the Santos siblings. Rosa's return to Pine Valley (actually, she never left town... she just hasn't been seen) had been rumored for several weeks prior to Soap Central's confirmation of the return in early April.
This time around Rosa will be a little older than viewers will last remember. Rosa was not yet in high school when he last saw her. Adding on a few years, Rosa should be somewhere around 11th grade. According to casting calls out of the AMC studios, Rosa will now be a high school graduate -- possible around the age of 19.
For one reason or another, Catherine Gardner, the actress who had done a very good job of playing Rosa from 1995 to 1998, will not be reprising the role. It is unclear if Gardner was asked to reprise or re-audition for the role.
De la Garza is an apparently newcomer to show business. An Internet search of her name returned no previous acting experience.
For as much mystery as the new actress brings to the role, there's an equal amount of mystery about what Rosa will do during her return stint. There were early rumors that Rosa might be struggling with her sexual identity and become a love interest for Bianca. That, however, has not been confirmed by ABC.
De la Garza's first airdate is scheduled for June 14.
