Salvador del Solar: “At 53, I’m very grateful to be in the place I’ve chosen: telling stories” | Interview | Cinema | Theater | Argentina | Colombia | Peru | Political | Prime Minister | Minister of Culture | Stories EC | ARE

See also: Luis Horna: “The future of Peruvian tennis fills me with hope”

You go from one place to another. Where do you actually live?

In Lima. What happens is that I lived in Colombia for many years and my oldest daughter is still there, which is why I go so often. I also work there. Lately I’ve been alternating with Buenos Aires, where I temporarily starred in a movie called “Operación Relleno” with Carla Peterson and Julieta Ramírez. But I live in Peru.

You also finished shooting Paul Vega’s first film “Astronaut” a long time ago.

Yes. Paul Vega is a good friend of mine and we both started our careers at the same time. He sent me a message to read the script and see if I was interested in any of the characters. I did it, and it seemed to me that it was deep, subtle, and comprehensive. Of course I accepted.

– What plot is that?

It is the story of a couple played by Uruguayan actor Daniel Hendler and Angie Cepeda. He is a successful TV presenter who is starting to get bored with his good fortune. A 40-year-old man who has to settle something with his dreams of becoming a writer. His wife is an advertising photographer. In this context, they both meet Javier again, my character, their best friend from university. Between the latter and her, a feeling arises that there is an unresolved attraction in the past.

– You agree again with Angie Cepeda. Are these professional meetings on purpose?

We never look for it, so we feel great joy when it happens. My career gave me the opportunity to work on the most important projects in Angie’s life, but most of all it gave us this beautiful friendship.

“I didn’t plan to be the culture minister or head of the cabinet, but it happened and I tried to take the challenge responsibly. But I am an actor, director and screenwriter.”

– Are there any conflicts between you and returning to acting after assuming two of the most important public positions in the country?

I will always accept it with deep gratitude for serving my country. I didn’t plan to be the Minister of Culture or the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, but it happened and I tried to accept the challenge responsibly. But I am an actor, director and screenwriter. Going into politics involves a drastic change of course. The intensity of those jobs (in the state) was so high that when I finished them I felt like I needed to breathe. So, resuming my acting didn’t seem so easy.

How did that reconnection come about?

Already in 2020 the first thing I did after public service was a monologue I wrote and it was called “Varato”. My dear friend Norma Martinez then put it on audiovisual support because we were in an epidemic. I wrote from that strange feeling of not knowing where I was and how to get off.

— Epidemics cooperated with that suspension.

Yes, but I realized that I am no longer called to be an actor and director. Only I was taken into account in the political sphere. Joanna Lombardi was the first person to ask me if I wanted to return to audiovisual production. Of course I wanted to, so I co-directed a streaming series about Los Prisioneros. It never crossed my mind not to act again anytime soon. He was very clear that he was going to return to it, as well as promote fiction writing projects.

After directing and writing “Magallanes” there were many more stories…

Clarity. These were suspended when called up for public service.

“Are you working on something?”

Yes, I have been writing the script for my second film with Hector Galvez for the past two years. The tentative title is “A Place for Ramon”. We are going to start shooting by the end of this year. It tells the life of Ramon, a young man who, in the prison of the epidemic, receives the ashes of his father, with whom he is not close. And he is locked in many pending issues in that relationship.

You’re 53, what makes you green-light a project?

At this point in my life, I was very happy to participate in audiovisual projects. From September till now I have participated in four films. At 53, I am very grateful to be where I have chosen to be: telling stories.

—It is not well known, but you are also a lecturer.

Yes, I’ve been doing it with some frequency since the pandemic. Virtuality has encouraged the opportunity to present these conferences on topics that really interest me, such as careers and citizenship. I want to share ideas that I believe will be valuable and encourage reflection.

– Are you still away from Peru’s political life?

Yes, the opportunity to serve my country has arisen in the past, but in essence I am a communicator. I am about to celebrate 30 years in acting, directing and storytelling and it makes me happy.

– You have written columns in El Comercio and “El Pais America”. Won’t you go back to it too?

Can’t now. I stopped writing political columns because I realized that there were many people who joined me on that topic. It can create confusion and expectations that I will have some political participation that I don’t want.

– Is that why you haven’t tweeted in a year?

Somehow. I quit Twitter because I couldn’t find fertile ground for anything I liked. Not a real place for conversation in any constructive sense.

– As an ordinary Peruvian, what reflection does the national situation evoke for you today?

I believe that today there is a tremendous opportunity and need for us to empower ourselves as citizens. This will solve many of our challenges. We need real political parties. Representative leadership at local, regional and national levels. It is achieved through education. Weary of the politics we live in, this moment works against us, but I believe nothing stands still. The bet is on the new generations. //