Thais Valdés’ return to Cuban cinema has been a huge breath of life and adrenaline for her. And she does it again under the guidance of a dear friend: Gerardo Chijona, with the movie La Fiesta.

“This reunion was something very nice. Being away is sometimes very good because it gives you a new perspective. It makes you get away from your reality and then you can see it in a different way,” she confessed in an interview with Prensa Latina.

“That's why when you return, whether to make movies or theater, then you come back fresher. You took off so many layers that you become yourself again, you return to your identity, because you got rid of that actress character,” she said.

“You come back as if you were starting from scratch, but with a great deal of experience. It's like coming back from the beach, you come back clean, fresh, your skin is clean, the calluses on your feet are gone...,” she said laughing.

“In addition to returning to filmmaking, returning to Cuba means reuniting with many people I love, admire and respect,” stressed the actress, who is a well-known and beloved face for film fans of the seventh art in our country.

She has always felt very cared for within Cuban cinema and speaks with profound affection about her experience with great directors.

“I was new in this world when Juan Carlos Tabío proposed the role of Clarita to me and I remember it fondly. He gave me all the elements so that, as a young actress, I could play that role. It was pure fun,” she recalled.

“In addition, I was fascinated, surrounded by great actors such as Daisy Granados, Raúl Pomares and Luis Alberto García,” she added.

Thais Valdés graduated in 1985 from the National School of Art Instructors in Havana and has played leading roles in outstanding film productions of Cuban cinematography.

Films such as Plaff or Too Much Fear of Life, by Tabío; Adorables mentiras, by Chijona; Alice in Wonderland, by Daniel Díaz; and Nada, by Juan Carlos Cremata, are well remembered by the public who do not forget her face or her warmth.

“Danielito trusted me a lot to make a film with a twist of sarcasm and constructive criticism like Alice in Wonderland,” she recalled.

“We had to shoot outside of Havana and we spent long periods in very complicated locations, with very difficult scenes such as those that included animals,” she said.

“Then, the film was ridiculously opposed and was in theaters for very little time,” the actress lamented.

“It seemed that we were still in Wonderland. We shared very difficult moments after filming with the whole situation that was created around the film. Daniel, who was very honest and committed, gave me a lot of support and many filmmakers joined to protect and defend that artistic product,” she highlighted.

What is working with Chijona like?

“Chijona is a person whom I love very much and whom I trust very much as a director, as a creator and as a friend.

I have known him since the beginning of the 1990s and I love him very much. When he invited me to make the film Adorables mentiras, he already had a cast of very solid actors, such as Isabel Santos and Luis Alberto García, Jorge Cao, Alicia Bustamante…

At that time, I was a young actress who was just starting out and we built a mutual trust.

Un paraíso bajo las estrellas came right after. Chijona proposed it to me in 1994 when we were in New York, where we went together to a film festival.

When he explained to me that it was a musical film, I immediately said yes, although it seemed like an immense challenge to play the leading role of Sissy.

The project was on hold for a while waiting for financing and I thought that perhaps during that period he could look for a better actress for the film, someone who could sing and dance, perhaps Beatriz Valdés.

But he continued to trust me and so we entered into that great adventure that was Un paraíso bajo las estrellas. He accompanied me daily to the Tropicana Cabaret to take my classes, to rehearsals, and a great complicity and affection began to develop between us.

Afterwards, I distanced myself from cinema and went to Mexico, where I have done theatre and resumed my passion for teaching.

Returning to Cuba to make films has been very nice. From the moment I arrived at the airport, I was impressed by the warm welcome from the public. People have given me so much affection and love.

I will always gladly respond to Chijona's call and so I did now with La Fiesta, which is in the filming process.

After several years away from the big screen, this has been a happy reunion. Besides, I cannot say no to Chijona because there will always be a good outcome, a charming work environment and great learning.

When he first told me about the project in 2019, I immediately replied: you know that I will always say yes.

I had a wonderful time on set. I was fortunate to film scenes with Isabel Santos again, to work with Osvaldo Doimeadiós, with Héctor Noas and with my eternal partner Vladimir Cruz.

The film also has an excellent technical staff, full of talented and committed people,” said the actress.

Return, return, return…

Returning to the cinema world has been a huge joy for me, sometimes reunions can have a sad or nostalgic tone, but this one has been very nice.

For me, it has been a party to meet again with cinema, with Cuba, with its beauty, with the sea, with my family, with my friends, with my neighbors… I took on Maritza with a lot of maturity, regardless of having been far from film work, because I have only done theater in Mexico. But there is something that settles inside your being. It cannot be healed. It is not removed. Whatever is being learnt at home is never forgotten.

If Carla Pérez, in the film Nada, was easy for me because we had so many things in common, Maritza has practically nothing to do with me and despite this, I was able to quickly find the resources and elements to take on the role of this character and I enjoyed it a lot.

Age has that advantage. It gives us a physical and psychological maturity that allows us to approach the characters with calmness, confidence.

On numerous occasions I have said it. I am not an academy actress. I am a girl who finished the School of Art Instructors and I was fortunate that Orlando Rojas invited me to his film Una novia para David.

I also think that Carla Pérez is one of my most remembered characters. Right now I have the same haircut that I had in the film Nada and people identify me immediately.

That character is so beautiful, so poetic, so charming and with that desperate scene of 'I want to leave' that can be used for many contexts, sometimes you want to leave a country, sometimes you want to leave your home or a relationship that no longer works... it applies to so many things.

The phrases from the films are adopted by the public and there are some that become iconic phrases as happened with Carla's scream.

Could you talk a little about life in Mexico?

Well, in Mexico I have no place within Televisa nor does Televisa have a place for me. I would like to enter the world of cinema but it is quite difficult for a person with a different accent, with a different physique.

So I resumed my career as a theater instructor and it was a great laboratory. I taught theater classes for several years and I had very good experiences and some difficult ones too. But the actress I am today is partly thanks to that whole process as a teacher.

I also did plays, all of which have been very enriching opportunities because I was able to take part in very nice projects with Casa de Teatro, with Círculo Teatral de Alberto Estrella, with the scriptwriter Susana Cato…

Now my job is being a teacher for a child with autism: my dear Emiliano, with whom I meet every day. I have this new passion in my life, which is special education.

And I just found out that I really like writing for children. I have several stories already finished that arise from my work with Emiliano because there are many things that he has had to learn through stories, from tales… Perhaps, one day, one of those stories could become a script.

All experiences are enriching, especially if they are lived with honesty and passion. I may never act again in my life, but I will continue working and work is dignifying. Also, I will continue being an actress even if I am never on stage again.

They recently screened Un paraíso bajo las estrellas at the Yara movie theater in Havana. But I don't like to see myself again. I get nostalgic or super-critical thinking about everything I could have done and didn't. I dared to see it again and had such a good time, I liked it so much.

I said to myself, look how nice it is to see what you did, don't be so hard on yourself, enjoy yourself, see yourself young again...

What do you miss about Cuba?

The sea, my family… When I arrive, the first thing I do is go see the sea. This season, with so much work, I have had few opportunities to go. The sea is what cleanses my soul, my body, my emotions and my nostalgia.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff