Yessie Guridi, after Renacer, Lives her Sábados de Gloria

Nurse Lisandra from the soap opera Renacer returns to the Cuban Television star dramatization in the new installment, Sábados de gloria, this time with a leading role. Of course, it’s an excellent excuse to interview Yessie Guridi, but this enterprising woman (literally), deserves that we tell her story from the beginning:

«I spent the four years of the School of Art Instructors in the specialty of theater, then I did my social service for five years in an elementary school that, by the way, was the same one where I studied. That was a spectacular job, I gave classes to children in Appreciation of arts, I love working with them, so the work as an art instructor was something I enjoyed a lot.

«At the same time, I was studying Psychology, and when I graduated I was working at the Adolescent Clinic, and then I worked for a long time as a psychologist in the infertility program at the América Arias hospital. Wonderful job, I still miss it sometimes, I have patients who to this day stay in touch with me, it was really something that motivated me a lot. There were two moments that made me very happy, one when a person who had been in the process for years, being treated in the infertility clinic, managed to get pregnant, and another, when a patient who had lost the pregnancy or the child at birth and after a time in treatment managed to have her baby, that was super stimulating and gratifying for me.

«At that time, art instructors could not take ISA tests, nor enter any professional group, that was a very traumatic process for me, however, even so I gave classes, studied Psychology and had my amateur theater group, which I enjoyed very much. We performed on different occasions, we participated in festivals, but when I graduated in Psychology, the work at the Adolescent Clinic was very demanding, I had to give it priority, and I really stopped doing theater. Not being able to enter ISA or work in theater professionally was a frustration for me. That changed when I was already in the fourth year of Psychology and decided to follow that path, it was the moment when I shelved everything that had to do with acting.

—Art instructor, psychologist and owner of two successful businesses, you are the living example that vocation and talent always come to the surface. What was the click that made you return to acting after so many years?

—My best friend, Rey Castañeda, who is a playwright and director, always told me that I had to act: “You have to realize that you can do whatever you want in life, undertake, everything, but you have to act, because there’s something in you that will not be completely happy and fulfilled until you realize that.” I told him no, that I had forgotten that, but one day he came to see me because Heiking was doing the series Valientes and he told me that he was looking for an actress for a small but interesting character, which has its nuances, and that he had told him about me because he would like me to do it. At first I refused, I explained to him that it had been a long time since I had recited a poem, but he convinced me and I went, spoke to the director and took on the role.

«The first day of shooting, I got up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, because they picked us up at about a quarter to five, I felt disciplined in picking up everything, because I did it with my own clothes, because the character was an iyawo and I was an iyawo at that time, and then when I got to the set and saw the energy, the movement, the cameras, the people, I understood why my friend, who knows me so well, insisted that I needed that. I did it, I was happy, and that day I said: I have to do my time, my ventures on one side, my life as a mother on the other, as a woman, but I have to keep acting».

Reborn…

Then Yessie filmed Silhouettes, a TV movie by Rey Catañeda himself, where she especially enjoyed meeting good friends like the actresses Yeni Soria, Paula Varela, Rosmery Guillén and the director himself. Shortly after, Heiking and Jorge Molina, with whom she had shared the set in Valientes, called her to propose a new challenge: the soap opera Renacer:

«They introduced me to Lisandra, and that implied a time that I didn't have because of the ventures, so I thought about it, because the filming time of a soap opera is much longer, but I decided. I really liked Lisandra, how Heiking and Molina, the people who were going to share the scene with Lisandra, portrayed her to me, and I said yes».

—Can you tell us about the feedback you have had from the best critic there is, the public?

—The displays of affection from people are incredible, from stopping me on the street and saying: «Hey, why don’t you fight for your man?» "give it your all," to others who tell me: "I hate you, I can't stand you, you're so annoying, I hope he stays with the mother of his son," that is, things that one notices that they really enjoy the soap opera and feel part of it to express what they feel. I, truly, am not on Facebook much, but I know that there are groups on that social network where people charge against the character and also very good opinions for me as an actress, others not so much, I know that there’s exchange... I always try to stay with what people give me live, on a personal level, where some criticize the character, but they also see its facets. Each person gives their version and I think that’s what the soap opera is for.

"My character is not a criminal, but not a positive character either; she has had bad behavior throughout the soap opera, but what she defends and what I tried to defend about Lisandra is that woman in love who was trying to do everything for the love of that man. Sometimes she didn't have the best behavior, but what I felt for him and his family was sincere. That was the part I focused on the most when defending her and I think that's what the audience has seen.

—The best experience you draw from this job?

—For me, personally, it has engulfed me in satisfaction, with nice things, with very nice gifts: children who watch the soap opera and give you their opinions as if they were already adults, people who are in similar situations. And, above all, the greatest gift has been exchanging with so many incredible human beings in the Renacer cast. From the direction of Heiking and Molina, from whom I had a lot of support, because it was my first big job and they were extremely careful with me, very affectionate, they had the patience to wait for me to understand the processes and codes of television, of the soap opera, above all. I have a lot to thank them for.

«On the other hand, to the team that worked directly with me, Giselle Sobrino, who I always say, is my gift from Renacer, the warmth she gave me from day one was spectacular. We are rivals in the soap opera, but in real life we are excellent friends. Teherán, who is a gentleman, I call him «the Lord Fireman». What Fernando performs is Teherán in reality, a person who helped me a lot, who was a great companion, very warm. The same with Belkis, that is, Daniela Valdés. It was also her first soap opera, as was Alejandro Arcos, and for the three of us the support of Roberto Romero, Giselle Sobrino and Teherán Aguilar was vital to be able to create the family we created».

Sábados de gloria

Renacer also gave her the confidence to launch herself into a bigger challenge, because in the next soap opera, Sábados de gloria, she plays a leading character.

—Tell us: how was that? Did you have to convince yourself a lot?

—No, I was already convinced. I think Renacer was the prelude to taking on a role, a character with greater weight in terms of everything: the timing, the need for study that a role of that magnitude entails, the complexity of the character itself, because it is so far from me in several aspects. Not only in the realm of fiction, but in things as real as age, it is too far from me and it was a huge challenge.

—How did you get to Sábados de gloria?

—I always have to say this: I ran into Sábados de gloria because Ernesto Fiallo told me that they were doing a casting to find one of the leading roles and encouraged me to apply. Without hesitation I went to the casting, which was being conducted by Tamara Castellanos, the general director of the soap opera. I didn't know anyone, it was the first casting I had ever attended in my life, I didn't know what the process was like, I got there in panic, filled with fear and insecurities, also because it’s part of being human and what we are. I returned home convinced that the role was not mine. Two days later they called me to go pick up the scripts. I asked: what does that mean? That the character is yours. I couldn't believe it.

—Did you fall in love with the character at once?

—After the first reading, I didn't like many things about the character, there were many points where I didn't agree with Rita; however, today I love her, and if anything helped me defend her, it was two things: one, my friend Yeni Soria, who advised me: "find the point where you and she are similar, there always is. Find it, and at that point, defend her. That's the first thing, and the second thing I'm going to tell you is that no character comes into the lives of actresses and actors for fun. Characters are like spirits that come for something in life. And if Rita is coming to you right now, it's must mean something."

"I sat there, thought and understood many things. That was what made me start to love Rita, to find her and to defend her."

—Without spoilers, can you give us a preview of what happened to Rita? Who is Rita?

—Rita is an incredible human being, a very positive character. She is a surgeon whose life revolves around the humanitarian work of saving lives, of giving away what she believes to be most valuable in friendship. This is a novel that deals, first, with the lives of women and men who are already on their way to a mature age, where a series of conflicts always appear, and I think that people are going to identify a lot with the characters precisely because of that. Sábados de gloria is going to give a leading role to friendship, to those groups of friends who save each other over time and neither distance nor the rhythm of daily life manage to extinguish them. Rita defends that, friendship and humanity. If I could define her with one word, it would be reflective, and I think that love and friendship define her above all things.

—After a long filming process, what experiences and satisfactions did you have?

—It was wonderful to work with a team of established actors like the cast of this soap opera. Sábados de gloria has been a luxury for me: a luxury to share with all those great actors, who helped me to get into the swing of things, to adapt to the rhythm of a soap opera, who welcomed me into that production team, everyone, from Tamara, the camera men, the makeup artists, the costume designers, the lights, everyone. I will never be able to thank the universe enough for that gift. Also being under the direction of Tamara, who trusted me for a character like Rita, who was also one of her favorite characters, and who worked with me hand in hand until I managed to get Rita out and give her what she wanted as a director.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff