CubitaNOW Newsroom ~ Saturday, July 1, 2023
Cuban actor Carlos Solar spoke of the bureaucratic hurdles he faced for failing to present a professional title in the union, but admitted he was “grateful for the opportunities life has given me”.
Solar, 38 and from Havana, has appeared in popular soap operas such as En tiempos de Amar and Asuntos Pending. In order to start an artistic career, he had to break off his training as a qualified physiotherapist and rehabilitation student.
“Retiring from the race was something I knew was coming at any moment. Even before I graduated in physical therapy and rehabilitation, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I felt that the passion for acting was stronger. But since I didn’t have any professional training as an actor, it was very difficult for me to hire anyone, and in fact I ended up getting hired as a props man or a stagehand,” he said in an interview with OnCuba.
“This is something the guild should correct. If you are talented and have not attended art school, as in my case, you sometimes encounter bureaucratic hurdles along the way. The decision to change careers was also forced on me by the fact that the coordinators of the physiotherapy course called me into the practice and told me that I had to make a decision. “My absences affected the functioning of my department,” he said.
“I decided to make my dream of becoming an actor come true, and the director of the polyclinic where I did an internship appreciated me very much and was very understanding with me,” he recalls. “As an actor I can be, for example, a visual artist, a musician, a dancer. “This infinite capacity for transformation is what drives my passion for acting,” he commented.
Regarding her participation in the telenovela En tiempos de Amar, she recalled that she was 30 at the time, but “had already fulfilled her dream of making films and still hadn’t had the opportunity to act in a telenovela”. . although I have attended many castings.”
“Without a doubt, it was a pivotal moment and I am eternally grateful to Ernesto Fiallo and Julio César Ramírez for this opportunity,” he said. Although she has no professional training, Sola does not consider herself to be self-taught, as she learned from drama teachers.
“I received courses such as those studied in art colleges, even though I wasn’t officially enrolled in one. The disadvantage of this training is that it is very difficult to get hired as an actor as only graduates from formal institutions are recognized as professional actors. However, I believe that professionalism goes beyond a title. “I have a lot of classmates and I know a lot of colleagues in this country with great careers who didn’t go to art schools,” he said.
In addition to acting, Solar has also hosted shows such as Bailando en Cuba. “I’m a brave actor. I accepted the challenge when the opportunity presented itself. “Dancing in Cuba” was a beautiful program that I think was a credit to the audience. It’s one of the most beautiful projects I’ve been a part of,” he said.
He also criticized the role of government agencies in hiring artists. “The other thing is that our country needs real representatives in the union; not these spirits, like agencies, which in practice do not represent us at all. Not only do they help, they also create bureaucratic hurdles, they charge a percentage and you don’t see them anymore during the recording. You don’t really care about your interests as an artist, so I think a reputable representation structure would avoid many awkward moments for the actors when it comes to negotiating projects,” he said.
Speaking of his character Gerardo in the novel Asuntos Pending, he said, “At first I wasn’t sure where to start creating this character. I let myself be carried away by the guidelines that the director Felo Ruiz gave me in the table work. Later on on the set I was surprised how Gerardo started to flow. Another surprise for me was that during the recording process I didn’t really realize how uncomfortable the character might be for the audience. When I see it on the screen, I’m surprised.”
“I am grateful for the opportunities that life has given me. I’m doing what I’m passionate about and I’m firmly convinced that there are still good projects to come. For my part, I make sure that I’m ready to hit when the ball comes quickly, that’s the most important thing. Sometimes we crave opportunities and then we’re not ready to face them,” he added.
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