Pablo Azar regresa a la televisión tras 7 años de ausencia
El actor mexicano, quien representará a México con su arte en Corea del Sur, participa en la segunda temporada de la serie biográfica colombiana Arelys Henao: canto para no llorar, que acaba de aterrizar en Netflix.
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00:00The day Mateo was born, on May 8th, my manager called me to tell me that I had been in this project for 7 years.
00:11Because in those 7 years, I did a lot of auditions for television.
00:15It's not like I didn't want to do it. I did a lot of auditions and they didn't call me.
00:19It also coincided that I decided to support the rights of Latin American actors in the United States.
00:27You know that when you support positive causes, there are people who don't like it.
00:35And maybe that also influenced my absence on television.
00:39As a result of the birth of my son, my priority completely changed.
00:42The work is important, yes, because I also want to give my baby an adequate quality of life.
00:47The priority is his well-being.
00:50The priority is that he can grow up in an environment of harmony, of peace,
00:54surrounded by things that help him develop to the top of his abilities.
00:59In the United States and in Mexico, sometimes there is a lot of the stereotype that
01:04if you are Mexican, but you have light eyes and white skin and blond hair like me,
01:13you cannot represent someone of a middle-class or low class.
01:16You have to represent someone of a high class, which seems to me to be the biggest stupidity in the world,
01:21but it still happens.
01:22I was never a man of resources or privileges, as they tend to say.
01:28And even actors who are doing very well sometimes say that if you are blond, you have privileges.
01:34I never had it.
01:35What do they tell me what privilege is?
01:41One of the main reasons why I attribute my return to television to those who believe in Diros
01:48and in the things that the universe, or whatever they want to call it, puts you.
01:52A child is a very great blessing.
01:55And the day Mateo was born was the day, May 8, when my manager called me to tell me that I had stayed in this project.
02:04After seven years, because in those seven years I did do a lot of auditions for television.
02:10It's not like I didn't want to do it.
02:12I did a lot and they didn't call me.
02:15And that day was the day my manager called me.
02:18And it was complicated because that same day he told me, they want you in a week.
02:22So the day my son was born, I had to come to Colombia, because we are living in Los Angeles.
02:28My son was born in Los Angeles.
02:30And fortunately my wife Ana Carolina Grajales, my mother-in-law was with us.
02:36My grandmother was also in Los Angeles.
02:39So there was help.
02:40I came to Colombia first to start recording, to do the soundtrack.
02:44And by the month I went there and I brought them to Colombia, the whole family.
02:49But yes, for me, in Mexico we say that he brought the cake under his arm.
02:54For me, I mean, it can't be a coincidence that, because it could have been after seven years, any day.
03:02But the day he was born was when I received the call.
03:05The day he was born, the year is 365 days and it was only that day.
03:10So for me, that doesn't have another name, but a blessing from God.
03:16It coincided that, well, I have been doing a lot of television for many years.
03:21TV Azteca, Televisa, Telemundo, Fuego Nuevo Video, Benevisión, ta, ta, ta.
03:26And I really wanted to explore the cinema, explore other creative areas.
03:34I formed my production company together with my wife, my sister and my brother-in-law.
03:38We formed a production company called Paiva Productions.
03:41We started exploring and producing short films.
03:44It went very well for us at festivals.
03:46I was given the opportunity to participate in a film that is still on Prime Video, called TQM.
03:53And that was, on the one hand, that I wanted to explore other things.
03:58And well, on the other hand, the same industry is changing.
04:04It also coincided that, obviously, I decided to support the rights of Latin American actors in the United States.
04:12And you know that when you support positive causes, there are people who don't like it.
04:20And maybe that also influenced my absence on television a bit.
04:26But at the end of those seven years, they also passed very quickly.
04:31Because I'm here again, happy to return to television.
04:35To return now to a platform like Netflix, which is number one.
04:41And yes, very happy.
04:43My character begins in the second season because, of course, the story is divided in when Arelis Henao is young and growing up.
04:53And the second season is focused on her current life, already as a consecrated artist.
05:01And my character enters this second season as a Mexican music producer manager.
05:10Which I am very happy about, because I was able to represent Mexico and what I am here in Colombia.
05:16And well, Arelis Henao starts to do everything.
05:20Sometimes he starts to make life impossible.
05:22He's a little villain who at first maybe you don't realize everything he's going to do.
05:28But as the story progresses, you realize the true motives of this character called Pancho Fernández.
05:35And why he does all these things to Arelis Henao, which is very curious.
05:40A very curious fact is that, obviously, the series of Arelis Henao, I sing not to cry, is based on the real life of Arelis Henao.
05:47Who is a great star of popular music in Colombia.
05:52And almost all the characters in the series, especially in the second season, are based on a person from real life.
06:00Arelis' husband, brother, etc.
06:04But my character, Pancho Fernández, I had the opportunity to talk to Arelis Henao and I asked him.
06:09If there had been a manager or Mexican music producer who had done everything this character did to Arelis.
06:18And his answer was, no, it wasn't one, it was several.
06:22So let's say that my character is a conglomerate of experiences.
06:27More than based on a person, it is based on experiences that Arelis Henao had throughout his artistic career.
06:35Which is very nice because it gave me an opportunity to create much more than maybe other characters.
06:40If you are interpreting Arelis' brother, and Arelis' brother has never said a certain word, you can't say it.
06:47In my case, I put in everything I thought I could creatively put in.
06:53Even, as a curious fact, there are many words that in Mexico are rudeness that in Colombia are not.
06:59Like chingada madre, or pendejo, or hijo de su pinche madre, things like that.
07:05And I could put all those things in because here in Colombia it shouldn't be.
07:11Being televised, that is not censored.
07:14And sometimes in Mexico, depending on the time, there are certain words that are censored.
07:18So that gave me a lot of creative freedom with this character.
07:21I am very grateful for Colombia because it is a country that we, as actors,
07:25I speak of my profession because it is what I am interested in, they do not catalog you.
07:29In other words, in Colombia they can recognize that it does not matter how you look to represent what you are.
07:40Something that sadly I have to say that in the United States and in Mexico,
07:44sometimes the stereotype that if you are Mexican, but you have light eyes,
07:52and white skin, and blond hair like me, you cannot represent someone from the lower middle class.
07:59You have to represent someone from the upper class, which seems to me to be the biggest stupidity in the world,
08:03but it still happens.
08:05In the United States, when they want a Latino, they look for him by force,
08:10dark skin, dark eyes, and black hair, because for them the Latino standard is that,
08:18which is the majority, but being Latino does not mean looking at you in a way.
08:24In fact, Latinity is an incredible mixture, it is not a race like the Afro-American race,
08:33or like the African race, or like the white race, or like the Asian race, it is not a race.
08:39Being Latino is belonging to any race, the problem is that when you belong to a minority,
08:46because in my case, as I see myself, it is like a Latin minority in the eyes of many,
08:52then the stereotype does not allow it.
08:54And going back to what I was saying, in Colombia they do not see it that way,
08:57in Colombia they do not care how you look, if you are Mexican you can represent a Mexican.
09:03If you are Chilean, you can represent a Chilean, no matter how you look.
09:07So I really appreciate that, and it is one of the reasons why I love to work in Colombia,
09:11besides that it is a country, well, my wife is Colombian,
09:14I have had a lot of closeness with Colombian culture,
09:18and in Colombia there is a lot of closeness with Mexican culture,
09:21which makes it not strange at the same time my roots are there.
09:25Ever since I started my career, I have always felt chained and I have never been in agreement.
09:30Personally, I grew up, I was never a man of resources or privileges,
09:36as they tend to say, and even actors who know them very well sometimes say
09:43that if you are blond you have privileges, and I never had,
09:46what do they tell me what privilege is?
09:48In my family I grew up, we were never of resources or position or anything.
09:53My first job, I have said it in many interviews,
09:56I was charging in a truck, helping my stepfather, who was no longer my father,
10:01because my mother had already separated,
10:04but everything I earned and everything I earned in my career was based on effort,
10:10work, study, preparation and to fuck him like any other actor has fucked him.
10:18I never got to a casting where they told me,
10:22you are blond and white, go ahead, no, you are dark-skinned, you do not go,
10:26I do not remember that this has happened,
10:27so I really do not know what privileges they speak, it seems ridiculous to me.
10:33Maybe certain people put themselves as limiters,
10:37and then that allows them not to advance for complexes,
10:40because maybe someone feels complexed because he wanted to look different,
10:44or because he is more chaparra than he wanted to be,
10:46or because he is fatter than he wanted to be,
10:48or because it is anything that complicates you,
10:51that is, there are people who have blond hair like me,
10:53and they are also complexed because they wanted to have it black,
10:56that is, anything, but they are limiters that we put on.
10:59So, in my case, despite that, I was always stereotyped,
11:04especially in cinema, in Mexico, in cinema,
11:07that is, one of the reasons why the doors did not open for me
11:10is because they wanted a Mexican and most of the characters,
11:14not all, but the vast majority were of lower class,
11:18and for them I could not represent someone of lower class,
11:20and that is something that continues to happen,
11:22it is very difficult for them to allow me to represent a Mexican of lower class,
11:26very difficult.
11:28So yes, it is always something that has always affected me,
11:30and not only in Mexico, in the United States it has affected me
11:32and it continues to affect me a lot.
11:34I do auditions in English and I do many auditions for Latino characters,
11:41and unfortunately one of the stereotypes that there are in the United States of Latinos
11:44is the drug dealer,
11:46and the drug dealer stereotype or that of the illegal immigrant,
11:51so you tell me if one day they are going to give me an illegal immigrant character,
11:54never, never, because the stereotype does not allow it,
11:57despite the fact that I could better represent an illegal immigrant,
12:00because I am closer to the culture than someone who has never lived in Mexico.
12:05I saw a series, in fact, one of my favorite series is called Breaking Bad,
12:11classic television,
12:15and in that series there are several characters of Latinos who live in Mexico
12:22and you hear them speak and they cannot speak Spanish well,
12:26they speak like this, and one says,
12:27you will never find someone who speaks Spanish so badly in Mexico,
12:32but since they look like the dark-haired stereotype,
12:35with black hair like that,
12:37then they are given the character,
12:38and it is a series that is an impressive series,
12:40but as a Latino, I am saddened by this type of thing,
12:45that it is more important how you look,
12:48than what you are as a person and what you can represent.
12:53Look, I think almost all parents who wanted to be parents say almost the same thing,
12:57and sometimes it sounds like a cliché,
12:59but it is a cliché that is very real,
13:02priorities change.
13:04Before my son was born,
13:07one of my greatest priorities was my artistic career,
13:11not only as an actor, but as a plastic artist,
13:13that maybe we will talk a little about that too,
13:15but as a result of the birth of my son,
13:18my priority completely changed,
13:20work is important, yes,
13:22because I also want to give an adequate quality of life to my baby,
13:26and my family, my wife in general,
13:28but my wife also works,
13:30so we complement each other,
13:31rather, more than I give her the quality of life, we complement each other,
13:35but the priority is already his well-being,
13:37the priority is that he can grow in an environment of harmony, of peace,
13:42surrounded by things that help him develop to the top of his abilities,
13:48and work is obviously still a priority,
13:51as long as it does not harm family harmony.
13:58Yes, a fair called PLAS,
14:00which is a very important fair in South Korea,
14:02in Seoul,
14:03and I send four new original works,
14:06that following my style,
14:08represent icons of culture and science,
14:12in this case I am sending Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe,
14:15Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson,
14:19and I send them as a representative of Mexico,
14:21with the gallery with which I have been working for many years,
14:23which is my Art Space,
14:24which is a gallery in Miami,
14:28with its headquarters in Miami,
14:30Art Center Miami,
14:31through Ana Carolina Moreno,
14:33who is the gallerist,
14:35and well,
14:36very happy to continue representing Mexico with my art,
14:38also with my wife we have an incredible art program,
14:41where we teach people to use art as a tool to improve their quality of life,
14:47so right now we have two very important projects with MTA,
14:51which is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York,
14:56which is basically the one that handles all the subway,
14:59trains and trucks in New York,
15:02and we are going to do two mural projects,
15:03where the same employees of the company are going to paint their own mural,
15:08designed by me obviously,
15:09and then retouched by me and that,
15:12so I am very happy also with this artistic facet,
15:16and with this that we have built this art therapy program,
15:19because I do think it is very important that people understand that art is not for artists,
15:24art is for everyone,
15:25and it is a vital need,
15:27that since the time of the caverns,
15:29we have this great need for expression and creation,
15:32we as human beings are creative,
15:34and sometimes depressions come because we are not exploring our creative facet.
15:40Yes, since I was a child,
15:42since long before being an actor,
15:44I did drawings and painted and did scarves,
15:47and I really liked puzzles,
15:50my mom inculcated us more puzzles in the family,
15:53and there was always something that caught my attention,
15:55the puzzles,
15:55and it is that each piece without the complete puzzle does not mean anything,
16:00and when I met the art of a Dutch teacher named Heinz Siercher,
16:06who created something called tessellation,
16:07where he joins the figures as in mosaic,
16:10but it is the same figure that is repeated,
16:12I began to explore and I began to create these puzzles,
16:15where each piece has a unique and special,
16:19individual meaning of the others,
16:21and when you put together the complete piece it takes on another meaning,
16:24my art is like a double way of seeing a single piece,
16:29if you see it from afar you see the complete work,
16:31either a portrait or the Mona Lisa,
16:32for example I have my version of the Mona Lisa,
16:35or the Aztec calendar that I also have,
16:37but if you get closer and see each of the pieces,
16:42you begin to find other meanings,
16:44and other elements,
16:45and another way of seeing it,
16:46and my art has become very attractive,
16:48both for adults and for children,
16:51because my son Mateo,
16:53we have a work of the last supper placed on top of our bed,
16:57and he stands up and wants to touch it and wants to see it,
16:59and he is fascinated by seeing my works of art,
17:02by the dolls and the colors,
17:03and he is one year old,
17:05so that makes me very proud,
17:06because from babies of one year,
17:08they can already enjoy my art,
17:10and that love for art is already instilled in them.
17:13My people, people in Spanish,
17:14don't get lost,
17:15I will listen now,
17:16I sing so I don't cry,
17:18season 2 on Netflix,
17:20you can already enjoy it,
17:21it is available,
17:22and pay special attention to Don Pancho Fernández,
17:26and all the things he is going to do to the stage.