Actress Veronica Lynn, with a career of more than 50 years, is an icon of Cuban artistic manifestations ranging from theater, cinema and television. She talks to us as reflexive, chatty and spirited as usual.<\/p>\n
Form fiction to successful reality<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI come from San Diego de los Ba\u00f1os, Pinar del Rio, a small but colorful town, with wonderful thermal waters worldwide.<\/p>\n I used to play alone with my dolls, my paper dolls, I even used to sketch dresses for them and I rehearsed my plays, I gave them voice, made them cry and laugh but I didn\u2019t know for certain what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy mum used to love Cuban artists, their radio soap operas, but mostly Carlos Gardel. We used to call her Gardel\u2019s widow. But no one ever imagined one of her daughters would become an actress. By that time people was really old fashioned and she was a poor woman and her way of thinking was a bit narrow, though later on she accepted many things, she grew in the inside.<\/p>\n My father was an interesting character; he even used to read the telephone book. But his philosophy was not much practical. He used to say a minute of luck was more valuable than a lifetime devoted to working and he died waiting for his lucky minute. So my mother raised us and worked for us. Poor her, her health wasn\u2019t that good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026and I\u2019m still thinking about you\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPedro Alvarez was important for me. He taught me to understand politics. From him I received my first lessons on socialism. We loved each other and we respected each other very much. We had our discrepancies, of course, and also our diatribes on arts as it is logical but there was someone to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n School<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI always wanted to be a radio, cinema and television actress, because in the 50\u2019s we already had television and my partners always used to say to me: And a theatre actress too Veronica. Ah, yes, of course\u2026 it didn\u2019t matter for me even if it was circus. It turns out than one of them, Alfonso Silvestre \u2013who later on became a first actor in television\u2013, was to stage Amok, by Stephan Zweig, and he needed an actress. And he made me the proposal and I said yes. I didn\u2019t even set foot in the theatre because it was \u201cteatro arena\u201d. Then, I found out there was a system of study, a guide for actors and their training and I decided I wouldn\u2019t take lessons from just anyone. I was taught by Professor Andres Castro and I finished my training with Adolfo de Luis.\u201d<\/p>\n Why do you think that being an actress is an addiction?<\/p>\n It is a wonderful addiction. (She laughs) Addictions are never good.<\/p>\n Do you have any vices?<\/strong><\/p>\n At some point in my life i used to smoke, but I no longer have that habit because it is prejudicial to my health, but not because I don\u2019t enjoy it anymore. It\u2019s like someone trying to come up with a cure when the cure is already there. These are my addictions and the love for my family, of course.<\/p>\n What can you say about awards and recognition?<\/strong><\/p>\n It is the same for every artist from any manifestation. It is a recognition you receive from your country because you\u2019ve earned it and it is always worth appreciating it. I\u2019m not sure if it is vanity but it is definitely a pleasure.<\/p>\n Sweet, tender and irreverent<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have an attitude when I am observed as an artist. Let\u2019s be honest, at home I can get very angry, really angry. In public, I can also get angry in view of what\u2019s wrong and unfair because I don\u2019t like that. I don\u2019t mean I\u2019m perfect, but social indiscipline and constant rudeness in the street upset me. Perhaps, in my private life, in a specific moment I may cross the line a bit, but then I go back and put myself in the right place and I say: there\u2019s no need to get to that, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople say Taureans spill the beans. I hate indiscretions because I am indiscrete sometimes. One should know oneself, something I should have learned that already given I\u2019m old enough. However, I\u2019m not always in control and that bothers me a lot because these are habits and ways of behaving that can be improved and avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps I forgive, but I don\u2019t forget<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m no one\u2019s enemy. I don\u2019t bear grudges against anyone and I don\u2019t like to air the dirty linen. That\u2019s bad for the soul; it wrinkles and makes you bitter. I forget. Well, I don\u2019t know if I forget, I perhaps forgive. Sometimes I ran into someone else \u2013I\u2019m telling you because it has happened to me\u2013 I greet that someone and then I say: oh, she did this to me. But I forget about it, that cannot be the center of my life, do you understand? \u201d<\/p>\n The clock is ticking<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I look in the mirror, I find I got anew wrinkle. (She laughs). Obviously, you are referring to magic mirror. I can be sweet, tender\u2026 but I can also be rough and irreverent. I have a virtue though: I do listen to people\u201d. It is not that I don\u2019t like to talk, in fact I do, but listening is not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I learn something I realize of all that I still have to learn and the best way to use the time I have left is by learning\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m aware of my age, but I\u2019m not constantly thinking about it. I know I cannot run down the stairs or go up in a hurry. I know I cannot clean the windows at home \u2013I live in a sixth floor\u2013 as I used to do it with one foot on the stairs and the other on the edge. I\u2019m aware I cannot dress in a particular way, but I\u2019m aware I don\u2019t like and will neverlike to dress like an old lady, except for interpreting a character.\u201d<\/p>\n Modesty<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI am a fool. I don\u2019t have any records of my work. Perhaps that\u2019s too absolute. But I\u2019m not one of those people that keep records of everything they do. That\u2019s why I\u2019m a fool, because that\u2019s my story, my poor story; I think I should reflect a bit more on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Do not let tears prevent you from seeing the stars<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI have lost many dear people, a 24-year old nephew who was like a son to me, he died in an accident, and that\u2019s something I cannot forget. It happened in 1982 and it still feels like yesterday. I also lost my husband, my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather, which is the first loss I recall. So, yes, I have cried.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything dies and transforms itself; it is good to believe that. For religious and materialist people at least you don\u2019t fall in a limbo. I don\u2019t believe in heaven or hell, but I do believe there is something. Imagine: a human being that enjoyed life, laughed and supported his family dies, materially he decomposes and what about spiritually? Is there nothing left? That\u2019s impossible. I don\u2019t know if there is a final destination for spirits (she laughs). People die when you forget about them.\u201d<\/p>\n The significance of transcending<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI would like to be known as a good Cuban. I\u2019d like to be recalled as a good actress. Your contribution to society matters; otherwise it stays at home, within your social circle. But people can transcend at work, no matter if it is a carpenter or a builder, there is where people transcend but also in their social and professional roles. That\u2019s why I\u2019d like to have a little bit of that and be recalled as someone who fought for it, loved its people, and fought for changes. My lucky minutes are the result of my work.\u201d<\/p>\n By: Jaime Mas\u00f3 Torres<\/strong> 1 Actor Pedro Alvarez, worked for radio, televisionand theater. He was one of the most handsome men of the Cuban television by the late 50\u2019s and early 60\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Actress Veronica Lynn, with a career of more than 50 years, is an icon of Cuban artistic manifestations ranging from theater, cinema and television. She talks to us as reflexive, chatty and spirited as usual. Form fiction to successful reality \u201cI come from San Diego de los Ba\u00f1os, Pinar del Rio, a small but colorful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2445,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13924],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[33669],"class_list":["post-25555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theater"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n Picture: Taken from Juventud Rebelde<\/strong><\/p>\n