Beatriz Valdés Fidalgo

Theater, film and television actress, lead protagonist of the Cuban film "La bella del Alhambra". She has carried out an important part of her career in Venezuela. She holds Venezuelan nationality, and currently lives in Miami, United States.

She was born in Havana. At age 8 she entered the children's workshop at Teatro Estudio, where she received guitar and acting classes. For several years she continued her guitar studies at the Manuel Saumell and Amadeo Roldán Conservatories.

She abandoned music to study acting at the National School of Art, where she graduated in 1983.

She began working in theater and television, starring in several serials that achieved great popularity. But it is in her film career where she has achieved her greatest triumphs, especially with La bella del Alhambra, a film that won the coveted Goya award and for which she received important acting awards.

For some years now she has resided in Venezuela, a country in which she has also starred in films and telenovelas.

Acting Career
Her great opportunity as an actress came in 1999 when she was chosen to play Manuela Sáenz in a film by director Diego Rísquez titled Manuela Sáenz: La Libertadora del Libertador, a role that established her as a leading actress and would open the doors of the Venevisión channel, where she has managed to perform in telenovelas that have mostly been original works by acclaimed writer Leonardo Padrón, in which she has played characters ranging from humble women to famous businesswomen and women of high standing.

In an interview she stated: "I recognize that the fact of being inscribed in the memory of those who saw La bella..., and being a 'victim' of the public's unbridled love is a privilege. But Cubans won't forgive me for having aged," added the 50-year-old Cuban actress, who has been based in Caracas since 1991, and who began her first work experiences in Miami in 2013.

Valdés films the telenovela Santa diabla at Telemundo studios. Meanwhile, she performs at the Miracle Theater with the drama El Cartero (Il Postino), an original work by Antonio Skármeta, directed by David Chacón-Pérez.

"In this work human passions are treated with great poetry," explained the actress, who plays Rosa, a widow who does everything possible to prevent her daughter from being involved with a postman. "It is an easily understood text that shows how to reach the general public without making concessions to foolishness".

When it ends, Valdés returns to the ground and drives to Telemundo studios to become Begoña, a "silent witness to a great revenge," in Santa diabla. "Begoña is the classic 'good' person who does 'bad' things," adds the actress without revealing many plot details. "She is a kind of ghost that will trigger many events".

Despite enjoying the season in South Florida like no one else, where she temporarily lives in the city of Miramar with her son Mauricio, 23 years old, the result of her relationship with singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, Valdés misses Caracas, Venezuela, the city that watched her mature as an artist since she arrived over 20 years ago, following a love affair.

"When I separated [from Venezuelan cinematographer Jonny Semeco], after five years of marriage, I decided to return to Havana, but my profession prevented it," recalled Valdés. "Today I realize that life is not planned and that we cannot control everything".

In just over two decades the actress has starred in 16 telenovelas, 11 theater seasons and several films in her adopted country. A challenge considering that Valdés, trained in "very academic" standards and with a successful trajectory in Cuban television, theater and cinema, with blockbusters like La bella... and Los pájaros tirándole a la escopeta (1984), had to adapt to a "completely different" medium.

"In Venezuela everything was new to me, as I lacked experience in the commercial aspect of the work. Fortunately, the fact of having the support of a solid career made me feel respected from the first moment," recalled the actress, who made her debut in Venezuelan telenovelas as the partner of José Luis Rodríguez, El Puma, in Piel (1992) and, over time, rose to the forefront of popularity with Manuela Sáenz (2000), the film about Simón Bolívar's lover that changed her life.

"I had to put a face to a historical character about whom there is barely any visual reference. And thanks to this role I revived the adoration of a country, just as it happened to me in Cuba with La Bella...," she recalled. "If Rashel stole my identity in Cuba, Manuela Sáenz did so in Venezuela".

Valdés admits that she is an exception when compared to many Cuban artists who could not resume their careers outside the island. What does she attribute this to?

"I don't consider myself an 'overpowering' actress who steals the camera. However, I know that wherever I go I leave a trace, whenever I'm given the opportunity," she confesses. "Now I'm opening myself to a market before the eyes of a public that won't forgive me for the passage of time. And as long as La bella del Alhambra continues to be screened, I will remain trapped between that image and 'what remains' of that woman".


Telenovelas
La mujer perfecta
La vida entera (Olimpia Duque)
Arroz con Leche (Manuela de Pacheco)
Voltea pa´que te enamores (Yesénia)
Ciudad Bendita (Trina Medina Pacheco de Palacios)
El Amor las vuelve Locas (Scarlet Lugo)
Cosita Rica (Prodigio Vargas)
Las González (Magnolia)
Guerra de Mujeres (Gisela)
Amantes de Luna Llena (Sol Rigores)
Luisa Fernanda (Dinora Rodríguez)
Reina de Corazones (Salomé de Santos)
Cambio de piel
Volver a Vivir
El Paseo de la Gracia de Dios (Guadalupe)
Piel
Algo más que Soñar


Awards and Recognition

Distinction for National Culture, awarded by the Ministry of Culture and the State Council of Cuba for her contribution to Cuban Cultural Heritage. Havana, 1998.
Enajenación Best Female Performance on TV, awarded by the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. Havana, 1990.
La Bella del Alhambra Special prize from Caimán Barbudo magazine. International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Havana, 1989. Award for Best Female Performance. Competition of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. Havana, 1990.
Special mention for female performance. International Film Festival of Troia, Portugal, 1990.
Award for Best Female Performance. Latino Film Festival of New York. USA, 1990.
La voz del corazón Best Supporting Actress at the International Film Festival of Gramados. Brazil, 1998.
Award for Quality awarded as Best Supporting Actress by the National Autonomous Center of Cinematography. Caracas, Venezuela, 1998.
Best Supporting Actress at the IX edition of the ANAC award. Awarded by the National Association of Film Authors. Caracas, Venezuela, 1998.
Luisa Fernanda Grand Eagle Award of Venezuela as Lead Actress. Caracas, 2000.
Mara Award of Venezuela as Lead Actress. Caracas, 2000.
Manuelita Sanz Grand Eagle Award of Venezuela as Best Film Actress. Caracas, 2001.
Reina de corazones Mara Award of Venezuela as Best Actress. Caracas, 1999.

Filmography
Filmography
Year Work Country Direction
2013 Azul y no tan rosa Venezuela Miguel Ferrari
2004 Perfecto amor equivocado Cuba Gerardo Chijona
2003 Amor en concreto Venezuela Diego Risquez
2000 Manuela Sáenz Venezuela Diego Risquez
1998 100 años de perdón Venezuela
1997 La voz del corazón Venezuela
1989 La bella del Alhambra Cuba Enrique Pineda Barnet
1987 Hoy como ayer
1987 Capablanca Cuba Manuel Herrera
1987 Como la vida misma Cuba Víctor Casaus
1985 Lejanía Cuba Jesús Díaz
1984 Los pájaros tirándole a la escopeta Cuba Rolando Díaz
1970 Una nueva criatura