Fidel Betancourt

He was born in Santiago de Cuba. Married to a Basque woman, he lived five years in Bilbao. He has lived in Washington and Warsaw.

Protagonist of the film "Chamaco", he attended the premiere at the Miami Latin American Film Festival. Today he shines in the classic "Fuenteovejuna", Madrid. He has participated in dozens of television series. Recently he finished filming a television film about the gang of criminals the Mara Salvatrucha that already roam Spain.

"I don't think I will live in Cuba again. I don't blame anything or anyone, since it's me, I just don't fit into a certain dynamic. My front is now in Europe". "Those who left Cuba as children, it's logical that they feel longing, but platonic. If they go to the island, after two weeks they want to slit their wrists".

As for manly beauty, Fidel Betancourt could have competed with James Dean, Marlon Brando or Montgomery Clift. As for interpretive talent? It's possible, if he had been born in the United States and not in Cuba.

By his style, his manner and by the education that inhabits him, one could place him in the nineteenth century. He also presents the image of a young man of this time. He is up to date. He has conversation for any topic. He knows that the world turns at a vertiginous speed. That if you fall behind, you can miss many things. Things that he adapts to his mentality and intelligence.

Betancourt is one of the young Cuban actors who have settled in Spain, and who at the moment is part of the cast of the play "Fuenteovejuna", which is performed at the Teatro Fígaro in Madrid.

When the curtain rises, even if the spectator doesn't want it to, his gaze goes directly to a young man possessed of the charisma that is so needed to shine on a stage. This one has strength; he is one of those who breaks through the footlights. His movements are those of an actor who has prepared himself. He projects his voice with the mastery of someone who has taken the art of Thalia seriously.

"He was born in Santiago de Cuba. He has no artistic background in his family. He believes it was acting that sought him out. He was doing his high school studies calmly and with other life perspectives, since his interest was to study architecture. There was a musical group at the Institute. He sang and we did what young people his age usually do when they like music".

HIS FIRST TEACHER
One day the announcements for the Higher Institute of Art arrived at that center. Several of his teachers advised him to apply, since, through music, they had shown that he had conditions and concerns. Fidel confesses that he had never seen a theatrical work. He had no idea about that world.

"I did the test as an actor. A few days later I received the message saying that I had been accepted. It was a surprise, since I didn't expect it. I understood it was something different, and besides in Havana. I was going to change my environment. I began to discover the world of theater and little by little it captivated me. My first teacher was Corina Mestre, a leading Cuban actress with extensive work in theater, cinema and television".

Within the Dramatic Arts classes he received there were a series of theoretical and practical subjects that he assimilated easily.

"When I decided to dedicate my life to acting, that was when I started working in the Argos Teatro company, under the direction of Carlos Celdrán. That was when I became a professional. Until then I was 'playing' at theater. But when I began to share stages with great professionals, I had another perspective on the profession. My debut as such was with a great work: 'Life and Death of Pier Paolo Pasolini', the life of the mythical filmmaker.

Something very interesting happened, because when we were performing it, Pino Pelosi, after having served 20 years in prison for the filmmaker's murder, declared that he had not been the one. This served so that our performance acquired a promotion and a relevance that we did not expect". For his performance in the aforementioned work, he obtained his first award, which made him feel more committed to the profession. "Since then I made it my priesthood", he maintains.

AMONG COWS AND HORSES
How did you leave Cuba?
"In love. I married a Basque girl from Bilbao. We maintained 5 years of relationship. She used to travel to Cuba frequently. I really married out of necessity, the need to be able to leave Cuba. Traveling normally is something that Cubans are not allowed to do. The Spanish Embassy itself told us that the paperwork could be expedited if we got married. We both wanted it. But our marriage lasted 4 years".

For a Cuban to fall into a city in the North, like Bilbao, is not pleasant.
"Of course. It's a very cold city. It's the North, indisputably. I left El Vedado, Havana, and fell into a farmstead in Bilbao, because it wasn't even the city. It was pure countryside, where I found myself surrounded by cows, horses, wolves… And what is this?, I said to myself. The sun is immensely impoverished. Besides, going from performing works at the National Theater of Cuba to finding myself in the middle of the Basque Country countryside, it was a very strong shock".

But also —he says— he was very well treated by his wife's family, and, moreover, he had the opportunity to know a society that, at first, was cold, but as time went on, he discovered that there was extraordinary human quality. Very loyal, genuine people. "I believe that Basque food is the best in the world. Especially the meat. I had never tasted anything so exquisite", he affirms.

He ended up falling in love with the Basque Country. In Bilbao he worked in real estate, selling houses and apartments. He was settled, but one day he received an email offering him the starring role in the film "Chamaco", which premiered at the Miami Latin American Film Festival last year.

"It is an independent film, hence it has not yet found a distributor. Yes, I was in Miami when it premiered. It was an experience I will not forget. It is a controversial film. I would call it damned. But anyway, it is still a work that credits me professionally.

When I returned to Spain I decided to stay in Madrid to try to take off as an actor. Of course my marriage had already fallen apart. My ex had gone to Poland (where I was with her for a time), and since then I have worked in several television series, and I have participated in three films for TV".

"I PREFER THE THEATER"
"Fuenteovejuna" is his first work in Spanish theater and, thanks to it, he has received offers that he is considering. He has his artistic agent who promotes him and cares for him as an actor with talent and charismatic personality deserves.
"Almost all the roles I have played in television series have been Latin American. I just starred in a television film about the Mara Salvatrucha".

The Mara Salvatrucha is considered the most terrifying gang of criminals in El Salvador, which has landed in Barcelona, Spain. They have the Spanish police on edge.

Among all the means of acting?
"I prefer the theater. Being in contact with the public is the best reward that can be given to an actor".

What bothers him most about the profession in Spain.
"I was used to a world in which managers didn't exist, nor marketing. It was difficult for me to get into it. But now I dominate it. I can't complain".

Do you live alone in Madrid?
"No, I share an apartment with two Cuban friends. But they are not in the profession. If you're an actor, don't live with actors. I prefer to share with people from another profession. Musicians, poets, and so on, usually have many existential problems, and my own problems are enough for me".

Since he left Cuba five years ago, he has lived in Washington, Warsaw and Spain.
"I don't think I will live in Cuba again. I don't blame anything or anyone, since it's me, I just don't fit into a certain dynamic. My front line is now here, in Europe. The television I left in Cuba was of very poor quality. Watching it exhausted me".

OF THE SCORPIO ZODIAC SIGN
His other passion is reading, but he confesses that he is hooked on the Internet, where he supplies himself with all the topics that interest him. Something that, unfortunately, Cubans cannot enjoy.

About the nostalgia for Cuba of many Cubans, among them, actor Andy García, Fidel Betancourt commented:
"Those people who in the end never lived in Cuba, or left as very small children, it's logical that they feel longing, love, but in the end it's all platonic. Those, if they go to the island, after two weeks they want to slit their wrists. Me, who have been separated for five years, and even from far away I clash with that".

If I ask you to define yourself?
"I will tell you that I am always making mistakes, but at the same time I am lucky. My zodiac sign is Scorpio. Strong… Very strong. Although solitude is our companion, I have learned to live with it. Since I've been in Madrid I haven't felt too alone. I have faith in myself. I am romantic, and very faithful. I love life, although sometimes I am very afraid of it".

He has also studied photography, to which he dedicates part of his free time.