Jacqueline Arenal: "I have a lot of desire to make cinema"

July 15, 2019

Among Cubans, she will always be Verena, from the classic soap opera Tierra Brava. But in cinema, playing Sofía in The Century of Enlightenment (Solás, 1992) marked her for life, it represented a very great challenge. At that time she was very young, she was just beginning this difficult and risky path of acting.

She tells the occasional anecdote about when they were filming that iconic film within Cuban cinema, but she pauses to talk about Humberto Solás, with great emotion; working with this eternal dreamer, cause and consequence of the International Film Festival that exists today in Gibara, was for Jacqueline Arenal a gigantic opportunity.

"Being very young, he believed in me. In Humberto I didn't just have the director of my film, I had a friend, a brother, a father many times. He is an absolutely passionate man, I say is, because for me he is still here. A man extremely intuitive, cultured. He gave me many tools. This film was a true university," she points out.

The actress, after living for a time in Colombia, and building a solid career in that country, returns to Cuba, open to projects in cinema, as well as theater and television: "Because of the schedules and how long the productions in Colombian television were, I had to leave opportunities in cinema. I have a great desire to make films, but I also want to do theater, to do television for my people. Although I would be very happy making films as my first choice, I enjoy all media and I believe that in all of them, things can be done well or poorly, which is why you have to try to take advantage of them, enjoy them".

We have seen Arenal in various roles, with different characterizations. About what remains for her to do, she says: "I believe I lack many characters, I have always wanted to do, in any of the media, Gone with the Wind, it has been a debt. In theater, a good Lorca.

"I have characters left to do that tell what happens to women, what happens to my generation, what happens to my country, and to have that opportunity, as long as there is truth and where one begins to draw important things from one's life, from one's experience, is what I would like to be able to capture in each of my characters," she comments.

Jacqueline says that on this path everything has been difficult, "perhaps because of being far from my place, from my family, that has been the hardest part".

"Although Colombia received me with open arms, where I have learned a lot, it gave me opportunities to understand another culture. But all of that was very difficult. I arrived and after 20 days I started filming. I had to achieve the accent, it was difficult to understand how those women function, because you cannot make characters only with the external, so I would go to the street to understand what was happening, it was a challenge, so that people believe you and assume you as their own".

"The most important secret and every day I learn it and relearn it is to study. There are actors who say 'I read a little and improvise a little'. Studying precisely gives me many freedoms later, this is an open secret, which would be a good tool for everyone. I improvise and play better when I already have very clear what I want to do".

Like many, this young actress fears losing the people she loves: "My dream is to be close to my daughter who is studying acting in Madrid, to be able to be close to my family, I really miss that, and it makes me very strong in life. My friends are a priority for me, people who have been there through good times and bad times. My fear is losing them, and my dream is to have them".

Gibara is a Film

Gibara floods with art during the Film Festival. Photo: Gabriel Guerra Bianchini.

"Every time I've had the opportunity I've said that I'm in love, not only with the surroundings, wonderful and beautiful, of this city, but mainly with its people, very generous, respectful, they approach you with so much affection. I feel that the people here have a culture of life that I like very much and that sometimes I feel has been lost in certain places in Cuba, I am really enchanted," describes Arenal.

And the Festival?: "It is a unique opportunity not only for Gibara, but for all of us who are here. You leave absolutely filled and full of energy, of culture. You have to encourage all young people to be part of this, even if they haven't yet developed their careers. All the people from the East have a wonderful opportunity that they shouldn't let slip away, and hopefully this could be maintained, in some way, the rest of the year".

Regarding the current Cuban film panorama, she responds: "Much more cinema is needed. There are many things to say, and some can be done with very few resources, so you have to dare more, cinema is very expensive, but one can find ways to make it and say it without any kind of censorship, what is happening to human beings in Cuba, instead of attacking the country, it is a way of defending it, of understanding it. I would like that to always happen in Cuban films".

We will soon see this artist in the series Breaking the Silence, directed by Chino Chiong, which she has just finished filming: "As I was saying, creating characters that say important things. It's a series about gender violence, small films for television, in my case I made it with Jorge Perugorría (Pichi), it's about the abuse of women and everything that happens, how many concessions you have to make, how much do we dare or not to report that this is happening.

"Abilio Estévez, also, is writing me a monologue, I am very eager to do it at this moment in my life. He is a person who knows me and I believe that everything that woman is going to say, will be important for me, and for the public as well," she adds.

So, to finish, Verena speaks: "It was the first great opportunity and the first great challenge. I had done television, but they were small series. I said 'I can't learn 20 scenes a day, how is this possible'. It was the beginning of understanding television, of learning to work within time constraints, that is also a good tool that is acquired over time. It was a character that stayed with people, that connects me with the public immediately, years pass and for people I will always be Verena".