Teresa Denisse Fundora, a Santa Clara actress nominated for the Goya Awards

November 9, 2023

Teresa is part of the cast of the film Literato, the latest feature film by Carlos Navarro, a performance that earned her recognition from the specialized critics of these awards granted annually by the Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences of Spain.

Months after being chosen as the promotional image for an important dairy campaign in Spain, Cuban actress Teresa Denisse Fundora is back in the news in Spanish media. The young woman from Santa Clara, who resides in Posada de Llanera, a municipality in Asturias that borders Oviedo and Gijón, was selected as a candidate for the 2024 Goya Awards in the Best Breakthrough Actress category.

Teresa is part of the cast of the film Literato, the latest feature film by Carlos Navarro, a performance that earned her recognition from the specialized critics of these awards granted annually by the Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences of Spain. The film is presented as part of the programming of the 61st edition of the Gijón/Xixón International Film Festival.

"I didn't expect it, honestly," Teresa confessed in statements to CubaNet. "I'm very grateful to the team and to the director for proposing me. I didn't even dream of this. The biggest award is appearing on the list, having directors take you into account. The most important thing for me was how much fun I had during filming because they are all Asturian actors, people with a lot of experience, personalities from cinema".
Literato, Cuba
(Photo: Courtesy of the author)
Teresa Denisse Fundora Goya Awards, Goya Awards
(Photo: Courtesy of the author)

The plot of the comedy, a candidate in 23 other categories in the 38th edition, tells the story of Max, an actor who returns to his village after a marital separation and a career full of secondary roles. The cast is also made up of Maxi Rodríguez (screenplay and lead role), Isabel Ayúcar, Alberto Rodríguez Fernández, Eduardo Antuña, among others.

In January of this year, the photo of the Cuban actress with a glass of milk was placed on central avenues and supermarkets in Spain as part of a campaign by Central Lechera Asturiana and she also starred in the advertising spot with Spanish adventurer and presenter Jesús González Calleja, known for his "Extreme Challenges" programs.

"I am tireless in pursuing what I like," adds the actress. "I keep doing auditions, I keep presenting myself to everything I can, studying, preparing myself, doing theater and putting into practice everything I learned without abandoning the audiovisual process that I love so much. I will continue pursuing my dreams".

Six years ago, Teresa and her husband, also Cuban actor and filmmaker Maikel Valdés Leiva, decided to move to Spain, where they have since dedicated themselves to puppet theater with the group "Los pintores", which they had previously created in Villa Clara. Both had a previous career in the Grupo Teatro Escambray in which they worked primarily with children's audiences.

From childhood until adolescence, Teresa was a presenter of children's programs on the local channel Telecubanacán and later joined the cast of the Cuban telenovela En tiempos de amar. In Spain, she has managed to make a living from her career alongside Maykel, something that generally does not usually happen with other actors who decide to emigrate to Europe in search of a better future.

After their arrival in Posada de Llanera, they managed to insert themselves in a large part of national theater events and, recently, they were even the organizers of the "Titerella" Festival, one of the most important in this region. Meanwhile, Asturian newspapers highlight that the actress already has a guaranteed "promising career in the world of cinema" while Teresa confirms with some humility that "already with the candidacy, it is being awarded".

Last year, Valdés Leiva had also been selected for the Goya Awards in the "Best Art Direction" category, with the feature film "Vamos a volvernos locos", a film in which Teresa also acted. In a previous interview granted to this newspaper, both highlighted that they have managed to become part of the community in which they reside, where they are no longer seen as migrants.