CAMAGÜEY.- The change of weather in Madrid was abrupt. From the headlines, the storm flooded Spain. For 100 years, so much water has not fallen in one day. That October night I only thought about the invitation to the Lara Theater to see Joel Angelino, a Cuban from Sagua la Grande, for the instance of memory in which he gravitates with the monologue Strawberry and Chocolate, 30 years later.

Curiosity about the skins of Senel Paz's text was inevitable, a text which was born as a story, went to the theater and then to the cinema. The 1993 film is based in the Cuban imagination as a portrait of an era and as a look that vindicates the human being and friendship without political or sexual labels. That virtue is valid for all times.

In the only Cuban film nominated for an Oscar, Joel Angelino plays Germán the sculptor. In the monologue he winks at the role and also plays Diego, the cultured homosexual, and David, the young communist militant.

─Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film is a beautiful gesture, but doing it with a monologue is an act of intrepidity. Do you consider this version of Strawberry and Chocolate the greatest audacity of your career?

─The greatest audacity because it was my first monologue when I was 18 years old, I premiered it in Cuba at the Bertold Brecht Theater, with the help of the director of the Teatro del Sol, Sarah María Cruz, in 1991, before the premiere of the film. It was a great success and was called The Cathedral of Ice Cream. At that time, the text was based more on Senel Paz's story, The Wolf, the Forest and the New Man. From that moment on, I have been celebrating around the world every five or ten years, the wonder and pride of being part of these two Strawberry and Chocolate flavors. Of course this version is superior because of my maturity and because I have been nourished by working with the teachers; Mirtha Ibarra advised me on an interpretive level. But assuming the direction, the lighting design or the visual of the setting, putting aside the ego, have made me aware of my career and the path traveled and the fundamental thing, having managed to defend tolerance of the different in a current world where, unfortunately, we need to continue talking about this topic, this has made me a better human being and creator. Blessed audacity.

─What connotation does a season at the Lara Theater have for an artist?

─A great honor, one of the most prestigious and traditional theaters in Spain, one of the oldest. I have to thank my distributor Leonardo Buenaventura, who also distributes to the National Ballet of Cuba and the Ballet of Camagüey. He presented the proposal and the truth is that after doing the last performance on Saturday to a full theater, receiving the call from his directors to congratulate me honors and excites me. The dedication of the Madrid public has been wonderful.

─Although it was first a story and a play, the film marked the imagination. What did you take into account about the story and the characters for this version?

─This version is told through the character of Diego. Senel Paz has written new texts where he talks about loneliness, which has made the story deeper and more current, it is a version with the best of the film and all the theatrical versions that have been made in Cuba and abroad, and The icing on the cake is that my character Germán appears, through the image and in the text itself. Being able to interpret it again after thirty years has made me relive emotions and experiences that I had stored in my memory. It has been like turning fifteen and celebrating it in a big way.

─Let's go back 30 years, to the filming. What do you remember about the process with Titón and Tabío, the Mirtha of that time, the cast and the technical team?

─I remember that Titón was attentive to every detail, taking care of the decoration. Regarding my character, since there were no more statues to break, we had a very austere production, and I had to do it in a single take and there he was next to Juan Carlos, giving me the guidelines of what was in the head of Germán and his given circumstances, as they say in interpretation jargon. I was doing The Hamlet Machine at the National Theater, a very groundbreaking one-man show for the time and they went to see it, the next day they gave me the character. Mirtha and I began a friendship that has lasted over time, one time they wrote to her in a review that she was the actress who wasn't acting and she didn't understand it, when she mentioned it to Titón, he told her to be happy, that it was because the very natural way she has when interpreting a character and in the end, that is what she has taught me, to show the characters as organic and truthful as if they were not on stage or in front of a camera. I sincerely believe that this is one of the fundamental pillars why the show and my acting work have been valued so much. I have learned a lot from the greats in Spain, I was lucky to work alongside Pilar Bardem, Concha Velasco and Lina Morgan, but Ibarra's teachings have made me the actor I am today.

─Sitting in front of the screen, Joel Angelino, a mature actor, how he dialogues with the young man who played Germán. What would you change?

─I would change that I was very insecure when I was young, but one acquires that with experience and years. Theater has always been my strength, and cinema and television made me very nervous. In the theater I am not afraid, it is my home. However, although I am very critical of my work, I like how I interpreted Germán, which is why I dedicate this performance to the two directors who, unfortunately, can no longer enjoy the success and validity of Strawberry and Chocolate. I believe that the success of the film, in addition to the text by Senel Paz, directly advised by Gutiérrez Alea, was in the virtuosity of these two great directors.

─In Spain you have assumed other important roles, on television, film and theater. Which characters have demanded the most from you? Does the Cuban actor's training clash with the acting guidelines for those media there?

─The most demanding character has been that of Raúl in the film El Alma de Tacande, by director Antonio Fernández Lorenzo from La Palma. Raúl was an abuser and very manipulative and twisted when it came to achieving his goals. I had scenes with a lot of physical contact and the truth is that I had a very bad time. It wasn't believable because I was afraid of hurting my partner who played the character of my wife. The director had other talents but, honestly, he was not very skilled at directing actors. Currently it has become the most awarded film in Canarian cinema, with fifty-six international awards, among them, selected in the first Goya nomination in 2020. A year later I was awarded the award for Best Leading Actor in the Detroit Film Festival. I had a characterization so different from me that people say it seems like it's not me. That's the best compliment.

“I don't think it will shock. The Cuban school has trained great professionals who are succeeding in Spanish series and films such as María Isabel Díaz, Ileana Wilson or Laura Ramos, and it is worth saying that in addition to being great actresses they are great human beings, because they have supported me a lot in my Madrid journey. We are all proud of the great teachers and the techniques learned, but I think we have to lower the level of intensity when studying a character. <<Less is more>>, as Titón said, what happens is that we always carry the Caribbean inside us and we have to bring it out when the character warrants it.”

 Together with Santiago Ríos, recognized as one of the pioneers of the new Canarian cinema.

 ─The Canary Islands occupies a privileged space in Joel Angelino's heart, why?

─The Canary Islands have been my other refuge. Its people won me over, their kindness and that island way of interpreting reality. There I have my own company with actresses like Sayli Cabezas, the Cuban actress from the novel The Hidden Face of the Moon, and I teach acting classes. I feel like it is my other home, now that I have spent four months in Madrid with so much rain and cold, I realize that I miss its wonderful climate. I also thank the Tenerife publisher Ideas, which has published two books of poems for me, the last one will go on sale on Amazon in a week. I consider myself an apprentice poet, but as in acting, it is true that the path taken has made me mature and develop my own style.

 Joel Angelino and Gretel Cazón star in the tragicomedy WC Story, directed by Tenerife filmmaker Santiago Ríos. The story takes place in the women's bathroom of a nightclub, between a transsexual and the cleaning lady.

 ─Together with the Canarian director Santiago Ríos, you undertook a festival that connects with Cuba. Did you achieve everything you aspired to in that first edition?

─San Canarias de Cuba is my tribute to my people in the Canary Islands and of course, to my country. It is a meeting of the arts, which we develop to celebrate what unites us and makes us grow as human beings, comings and goings. All through art. I always wanted to work with a teacher like Santiago Ríos, because of his entire career, because of his humility and because of the way he understands his life. He is my advisor and his advice is very wise. We did the previous festival in Santiago de Cuba and the next one, we are thinking about the idea of doing it in Camagüey in November 2024. The objective of the Festival is to do a creative event between Cubans and Canarians, and we made a short film WC Story, with the Cuban singer and actress Gretel Cazón and myself, directed by Santiago; it is giving us a lot of joy, we have already been selected for the prestigious Malaga Film Festival and other international festivals.

 The Soul of Tacande, by director Antonio M. Fernández, tells the legend of the 17th century that a young Cuban couple meets when traveling to the island of La Palma in search of some land belonging to their grandfather, a Canarian emigrant.

─Any immediate project that includes Cuba?

─In the month of December I will be in Havana for the official ceremony for the 30th anniversary of the film Strawberry and Chocolate. I will also be presenting my film El Alma de Tacande and the short film WC Story. I will also take a comedy show titled Sexo Sentido, to different provinces of the country. Because of the respect I have for my people, I feel it is my duty to share my work and give them humor during these festive times. I love my country and what better than being able to give away my talent and be present with my work in these difficult times.

 Crew during the filming of the short film WC Story on the Malecón in Havana.

“Much merd merd merd” wished Mirtha Ibarra from Havana in a video projected at the end of the performance of Fresa y Chocolate, 30 years later. Those good vibes accompany the actor who, on the eve of Cuban Culture Day, in the heart of Madrid and on a stormy day, shared the epic song of a nation that is built from tolerance, love and freedom. Back home it will be no different.

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez