Since last January 20, Venevisión has broadcast the telenovela on its screens Ka Ina, a drama written by César Miguel Rondón and starring Hilda Abrahamz, Viviana Gibelli and Jean Carlo Simancas, released in 1995.
Abrahamz, at that time, played Maniña Yerichana, a priestess who was raised by a Yanomami shaman, a character that marked her career and made her one of the most remembered and respected actresses in the history of Venezuelan television: “Ka Ina it marked a before and after in my artistic career. I started acting as a young girl, after Miss Venezuela in 1981, my characters were always the bad guy, the antagonist. In the wake of Ka Ina They started to write characters for me and that was very important ”.
With forty years of artistic career, Abrahamz participated in almost thirty dramatic productions of Venevisión and RCTV. In 2012 he made his film debut playing Delirio in Blue and not so pink, feature debut by Miguel Ferrari, winner of the Goya Award for Best Hispano-American Film.
-What does the affection and appreciation of the public mean to you when broadcasting Ka Ina?
-People wanted to see the telenovela again, some had seen it on YouTube or Amazon Prime, but despite the fact that other dramatic ones have been broadcast on Venezuelan television, it was missing Ka Ina. The public wants to remember that beautiful time of our television, when they had their actors, they could turn on the television and watch their dramatic productions. People miss the productive Venezuela, the Venezuela we don’t have today. Ka Ina It was a telenovela that broke audience records, full of magic, with great performances, an impeccable script, the landscapes of our jungle. During all these years on my social networks, Ka Ina it has always been present in the public that follows me; the good thing about broadcasting is that new generations can see it. It is a unique soap opera. People are happy and I am happy too.
-Remember what was the most difficult for you when playing Maniña Yerichana and your experience working with actor José Torres.
-In the beginning I thought that I was not going to be able to with that strong character, he had all the weight of the story and I had never been given that responsibility. Maniña was a woman in all her dimensions: love, passion and strength… I remember that I raised my fear to the director, Manuel De Pedro, and he told me: “Hilda, you will be able to because this character is you”. The work was exhausting because we always shot outdoors on long hours, especially at night. I was barefoot, I had to deal with animals, I filmed with a scorpion, with a caricari; Although they were domesticated animals and one person took care of them, it was very delicate to interact with them. Afterwards I felt comfortable. Working with José Torres was wonderful, we always went over the lyrics, we supported each other and to this day we have a very beautiful relationship. We made a good pair, hence Maniña and Tacupay are endearing characters. It was a blessing for me to work with him.
-In his Instagram account, he said that the actors do not receive any payment for the broadcast of the telenovela, that speaks a lot about how unprotected they are.
– It is true, we do not receive any payment for the retransmission of the telenovela. In Venezuela, not only the actors, we are all unprotected. It shouldn’t be like that, we’ve worked our entire lives. I know that actors in Mexico receive royalties. The shows are being broadcast again and the channels are making money from advertising again, why not pay the actors? It should be the right thing to do.
-On the other hand, the page IS! Online Latino included her character Olimpia Mercouri, from the telenovela My fat beauty, on the list of the best evildoers of Latin American soap operas with Itatí Cantoral and Gabriela Spanic.
-After Maniña, it was my most important role. It was one of RCTV’s best-selling telenovelas, it was broadcast in many countries and is still being broadcast today. I have had a wonderful career, I have put a lot of love in my work and I have tried to make each villain very different from the other. When I was introduced to Olympia, I highlighted her way of speaking and moving her mouth, as if with anger. She was also a very strong-willed woman. The scenes I had with Daniel Alvarado come to mind, especially one where we fought on the beach, it was a scene that involved a lot of physical strength, but I always faced my roles, I never set limits and accepted the challenges assigned to me by the writers and directors . I always did the best for my characters. I have wonderful memories of My fat beauty.
-You have had an impeccable artistic career. Do you regret something? Did you miss something to do?
-I do not regret anything. And if I missed something to do, then I’ll do it now. I want to continue working, I still have a lot to give in my career. Before we were limited to our countries and large companies, now I want to explore these new platforms of streaming that give the actors more possibilities, a different and wider world.
– “At the beginning they pointed to me as the miss, all eyes were on one and they said things like: ‘She is very beautiful, but she is missing'”, recalls the actress (Courtesy)
-To what extent did your beauty help you in your career? Did they underestimate his acting talent because of his physique?
-I got into television thanks to Miss Venezuela, like many, so my beauty helped me. But beauty passes. I had to prepare and study, just being beautiful was not enough to maintain an artistic career of more than forty years; You have to have commitment and, most importantly, respect for the public. At the beginning they pointed to me as the miss, all eyes were on one and they said things like: “She is very beautiful, but she lacks.” I always asked my co-workers, I listened to the advice of Tomás Henríquez and Dilia Waikarán on the telenovela Selva María. I worried and took care to do my job well.
-What does it mean to you to be an icon of the LGTBIQ community for your interpretation of Delirio in the film Blue and not so pink?
-For me they are a very important community, but for a lifetime. Since I left Miss Venezuela I connected with them and I have many friends. I have never liked injustices, I have always thought that the community has the same rights as any other person. How long are we going to keep pointing out a person because they have a different sexual orientation? We live in a society where we are all different due to our ethnic group, culture or religion, and it is precisely through these differences that we can understand ourselves as human beings. It is very difficult to live in the closet, it is not a sin to have a different sexual orientation, it is a sin to be a rapist, a pedophile or a criminal.
“With Delirio I was able to reach so many people and families, people approached me and told me that they took their mother or father to see the movie and could tell them that they were gay. It is an honor for me to be an icon of the community. Further, Blue and not so pink it was very important because it represented the community with dignity in the cinema, far from making fun of or showing them as ridiculous or effeminate characters, it showed them as human beings within that drama that means living in a society that points out and judges you all the time ” he adds.
-With so many years in the artistic world, what is your legacy?
-Through the soap operas I have done, my work, my personal history, my behavior as a human being and a citizen of this country that I love and continue to fight for it. Now I am doing many things to leave to future generations, especially teaching and giving my experience through the acting courses that I am giving online, taking advantage of the pandemic and technology, so that people can continue preparing.
-And finally, what is the window through which Hilda Abrahamz looks?
-It is a window with a lot of light. A window into the future, full of hope and faith; although sometimes I am a little sad and pessimistic about what is happening in Venezuela. There is a phrase that says: “The darker the night, the sooner the dawn comes”; that darkness is necessary to finally have the light.
@DulceMRamosR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rtgJ8gt75Y
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