From Madrid
We spoke with the actor Salvador del Solar about what was the presentation in Madrid of the first episode of Los Prisioneros, a series that he directs with Joanna Lombardi and Carlos Moreno and that in 2022 will see the light through Movistar Play.
How was the presentation of Los Prisioneros during the Iberseries Platino Industria Festival?
Very well, the comments from the press were very interesting. There was a contingent of Peruvians, but also Chilean spectators who were very interested and for us it was a valuable test to see how they lived the project. The response was magnificent, it exceeded all expectations we had.
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How has it been for you to direct the series of a band that made history in Latin America?
It sounds like a commonplace, but it really is a gift, because you and I who grew up listening to this band, which is from our generation and to be able to be in a production that tells part of its history, is fabulous. In addition, Los Prisioneros is an iconic Chilean group, but it also has to do with the history of Peruvians, Colombians, who feel they are part of them.
His songs denounce what was happening then in his country, but also talk about the crisis, corruption, marginalization and other issues that hitherto affect Latin America.
They consider themselves a denouncing band, but they were more of a rock band, as such, which is to show dissatisfaction from their sound, break, bother, move and part of what they did was protest, say, put their finger on the sore and with surprising lucidity in his 20s.
Did you have the opportunity to chat with them or collect their opinions?
No, but the production got the authorization of each one separately. In addition, the writing team did a lot of research, especially, We have collected many testimonies from people who were next to them, so that the series has details.
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How difficult has it been to deal with other productions that precede this series?
There is another series, a film about Miguel Tapia, so the challenge was to go further, for that reason, a different period has been chosen between 85 and 89: the voice of the 80s is already there, the garbage culture comes and we closed the cycle with ‘Hearts’. We took a moment when the band began to take off and be marginalized by the political situation that existed in Chile at that time and we stayed when they faced their biggest disagreements.
What other angles does the series highlight?
It is a series about the search for freedom in many senses, of young people seeking freedom to express themselves, men and women, because there is a space for The Cleopatras, whose name has not transcended so much, nor has much attention been paid to them and that has to do with that we have a female showrunner like she is Joanna Lombardi. The Cleopatras are four intelligent, bold, disruptive women who are part of this time. All of them were looking for a freedom to love in another way, to compose in another way, and also a freedom in the political context; then, it is not a capricious thing.
A context that unfortunately repeats itself.
Many things. The Chilean outbreak, what happened in Colombia and the outbreak of these intense protests in Peru where ‘El baile de los que sobran’ was sung, which has become an anthem of the mobilization in general. The prisoners is a band that has a lot to say at a time when it seems like everything happens again. I think its premiere is going to be very relevant.
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What is next?
I am participating in the development of a film that I cannot talk about much and some theatrical commitments that remained due to the pandemic and also because of my time in public management.
Are you really not planning to return to political activity?
I feel that I have had the luck and responsibility to assume something that was not in my plans, I did my best in a very complicated context, our context continues to get complicated politically, but as you see me, I am resuming my career. But I am not letting myself be the citizen that I have always been, who gave my opinion, who wrote columns, I don’t see why I should stop. Beyond that, I find that my place is here where I have more than 25 years of career.
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