“Are you seriously this cool all the time?”
(Macarena Achaga interview for InStyle Magazine, October 2019)
This phrase stuck in our heads when we stalked Macarena Achaga on her social media (that is, before an interview, we read, investigate, and we even get into those forgotten corners of the internet to know about the celebrities on our cover.) And we believe that this is the one question that many ask the Argentine actress...she answers it for us.
“I’m so excited, what did you think of the photos?” asks Maca about the photoshoot we did in Barcelona, with the new collection of the Spanish brand “Desigual” (we love them, by the way). Precisely, she is an example of that (desigual), of originality embodied in a person; not only transcending from being a teenage entertainer in Mis XV, to becoming the actress whose character, along with Barbara Lopez, became the first lesbian couple on Mexican television in Amar a muerte, a telenovela written by Venezuelan Leonardo Padron and produced by Lemon and W Studios.
“I don’t want to discount any of my work because each of them has taken me to where I am now and shaped me professionally; I started with Mis XV and there I learned the importance of freedom at a young age. I am very grateful to have done it with maturity and that my parents always gave me the chance to make my own decisions; I constantly say that it’s better to regret the consequences of your own choices than to regret the ones that were decided for you. From a very young age, I faced and lived many things that, without knowing, would later give me the weapons to tell other people's stories and have empathy so that girls feel recognized.”
“That was the number one factor that happened with Juliantina; we were able to raise our voice for so many people out there who don’t have the opportunity to do so and who don’t have the freedom that I had. The transition in my career has been immense, but going through different experiences gave me the strength to go out and act. I do this because it allows me to be the voice of so many who don’t have one. Following what my heart says lets me do my job with a purpose,” confesses the artist who began more than 12 years ago in middle entertainment and today is one of the coolest faces on the small screen.
The growth that the Argentine has had has been tremendous, but she has also encountered unexpected challenges and obstacles. The industry is difficult, “as humans we are made to please. I think that it is one thing to pretend to fit in and quite another to want to belong. I don’t think it’s the same to fit in by changing who you are than to be with a group of people who are moved by the same things you are; however, I don’t look to change my way of being. I’m guided by the projects that align with my way of thinking. When I am old and I look in the mirror, I want to say ‘You did everything out of love’. I look to play roles that touch someone from a different point of view, but at the same time tell a message that I believe in.” And it’s precisely that, that she’s sure is how things are flowing and has been the success of her career.
She even told us a story of one of her castings, that she realized how the camera connects you to the audience, and because of that she is transparent with her acting and she feels that is part of the movement that is taking place with Juliantina.
Without a doubt, there are many girls, regardless of their sexual orientation, who have felt moved after seeing her performance as Valentina, who is part of a same-sex couple: “She encouraged them to speak without such filters. I don’t label myself and I want to convey that message. Of course, this opens up the conversation that you can have the relationship you want in the way you think it best; I think that these stereotypes and ideas that are so deeply rooted in society have finally begun to fall. I feel proud and responsible--even blessed--because so many girls have chosen me to be a voice that gives the message of equality and put it out there with the ideals of thousands of people. I am inspired by the change I see. As for the sexuality argument, it seems to me that it shouldn’t be a topic of conversation, not because it’s bad, but because it shouldn’t remain a taboo.” Macarena celebrates individuality and is sure that being yourself is the path to happiness, although she knows how difficult it is to translate into words.
And for the Juliantina fans comes a very important project: the movie that will take the couple to the big screen. Undeniably, it will mark a before and after in the history of Mexican television in which an LGBTQ+ couple transitions from a telenovela to a movie.
“It's beautiful to listen the community of women who are making themselves heard and who want to see the story that touched them so much. I thank God I was chosen to play it; it needed to be told. It is a romantic story, but above all, real. For me, it’s a response to the audience that’s socially responsible and their hope to see so much love and camaraderie. This opens a window for the world to be part of a turning point of love stories in general,” she emphasizes.
For her, it is important to go beyond generations, to reach entire families and that the audience connects with this moment of change. “It’s inevitable, urgent, and necessary that these issues are on the table, discussing important things requires courage. Talking about sexuality is uncomfortable, but it has to be done and we are opening the conversation. Recently, I had coffee with a fan from Brazil who told me that after a time of struggling, then seeing me on TV, and then on my social media, she realized that there was a life out there that she wasn’t enjoying. I want to end the prejudices and not have to explain, when many times you yourself are still discovering what is happening with you”.
Macarena is different, rebellious and breaking the rules since she was a child because she has a conscience that allows her to identify with what she likes and what she doesn't, although she admits that she couldn’t have accomplished it without the support of her family and fans who send her gifts, even from Korea, and make her feel special.
“I like to break the rules and it’s important to learn how to say no and be an example without shame. End the excuses, give the answers from a place that comes from confidence in who you are,” she declares.
So yes, the answer is that Macarena is this cool, all the time.
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Interview: Karla Jáuregui
Photos: Paola Vivas
Styling: Paulina Zas
