The last masterpiece by Rene Munoz
“Hold Me Tight (Abrazame muy fuerte)” is the last remembrance of Rene Munoz who is one of the most multi-talented artists Cuba in Latin America, Spanish-speaking world, has produced.
Before he died on May 11 2000, he had finished writing the first 30 chapters and creating a framework for dramatizing the original by Donia Caridad Bravo Adams perfectly. When he realized he could not go on any more, he chose Liliana Abud as his successor by himself, which was a wise decision. In addition, even with death approaching, he appeared in a scene of the first chapter and it became his last performance.
Just like so far, due to its charm, the “Hold Me Tight (Abrazame muy fuerte)” project has now become the most successful TV drama Mexico has ever had up to the new century. Because Munoz himself cast extremely promising Fernando Colunga and Aracely Arambula as the leading roles and he selected Victoria Ruffo as the character Veronica Castro was initially going to play. Although Veronica visited Miami to play this role, the goddess didn’t reach the agreement with the company. So, Munoz wanted Ruffo and chose her compatriot Cesar Evora as cruel and relentless Federico.
Munoz also never forgot to have the actress he had always spoken highly of. Lilia Aragon, an incomparable actress with her splendid performance, appears in the fascinating scene as one of the old maids and performs strikingly, just like when she played the mother of Alfredo Adame in “Sunward (De frente al sol)” and “Beyond The Bridge (Mas Alla del Puente)” which were her favorites among many of his dramas. When “Only For Woman (Solo para Mujeres)” began, it became so popular that they had to extend its broadcasting period. It kept drawing the top ratings at 8 PM. Ultimately, disappointing “You Are My Destiny (Mi Destino Eres Tu)” was put at 9 PM to get high ratings. Isn’t this magic of Rene Munoz? He never stops stealing the audience’s heart even after he passed away.
Osvaldo Rios-the sweetheart of Victoria Ruffo
“Hold Me Tight (Abrazame muy fuerte)” was originally titled “Deadly Sins (Pecados Mortales)”. However, when Munoz visited the great singer Juan Gabriel to ask him to write a theme song like “I Still Love You (Te Sigo Amando)［Monte Calvario］”, the drama title was changed to the name of the theme song which you can hear everywhere now because the music was beautiful like jewelry.
At the beginning of the story, the top actress (young Victoria Ruffo) falls in love blindly with a young man. Munoz wanted to cast a best-looking Puerto Rican actor, Osvaldo Rios as this role. Osvaldo who had starred the main characters consecutively in Venezuela, Columbia and his hometown Sun Juan played the character which was important only for the first part of this show. But even so, Televisa and the proficient producer Salvador Mejia who was well-known for great dramas such as “Esmeralda”, etc. used Osvaldo Rios to satisfy Munoz.
Another reason why Mejia had Osvaldo in the casting was that he also wanted to add the continental atmosphere which Rene Munoz always liked to have in his TV dramas. Rios is going to play the leading character of Mejia’s next TV drama, though. Rene also wanted Lalo El Mimo as Casimiro. Through this show he was highly accepted as a valuable comedian and gained a successful career. In fact, now you would understand that this exquisite drama based on the original of Caridad Bravo Adams has become more excellent by the influence of Rene Munoz magic. It will be the best in the dollar area, too and will be the work to crown the topflight prestige which this unforgettable San Martin de Porres or Rene Munoz always maintained through his life.
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