Comeback on Spanish television

Osvaldo Ros----regresa a la TV espaola

Madrid ? Osvaldo Rios, the protagonist of Kassandra and sixteen other telenovelas, has again burst onto the Spanish television scene with his recent work La viuda de Blanco (Blanco’s Widow). This production was filmed in Colombia and was created by writer Julio Jimenez, considered by Rios to be the Garci'a Marquez of his country’s television industry.
“The central theme of his telenovela productions is love. La viuda de Blanco incorporates many elements of suspense and draws the interest of the audience. The characters in this production are very clearly depicted. Among all the offers received by the production company, the most dominant one was the one received from Channel 1, Spain’s state-run broadcaster, which planned to broadcast the series at the beginning of 1999,” explained the actor Rios, who arrived in Madrid on a sudden visit to speak with a lot of pride about his work in this connection.

He is handsome. His personality clearly shows through, and he possesses quite the charisma. With his dark skin and an ample smile that reflects his incessant appetite for life, this actor, who was born on Isla del Encanto, has become popular around the world thanks to his ability to touch a chord with people and the manner in which he exudes the image of a doubtlessly fine person. In February, he will return to Spain together with several other members of the cast of this telenovela series to host an official presentation. The lead actress is Colombian Maria Elena Perez, who has been living for the last five years in Italy, where she is active in television and the theater.


What drew you most to this telenovela series?
The story, which was constructed superbly and which transcends traditional structures in various ways, is what appealed to me most. I was also affected by the fact that it would be directed by Aurelio Valcarcel. This was a production of Radio Television Internacional de Colombia. This telenovela has garnered success in nearly 100 different countries. I have just completed a two-and-a-half-month tour of countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkan region. I visited Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Turkey, and Russia. To see so many viewers from so many different cultures becoming really engrossed in our telenovela series is impressive. Once again, I felt proud of being a Hispano-American.


How did you attain international fame?
My fame is all thanks to Cuban writer Delia Fiallo, who selected me for Kassandra. There is a huge difference in how my career can be described when we compare where I was before and after this series. In terms of my career, Delia represents a fairy godmother, the kind that everyone yearns to encounter in his or her own life. Most Hispano-American actors who attain international fame are greatly indebted to the likes of Delia or Ines Rodena, another Cuban writer (who wrote such international telenovela hits as Los ricos tambien lloran (The Rich Also Cry) and Maria Mercedes). They are pioneers responsible for the global flowering of this field.

He is famous on five continents. Yet, he refuses to become conceited. He possesses an appeal in the manner in which he presents himself like a young man who is innocent and who has not forgotten his dreams. With La viuda de Blanco, the number of telenovelas in which Rios has played a starring role reached seventeen.


Have you tried your hand at making movies?
In the early part of 1998, I decided to take a break from doing television work. I paid quite a price for this move though. I worked from fifteen to eighteen hours a day, Monday to Friday. For this last project, I spent about two years in Colombia. At that time, I made a movie. I’ve just completed two films in Puerto Rico: Una pasion en el espejo (Passion in the Mirror), which was made by one of my favorite directors, Vicente Castro, and Hijos de nadie (Nobody’s Children).

One of his plans involves starring in Una muchacha llamada Milagros (A Girl Called Milagros)…


You live in Puerto Rico?
I have a home where I work the most and spend the most time but Puerto Rico is where my one true home is located, even though I can only visit my family for very short intervals. In addition, I own a vacation home where I can enjoy spending several days basking in the midst of a natural setting. But my artistic base is Miami. It’s ironic that I live more in places outside of my hometown. That is one of the prices I have to pay for being in this profession.

When he is not acting, he always speaks with a Caribbean accent no matter where he happens to be. He has also perfectly mastered English and speaks as if he were born in the middle of Manhattan.


What is your next project?
I’ve already begun working on a project that is tentatively titled Santa Esperanza (Sacred Wishes). It is a tale involving a Caribbean fishing village pitted against the U.S. Navy over a matter concerning territorial waters. It is a story based on true facts. The central character is a local leader named Salvador, and he has given me this opportunity to introduce this story regarding a Caribbean reality to the world. This project is a series being shot in the same style used by Carlos Vives in Rafael Scallion. We just finished recording the soundtrack with a group of artists consisting of Danny Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Jedy Medina. We recently completed promotional filming on Isla Margarita in Venezuela.

Osvaldo Rios wrote and penned the lyrics to five of the twelve theme songs that will be heard in this new series of his. He also sings in seven of them. The remaining songs were created by Danny Rivera.

Although he majored in psychology in university, he has never applied what he learned in a professional setting nor has he practiced it in his acting career. Nevertheless, he has confessed that he often observes things and will even go so far as to observe how people sleep as he walks down aisles in airplanes. He declares, “I live on observations.” And he added: “I began to be active as an amateur actor at the University of Puerto Rico, and I later appeared in a work by Mexican writer Roberto Rodriguez at a theater in San Juan. That was when I first became involved in a genuine play by performing with a caliber that was befitting for this profession. Subsequently, I was asked to appear in numerous television programs, and I also participated in quite a few stage acts. I was given many opportunities to work with the finest directors in Puerto Rico and New York.”

However, he caught the attention of the general public in En aquella playa (In That Beach), a telenovela series by Corin Tellado based on different tales of love in which he co-starred with Venezuelan actress Ruddy Rodriguez.

“The director at that time was Gabriel Suau, a Catalonian residing in Puerto Rico. To me, he was like an amulet of good luck, and my appearance in that series allowed Delia Fiallo to discover me and summon me to play the leading role in Kassandra.

Osvaldo has filmed in all countries where telenovelas are considered an industry in itself. One of his plans involves starring in an updated version of Delia Fiallo’s Una muchacha llamada Milagros (A Girl Called Milagros).

He married announcer Carmen Dominicci, whom he later divorced and with whom he has an eight-year-old child. Nevertheless, Rios confesses that he has no plans at the moment to remarry.