Heroic Father

Many people belong to the generation that knows the legend of Zorro, the seemingly snobbish landlord who occasionally becomes a brave masked horseback riding hero who helps the weak. The story familiar to many people through movies, television dramas and novels is soon coming back to the television screen as a telenovel Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa (The Sword and the Rose). The program will cast international big names including Peruvian actor Christian Meier and Mexican actress Marlene Favela in the leading roles.

Puerto Rican actor Osvaldo Rios is playing Don Alejandro de la Vega, the father of Zorro ? one of the key figures in the story.
De la Vega is “a person who spreads justice and has a powerful personality,” said Rios, introducing the character of Alejandro in the new telenovel.

This drama, co-produced by Sony Pictures, Telemundo and RTI Colombia, is based on the novel by Isabel Allende and the first TV drama series shot in Hi-Vision. This melodrama that began filming in November 2006 will be continued until December this year is now on the air in the United States and Colombia. People expect the broadcast in Puerto Rico starting this summer.

“The story is intriguing. My role is Alejandro de la Vega, the role Anthony Hopkins played in the movie, The Mask of Zorro; Steven Spielberg was the executive producer. Alejandro was a soldier in the Spanish Royal Army and protected the territory in the western California conquered by Spain. He is proud of his service to the Kingdom. He advocates justice and is a powerful personality. He trains his son, Diego, to become Zorro for times when critical moments arrive,” said Osvaldo in the village of Villa de Leyva, Colombia, where he has been staying during the shooting of the drama series.

According to the story line, the time is 1780. Diego was born to Alejandro and a woman from Indio, Coipurnia, whom Alejandro baptized and named Regina. However, Regina was killed, and because of his oath of love to her, Alejandro mourned her death for 20 years until he met Almudena Sanchez (Lumi Sousa), a sister of Alejandro Sanchez (Arturo Peniche). Around the same time, de la Vega falls in love with another Indian woman, Yumalay (Adriana Campos), who resembles the dead Coipurnia. De la Vega is hopelessly caught in a love triangle.

Although no special rehearsal was necessary for the Hi-Vision shooting, the handsome Puerto Rican actor said, “The shooting is much more demanding than usual because we record in a format similar to movies and if there is only one millimeter deviation from the frame, we need to shoot the scene again.” In fact, Rios had to practice fencing for 8 to 14 hours a day to make the swordplay look realistic and artistic.
Osvaldo Rios
“Don Alejandro de la Vega is a point of pride for servicemen.”

“When I took a horseback riding lesson several years ago, Juan Alfonso Rikeholf, the son of Juan Rikeholf Sampayo, the late chairman of the Olympic Committee said that I might not understand the importance of this sport then, but he was sure that a day would come when I would thank him. And now I appreciate him very much. The horseback riding skill has made me grow as an actor.”

Producing a TV series of 200 episodes seems indeed a landmark. The broadcasting rights have been sold to over 70 countries before airing Zorro even in areas far away from Latin America, such as the Balkan States in Eastern Europe, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland.

Happiness and Romance
In his private life Rios is seeing Ivelin Giro, a Cuban model and actress. She was cast in the telenovel Las Dos Caras de Ana (The Two Faces of Ana) (distributed by Univision in Puerto Rico), in which she happened to resemble Rios’s two ex-wives, Carmen Dominicci and Geraldine Fernandez.

“We met each other through work six months ago, and since then we have never been apart because Ivelin comes to see me in Colombia regularly and I go to see her when I go to see my two sons in Miami every month. She is beautiful and talented woman. I have introduced my family to her and met her family as well. We love each other very much, and our children are in tune too (She has three children).”

He also congratulated Carmen Dominicci on her marriage to Fernando del Rincon, one of his associates at Univision.

“I wish all happiness in the world for Carmen because she deserves it. There are good times and bad times in any three-year love relationship. I have known Fernando, who really loves her, for some time and he has surely become a good father to my son. I hope their marriage lasts a lifetime.”

For work reasons, Osvaldo will not be able to attend the wedding ceremony of his oldest son’s mother on August 18th. “I would like to attend the wedding and share the great moment with other people, but the shooting of the drama will not allow me to do so. It takes as long as 7 hours to fly to Puerto Rico. But my heart is going to attend the wedding,” he promised.