Haydeé Cáceres returns to the theater: What it was like to play Ernesto Pimentel’s grandmother, the scene with Ricky Tosso where she almost died and more

“They always give me the roles of mother or mother’s mother, and if possible the mother’s mother’s mother. “I want you to give me other roles, please, I am always a long-suffering lady, a widow, a poor older adult or someone who takes care of her children from the result of her bad decisions.”Haydeé Cáceres mentions with a laugh in an interview with El Comercio.

―You returned to the cinema with the film “Chabuca”. What has it been like to play Ernesto Pimentel’s grandmother?

He was a very colorful person with great things to offer. I met her when she was recording “La Perricholi”, we were in a hospice and they told me that Ernesto’s grandmother lived here, that she lived there because she had nowhere else to live. At that moment she looked not even fifty years old. As time went by, Ernesto’s fame came and he took her out of there to take her to her house; During the pre-recording stage he told me that she had a sweet mouth, that she was brave, frontal and very wise when she advised him.

―This whole project appears before your health problem during the play “Euthanasia.” What happened during that period?

It was one of the most horrible experiences I ever had. I had never had anything so serious as to send me to the hospital. What happened to me has an origin, I returned from a trip to Europe where I was on vacation with my daughter who lives there. We took advantage of every minute to walk everywhere, sleeping little. When I returned I went to a patron’s party and arrived adjusting for the premiere of the play. I was there the first day, but for the next performance I felt bad, with a sharp pain in my abdomen, I didn’t take it seriously and went to the theater, when I arrived I felt like I was dying and they had to call the ambulance.

―Why decide to go to the theater and not the hospital first?

Just like admitting that I still feel nervous when I go on stage, that decision reminds me of Luis Álvarez, he is responsible for me knowing many of the things that I now know, he was the teacher of the type of theater that I practice. He was never late, neither am I, because his discipline was contagious. He now criticizes some young actors whose nails hurt and for that reason alone they no longer go to rehearsals. With pain, I thought about the play before the doctor because he had a responsibility, that is my ancient training: to love the theater above all things.

―After recovering and returning to your projects, how do you feel now?

I feel very good, the strange thing was seeing my face and Hernán Romero’s on the poster, even though we were both sick, but those things happen; Fortunately everything is resolved in the theater. The energies I have now are renewed and I feel like they still don’t want me up there, the public has Haydée for a while.

―You went through the times when theater was done on radio and television.

It was something beautiful that was done there, they were beautiful times. Our job was to bring high-quality works to the public, with a deep message and beautiful things to convey, but honestly, I don’t really like doing theater outside of the presence, it is not my comfort zone. I like to concentrate on each moment, without any noise or a teleprompter to set the tone for the things I should say, although I adapt to the different places where I play a character.

―But you also did three plays virtually.

It is adapting to modern times, a necessity. I’m ashamed to admit it, but at the beginning I didn’t even know how to take a photo of the screen, I thought they were technical things and that I just had to do my thing, but that’s not the case. The key to that stage was my grandson who was only five years old, imagine. After learning from him I took the risk of trying to do everything myself and I succeeded. I remember clapping and crying for the satisfaction of having managed to do something new, for feeling that I can adapt to these times and that I can do it well.

―During this time some theaters appeared, disappeared or were renovated. What do you miss about that theater that is no longer present?

The works he did with Cattone, the classic comedies and dramas. That theater that is now for mature audiences and that does not always end up enchanting young people. I also miss my husband, who took my handwriting, now my grandchildren do. After the duel, now I feel that he is always with me. I remember that he was always the first to arrive at the theater at the premieres of my plays and he was the last to leave during the final performance. Seeing our children and grandchildren is seeing him every day.

―When we see your works it is inevitable not to see yourself playing the role of a mother or a maternal figure. How do you feel when taking on this type of characters?

They always give me the roles of mother or mother’s mother. I want you to give me other roles, please, I am always a long-suffering lady, a widow, a poor older adult or someone who takes care of her children from the result of her bad decisions. Now when they call me to play a character I ask first: “Hey, am I going to play a mother or are you going to kill me in the plot?” Because they also always kill me, I think they grabbed me, but please, I don’t want to die again.

―What is the role of mother that you remember most?

In the soap opera “Las Tres Marías” when I was the mother of Ricky Tosso’s character, he was my son, but he was evil and wanted to harm one of the girls. The scene was one where I was supposedly sick in the hospital, Ricky came asking me for help, I told him no, then he untubated me. There I had to act as if I was dying, but at that moment I felt a burning in my chest and pain in my left arm, then I knew that what I felt was real and I began to scream: “I’m dying, I’m really dying.” Happily we were recording in a hospital, a doctor treated me and told me it was a minor heart attack, so far this has happened to me three times.

―In this new work they don’t kill you, but you play the mother…

It is a story where a mother desperately searches for her son who was murdered, she does it because she needs peace. A requirement that I always have when accepting roles like this is that they must be complex roles, with exciting stories, I don’t like simple things, not even since I was young when I never wanted to play a princess, but rather the evil stepmother or the forest witch.

―It seems like you always have more energy than your own characters

I have more energy than several young actors. Last year I did my workshop, the recording for the film, I went to the hospital, I did circus with Ernesto Pimentel and other works. I feel good when I’m everywhere doing a thousand things and putting pressure on the taxi driver to arrive quickly and be punctual. I have burned my eyelashes studying a lot, going through very happy and very sad moments in my life, but my discipline exceeds my age and I am happy that way.