“Television and cinema are not made with low resources”

HAVANA, Cuba. – Frank Andrés Mora is an actor of challenges. He is not interested in conventional performances, but rather tries to take on characters that break the mold and require, in order to be credible, a strong dose of dramatic intensity. That is why, he says, he decided to put himself in the shoes of “Pipo” in the telenovela The right to dreama role that followed the same direction that the actor has taken in his career.

“The hardest thing was the commitment to be able to play a character that is underrepresented in Cuban society. I always try to look for those types of characters that are like a minority and that are controversial. That is what my career is about,” says the actor in an interview with CubaNet.

Mora offers details about the process that led him to play Pipo, a character who played a relevant role in the plot of the soap opera. “It was difficult because there is a very thin line that, if you cross it, you can fall into stereotypes. That is why we had to get very good advice from Dr. Héctor Vera, director of CIREN.” [Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurológica]. We had several meetings with him. We defined what could be true and what could not. From there, with much respect and thanks to the Cuban Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities, which offered us their help, we were able to move forward. [los personajes de] Pipo and Maria Luisa.”

―How did you perceive the public’s reception of the character?

―There are two types of public: the one on the street always welcomed me in a nice way, but the public on social media is generally a bit harsher. It doesn’t only happen with artists in Cuba. It happens all over the world. Sometimes people hide on social media to make rude and ill-intentioned comments. But we were lucky and fortunate that both on the streets and on social media we received the greatest support and consideration from the Cuban and international public because many Cubans identified with those characters all over the world.

The inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities is little known in Cuba and, to change that, the Cuban Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities, created in 2023, is of value. It is usually shocking because people, out of ignorance, do not usually know the rights of people with these disabilities and go out to criticize these people with malicious comments. However, thank God, the majority [del público] He came out to defend them because they weren’t laughable at all. They have the right to dream and live like anyone else in the world.

―How do you manage to carry out your acting work at a time when artists complain about the lack of resources to develop their careers?

―We live in a Cuba with a constant crisis. Logically, this affects not only artists but the entire work environment in general. Even though institutions are making efforts to carry out more audiovisual productions, the lack of resources affects programming and entertainment. Television and film are not made with low resources. Capital is needed to support a production, but we are used to doing “more with less” and, in some cases, it works, although in others it goes terribly.

Cuban artists are warriors, because we do our work for love and not for money. Not because we don’t like to earn money, but because the salary is often lower than what many people think. So, what we do is take the opportunity to make art in the midst of difficulties because, in short, the public is not to blame for your shortcomings. And that’s where professionalism comes in. Either you do it well, above all, or dedicate yourself to something else that makes you earn more.

―Cuba is a country of inexhaustible talent. There are still new generations emerging and rising well. There are actors who have become famous thanks to the migration of other actors with much better opportunities. That has helped those actors to have a position they did not have before. That happens in everyday life and what I am saying is not bad at all. Many professionals and technicians who did their job very well in television and film have emigrated, and that experience has been lost because new technicians are emerging who need teachers to teach them.

There are many new young people with a lot of talent who sometimes do not have the right working conditions, but who do not have a teacher who has studied for 30 years on a film set and who can pass on his experiences. However, there are still very good teachers in the trenches of the trade who are there every day recording a scene or on stage, but they are the minority and I think that this has a negative influence on the training of all these new talents.

―What do you think needs to be improved in Cuba so that actors can develop to a greater degree?

―In addition to the low resources, the new generations need to be taught a little more discipline, character when doing their work, and humility. I think that art schools should be a little tougher in their classes, not because the teachers are bad but because these new generations are increasingly detached from everyday life and tend to get lost; art requires a lot of discipline.

They should continue to be given opportunities in film and television because radio and theatre have open doors for these young people. In addition, they should receive a better salary so that they can devote more time to their careers. Although there have been some glimpses, I think that there is a lack of culture due to the Government’s failure to get the private sector to get a little more involved in television, film and theatre productions. They should not be afraid, because the intervention of the private sector is extremely important to create and make art, because, without money, it can be done, but it does not always turn out very well.

―What is your greatest aspiration as an actor in Cuba?

―I would like people to remember my name when I am 60 years old, to know that my name is Frank Andrés Mora, which is my stage name. (That is very difficult.) Not to say “look, this is the actor who played Pipo, or the different characters I have played throughout my career,” but rather that this actor is called Frank Mora and played such a character. Making a name for yourself is not only difficult in Cuba but anywhere in the world. To do that, you need to work hard. In addition, we are on a television that competes and is losing a lot with social networks, the Internet and the platforms that exist. People have more opportunities to see many more things.

―What projects are you working on now?

―I continue with the theatrical work Kilometer zerowhich premiered two years ago and is about male prostitution in Cuba, which is much more common than people think. In the play I play a trans woman who has brought me much joy. Finishing the last performances of Kilometer zerowhich is filming all over the country, I’m starting a project with director Jorge Luis Sánchez. After finishing with him, I have another film project that is very complicated and I hope it will be fully realized.

―Have the critical videos you post on Instagram about Cuban reality affected you?

―Regarding what I do on Instagram, social satire and political criticism date back to colonial times. I have received some bad comments from people who don’t understand it because they are stuck in the 70s or 80s, when you couldn’t say what you thought in a funny way, but I have managed to convey to most of them the message that Cubans can laugh at their own misfortunes. Because that is a culture that is part of us. It is the way we have to escape.

The thing is that some people, not all, are bothered by social criticism that is not at all malicious. (…) If they do not understand that Cubans make sacrifices and work hard and we are still here working for a better future with empty stomachs and, even so, we laugh at our misfortunes, they have double work to do.

But I must clarify: I have not received any threats or warnings from institutions or the Government. I do not believe I am a threat. I am an actor who works a lot from social criticism and not on social media, but in my career in general. I have played many characters that have been tarnished by society and I have put them in the spotlight. That is what counts.

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