Cristina Castaño, from visiting the Pope to ‘Rapa’: “For me it had a special meaning to be in this series”

-Have you followed the previous seasons of the series?

-Yes, I was a follower and a fan, so when they called me for the third one it was a huge joy. The production company is Galician, the director, many colleagues, so it made special sense to be in this project. And, beyond that, because of the quality of the people involved.

-You have been assigned a character with a great dramatic charge: the mother of the kidnapped girl.

-On paper, it was difficult to maintain that tension throughout all the episodes, the anguish of a mother who doesn’t know what’s happening to her daughter. But then the shooting was much simpler, with the whole team, with the colleagues, with the director…

-In addition, there is the pressure of being at the head of an important family business.

-She is a woman with character, who is used to giving orders, with authority, who knows how to run a company, negotiate, but now she finds herself in a situation where she doesn’t know how to deal with a kidnapper and they don’t let her maneuver. She feels pain as a mother and also a lot of frustration because she is used to getting what she wants and now she doesn’t have control, and that drives her crazy.

-Lately you’ve been getting female leaders. Apart from this courageous mother from ‘Rapa’, the Macarena that you played in ‘Toy Boy’.

-It’s funny. Before, I was Judith in ‘La que se avecina’, which had nothing to do with it, a woman who hadn’t found herself and had a very funny point of pathos. But it’s true that some of the latest characters I’ve played are strong women, with power, with leadership and authority, and I like to play them, especially at this moment that we are living in on a social level, in which women are recovering a bit of a presence of more equality or, at least, that’s what we want.

-Judith was a character who made an impression. Do people still remember her?

-Yes. ‘La que se avecina’ is a very special mass phenomenon, which is studied at university. I left nine years ago, but since they keep repeating the episodes, they keep watching me. Since the new generations come back, they keep watching the episodes from the beginning, so in a way it’s as if I hadn’t left, because you still have the same audience and even a new one. For me, sometimes it’s very strange that people think I haven’t left, but it’s also nice to continue feeling the affection for this character.

-‘Rapa’ is not the only series you have recently filmed in Galicia. You have just finished ‘Lume’, which will be shown on Max.

-It is a co-production between Galician television, Portuguese television and Max. And I have another strong woman, a journalist who is investigating the fires that are taking place on the border. She also has a personal story behind her, because her father was blamed for a fire 30 years ago and they had to flee their village, rejected by the rest of the neighbours. So for her it is the opportunity to return and clear the family name.

-Do you have to speak Portuguese?

-Yes, it was a challenge. I had to learn the language because 70% of the dialogues are in Portuguese. I realized that we are neighbors and we know little about the film and TV culture of Portugal.

-A few months ago you were invited to the Vatican to meet the Pope, at a meeting with other international comedians. How was the visit?

-The Vatican wanted to celebrate the value of humor in society to unite people, to console them… I had no idea who was going to attend the reception, it was a surprise to find such important people as Whoopi Goldberg and Jimmy Fallon. Beyond my religious inclinations, which are not relevant, it was accepting the invitation of someone who is appreciating your work, a unique experience that not everyone will have. I am very grateful.

-Did you always know that you would dedicate yourself to acting?

-Always, although when I was little I wanted to be many things: veterinarian, teacher… I had artistic inclinations since I was a child, I sang, I participated whenever I could get on stage… My parents supported me, they were my best audience, and perhaps the most demanding, they were always there to give me the confidence I needed in the beginning.

-There was never a plan B?

-Never. I started studying journalism in Madrid, that was my parents’ plan B. I like communication, presenting a gala, doing monologues, speaking in public, but I don’t have the soul of a journalist. For me it was the excuse to go to Madrid, become independent and, when I could get going, take my own path.

-And he found that path…

-In my second year of Journalism I started to get work as an actress and I was able to support myself financially at the age of 20. I started my career and until now, with better and worse moments, like any actor. But there was never a plan B because I always thought I could deviate from plan A.

-After filming the series Lume, what other projects do you have in the works?

-I want to do a comedy monologue for the theatre. I’ve been meeting with a colleague for some time now to be able to write my own text and get up on stage to tell something, I don’t know exactly what yet. I’d like to have something a little more personal in terms of humour. A good role model for me is Dani Rovira.