So says Roberto Salomón, a popular Cuban actor who has made a great impact in some recent Cuban TV dramas due to the naturalness of his expression.
Two of the characters distinguishing Salomon on the stage have been as the detective Mario Conde in the original work ‘Vientos de Cuaresma’¸ written by Leonardo Padura and adapted to theatre by Tony Díaz, premiered by the Mefisto Teatro company; and Shylock in the classic ‘The Merchant of Venice’, directed by Seth Panitch. However, the small screen captured him and the results so far have been very good. Solomon recalls his arrival in television:
“I had passed through the now non-existent Carlos Moctezuma school, which was based in Masón and San Miguel (Havana), and Jimmy Sariol, television director, gave me the responsibility of playing a teacher in a docudrama. That was my first TV job. Of course, I not only remember it for being my first role, but also because emotionally it was of great importance to me, even though it did not lead to more work straightaway.
“A few years later Jesús Cabrera gave me the character of Alfredo in the Focsa case, in the police crime drama series “Tras la Huella ”, and this did mean more sustained work in television”.
How much does the medium of TV represent your work?
“How important TV has been for me, well, of course, a greater projection of my work; feeling very useful to society. I believe that there is nothing more gratifying for an artist than his work to be seen by so many people, and that it contributes to raising the spiritual and human understanding in them. In that sense, I believe that an artist must work to motivate human improvement. “
We saw you in ‘The Face of Days’, playing a worthy teacher who, in the midst of family conflict, fights and eventually manages to reunite his family. You return now in the middle of another filial conflict, with the character of Ramón in ‘Vuelve a mira’ [‘Looking back’, the current popular Cuban soap about intergenerational difference], and, despite the differences to that earlier character, Ramón also maintains an ethical line, which guides his life. What can you tell me about it?
“The character of Ramón in ‘Vuelve a mira’, although he seems like a weak person, I don’t think he really is. On the contrary, he is a very human man, with a lot of love to give, surrounded by conflict between people he loves, and precisely for that reason he tries to mediate, from a calm position, avoiding violence or abuse.
“A man of little means who tries to give his family some basic comforts in life, and who is only ‘trying to hold things together’, as he says to his wife. Taking on Ramón has therefore left me with a very sweet and pleasant taste. “
And while Ramón finds a channel for his domestic conflicts that, undoubtedly, can be recognised many other people as ordinary as him in similar situations, and despite the fact that the current pandemic has postponed many film projects, Roberto Salomón has not stopped taking on work. In fact, he tells us that he will take part in the ‘Valientes’ drama series, which will begin filming in a few days.
We look forward to see him on screen, with new conflicts that invite reflection and affirm the maxim of his life with each role to contribute to human improvement.
Cuba 50 
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