INTERVIEW | Leidis Díaz: I Have a Strong Personality Like Roxy, but I'm not Toxic

How did you got involved with Ojo de Agua and specifically with the character of Roxy?

“Well, I got the role in Ojo de Agua because Luberta texted me and said she was thinking of a character for me, but he wanted to see me, do a little audition, to see how the sisters worked together, how they interconnected. In this case, the audition was for Magdalena.

“A few days later he sent me the first five chapters of the soap opera and said, ‘Look, the character I have for you is Roxy. Please read these first five chapters, tell me what you think, if you like it…’ And that’s how it was, I loved it from the moment I read it, especially because I really like it when characters combine that charming or somewhat funny, humorous side with the dramatic; when they’re well-balanced, able to make the audience laugh and also reflect.” That's how I came to Roxy.”

So, was it easy for you to connect with her?

“Yes, yes, connecting with her was easy. Like I said, I really liked the way she approached this character's conflict.”

Where do Leidis and Roxy have things in common? Where do they differ completely?

“This woman, who apparently lives in this quiet little town, where she's very comfortable with her family, and is thinking about celebrating her daughter's fifteenth birthday, is in this story of struggling to earn money and save it up to give to her daughter. That maternal aspect really resonated with me, because I also have a daughter, so it's close to my heart. That's one of the points where Roxy and I see common ground somehow. We also share, let's say, a strong character, because yes, I have a strong character just like Roxy. I'm not toxic, though, as some people say, or at least I don't think so.”

“But also in this aspect of being a fighter, this woman who doesn't stop until she achieves her dream, which in this case is celebrating her daughter's fifteenth birthday, and she's doing everything possible and impossible: she works at whatever she can find, she looks for ways to make things happen so she can fulfill her daughter's dream, and that also has a lot to do with me. I think that because of all these little details, these characteristics, I connected with her very quickly.

“We don't see eye to eye on how to handle things with her husband. She feels very insecure; this other woman makes her extremely insecure because she's a sophisticated woman, and she believes that because she's a woman from a small town, a humble person, she's not on the same level as this other woman. So, she doesn't have the right tools to handle the situation better.” Her husband isn't much help either, but that insecurity, that low self-esteem, has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
 

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I've seen them calling her Roxy-Toxy. Will she manage to keep Roelmis in line?

“Yes, they call her Roxy Toxy. That was my brother-in-law, I mean, the character played by Johan Ramos, who nicknamed her Roxy Toxy. The problem is that it's very easy to label women as toxic now, because they ask a lot of questions, supposedly they're very controlling… but something happens, there are women who aren't controlling at all until the trust with their husband is broken. In this case, her husband is lying to her, he's cheating on her, and she's not stupid because she knows him, because they've been together for many years, and she knows perfectly well that something isn't right.

So, he's incapable of speaking to her clearly, and that's why she becomes insecure, and this whole, let's say, "campaign of terror" against her husband begins, where she checks his phone, questions him, smells his shirt, looks for his pants—I mean, she's acting like a detective because her husband isn't telling her the truth, isn't speaking to her clearly, and that's why, well, she's become a little toxic. Getting Roelmi to back down is a bit complicated, but there's nothing that can't be achieved with perseverance, right? What do you think?

What feedback have you received from the public on social media, on the street?

"Look, let me tell you that, despite there being a kind of war between the people who adore the show, who like it and enjoy it immensely, a group of viewers who remain neutral, and another group that has made their purpose to destroying the show, to ruining it." But in the case of Roxy, my character, I've had incredible public acceptance; she's been very well received, and many people identify with her.

“Everyone calls me the seamstress; that's the new name I've adopted. Wherever I am, I'm the seamstress. People really enjoy seeing her dominating and controlling her husband. They've also loved the sayings, those small-town things, like, "Get in line, little pothole, or you'll be left without a lid!"

"People have loved that kind of thing, and well, they repeat it to me in the street, they tell me on social media too. So far, almost all the posts we've read character-related, and even about my husband, Damián Alonso, who plays Roelmi, and Isabela Vale, who plays my daughter, Lisandra, have been very positive."

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What would you like your next character to be?

“Wow, I still have so many roles to play. I’d love to play an action character, you know? Something that would be a big challenge for me, that would take me out of my comfort zone in some way. And I’d also really love to play a character on television or in film who’s something like a showgirl or a figure in the music world, where I could sing as well as act. I think that’s one of the dreams I still have to fulfill in terms of roles. I’d love to be able to do it.”

Any new or upcoming projects?

“Right now I’m about to start filming a TV movie with Tamara Castellanos about addiction to electronic devices, phones, and things like that. In this case, I’m going to play a mother who’s suffering from this very conflict with her son. In theater, we’re preparing a beautiful show; I think it will be very popular, especially with fans of trova and feeling music, because we’ll be paying tribute to the Lady of Feeling, Elena Burque.

“I’m very excited about this project. Once again, I can combine my two passions in theater, which are singing and acting. We’re putting all our effort into making it happen. Because, well, with the new restrictions, the new problems all Cubans are going through, we’re also a bit affected by that. But even so, we’re not stopping. The show is called Lo Sentimental (The Sentimental Issue) and it’s a tribute to the queen of feeling, Elena Burque.”

“So, you know, I’m happy to be able to bring this character, this figure of Cuban music, to life for the young people who love theater and who I know will be attending the performance, so they can also get to know her a little. It’s a work of fiction, but it’s based on events from her real life. And well, seen through the eyes of our dear director Yumany Zaldívar, who is also in the soap opera Ojo de Agua, you’re enjoying it as El Chino, who has also been very well received.”

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff