“Older women don’t appear in the scripts and when they show up, they always get lost or have Alzheimer’s,” say half of the Virtues
Many remember her for “Marriage Scenes” or continue to identify her as a member of the Virtues, a legendary comedy duo with whom she plans to reappear in the fall. But what is currently taking in Soledad Mallol’s acting talent is ‘Blablacoche’, the play being staged at the Quique San Francisco theater in Madrid in July. At 57, she plays Magina, a simple and talkative supermarket cashier, divorced, who travels in a shared car from Madrid to Cádiz to meet her first grandson…
“On the road, what usually happens when you meet strangers happens to us, you start telling things you might not tell people close to you.” You know from experience. And not because she ever used the “Blablacar” service (“that’s what my son does”), but because as a young girl she hitchhiked with her friends and, as she recalls, “told people about their lives and we told them ours”. Nothing serious ever happened to him, but he did have to deal with an unpleasant situation. “Once we were brought in by a truck driver who was trying to get hold of a friend and me. Luckily it was when we were already in Madrid. We stopped for a moment and we both zoomed out.
Unlike Magina, Soledad has no grandchildren. “Although I could, because I have a 32-year-old son. But those of my generation become grandparents very late. It’s touching and it’s necessary to adapt.” She confesses that being a grandmother is her biggest dream, because she understands Magina. And like her, the trips have also changed her life. “You meet people and don’t learn racist Perhaps the one that most characterized her was one she took to Turkey when she was very young: five friends in a ‘2 Caballos’… «Unbelievable things have happened to us. It was crazy. I think if my son does that to me, I won’t forgive him, heh, heh…».
Born in 1965 in Carabanchel, Soledad Mallol, the youngest of three siblings, is remembered as a “quirky, if not unbearable” girl. But it justifies it. “My brother was mom’s favorite, my sister was dad’s spoiled, and I had to make a hole for myself.” So he switched to the artist: he sang, danced and did everything he could to attract attention… That’s why, years later, when he took the stage to perform Lorca’s ‘So five years pass’, directed by Miguel Narros, to play in glory. I’ve finally found what I really want, he told himself. Juan Diego, her classmate at TEC, called her “Jozelito” because Sole imitated the little nightingale so well. “Every time he saw me, he asked me for one of Joselito’s and for me it was an honor”.
Today she is just as in love with her profession. “Actors never retire. This is very addictive, although the new generations often throw you out. After a certain age, the TVs rarely call you anymore, with everything we older people have to say. The actress thinks that they are more appreciated abroad. “Here they check whether you are fatter or older. Older women don’t normally exist in scripts. And when they show up, they always have Alzheimer’s or they get lost, while there are a lot of older people who are great.
In October, he returns with a new show by Las Virtudes, the duo he formed with Elena Martín in 1986 that “is the best thing we’ve done in life, because we didn’t have to wait for the director of our dreams to to call us”. Shortly before that, Mallol had appeared at a casting as a flight attendant for the ‘Un, dos, tres’ and they didn’t select her. “I think they did me a favor.” Years later, Chicho Ibáñez Serrador, the creator of the famous match, wanted to sign the Virtues. And this time they were the ones who gave him pumpkins… «It wasn’t revenge. We admired him very much. It was because they told us to give us the scripts and we always refused». Las Virtudes were the first comedians to act on television during their pregnancy. “We danced with a huge hype. People thought it was for fun. But one grace is called Dani and the other Guille, my son».
For better or for worse, Sole and Elena have always been like sisters. They were mothers and the two divorced almost at the same time. “When we started, they told us what a shame we were women because it wouldn’t take more than a year to break up. The reality is that all the male duos in our area have dissolved and we are still here. The secret? “That we never loved the same boy.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
