Miriam Díaz Aroca: “I would never make a drama about infidelity”

Every day, from Monday to Friday, the actress Miriam Díaz Aroca (Madrid, 61 years old) sneaks into the homes of 1.1 million viewers of the legendary series Love is forever. This Diagonal TV production for Antena 3 faces the last episodes after 18 seasons (six on TVE under the name Loving in troubled times and the next 12 on Antena 3) of success and a loyal audience, with a screen share of 11% in its time slot. Díaz Aroca plays Elena Santacruz, the business owner of a clothing company who makes the leap from Alicante to Madrid to expand the market. With a palpable change in appearance, her blonde hair has given way to an ash color and a character they are trying to displace in the direction of the company, in addition to suffering infidelity on the part of her husband. “There is a very intense dedication, with a great atmosphere and enormous demands,” she says before she starts recording in studios in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid).

Ask. What challenge does it pose? Love is forever?

Answer. It is the fulfillment of a dream. My nature, my enthusiasm, my way of being and saying goes very well with the speed of a daily series. It is a double dream because it is my mother’s favorite series, who has told me many times why she didn’t work on it, and to join mine of being in it. Love is forever with that luxury of equipment that it has. There is a lot of demand, but that does not take away from its warmth or kindness or good scripts.

P. And what does your mother tell you about your role?

R. Uyyyy, my mother is my number one fan. She tells me that she has always been very good at everything and that she has always seen me in this role, that I say very well even what I don’t say, even in those silences you make. He likes her a lot. What cost her the most is the white hair.

P. What do Miriam Díaz Aroca and Elena Santacruz have in common?

R. Love for family, but without the obsession with it. I greatly respect the freedom of my family, my environment and my puppies, above all. Your happiness doesn’t have to be mine. Elena Santacruz understands that the happiness of her children has to be hers and she does and undoes everything necessary for that family coherence to be maintained. She defends tooth and nail the family empire and everything she has built.

P. Would you put up with infidelity in real life like it happens in the series?

R. I’ve had some and I’ve never been able to stand it, because then my trust was broken and I couldn’t continue having a relationship because something inside me had broken. Today I have no idea because of the maturity I have. I would have to weigh the circumstances. Of course, today’s woman would never make a drama, she would only make decisions.

P. Journalism, film, television, theater. What is left for you to do?

R. The same, but improving more, being a better professional and shining the diamond that I am. Investigating, I am a very curious woman who really likes to experiment. With Elena Santacruz she makes a huge leap at the acting level that represents a change with respect to the public image of Miriam Díaz Aroca. Now that woman has gray hair, experience and maturity when it comes to interpreting and with some nuances. Everything has been a gift for me and a surprise for the rest of the people.

P. Do you feel comfortable with such a complex character?

R. Yes, I feel comfortable because I never take my character to bed. For me it is a game because Elena Santacruz has an injury and from there she makes mistakes. She does not want anything to affect her family and business stability, but she suffers a lot and she does not have peace or feel peace. She finds refuge in a childhood friend of her husband.

P. But you are also going to be unfaithful.

R. (Laughter) An infidelity that is never justified, but it will be an infidelity not of hummingbird, but of finding a refuge in a love that already was.

P. What is a day like for Miriam Díaz Aroca?

R. Very authentic. For me, every day I live a complete life, with a lot of presence in the present, with a lot of enthusiasm for the opportunity I have to be able to live it, with full physical and mental health and since I have everything completely complete, I have the possibility of living until that limit. That is wonderful.

P. Is it difficult for you to learn the scripts?

R. No, I have a lot of ease. One of my great talents has always been instant memory, until I started my degree in Journalism. The minutes before the exams I photographed everything.

P. The series takes place in 1982. What was Miriam Díaz Aroca like then?

R. I was in the second year of my degree, with the adventure of jumping from Santander to live at my grandparents’ house in Madrid. It was a very special feeling of independence. It was very difficult for me to let go of my fear and be able to go to college alone, on the bus. The first day of having to look for the envelope, my mother had to accompany me. From the first course onwards, it was the transition from a girl to a woman.

P. What do you think your launch schedule was?

R. I think it was disaster drawer, because it was my great platform, my paradise, where I could multiply myself in everything that I was passionate about. It was acting, singing, dancing, playing sports, being the gang leader of all the kids. Thanks to that program, Pedro Almodóvar and Fernando Trueba called me. Then I was crowned in the One two Three.

P. Don’t you feel a little sad that these are the last chapters?

R. We are a little homesick and we would like this liner to sail for at least another season, because it is going very well. The number of people who send us messages and tell us that they are hooked on the series and what they like is unimaginable.

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