Eñaut Mitxelena. Argazkiak: Loinaz Actores.
It is a well-known face that of the actress Ylenia Baglietto (Eibar, 1986), not only among the Basque public, she has been known for her role in Acacias 38 on Spanish public television, but we have seen her on the small screen since she began 10 years in the Goenkale series. Currently, in full confinement, she is participating in the Etxekoak series broadcasted by ETB1, although, like most of the sector, other works have been canceled. She is confined in Bilbao, active on social networks and trying to face the difficult situation with optimism.
For starters, the essential question. How are you handling the confinement?
The truth is that I carry it very well. At the moment, I am healthy, so I am having the opportunity to do a lot of things that I could not do before. For starters, I decided to learn how to play the guitar. 6 years ago I bought a guitar in Lisbon and there I had it, the poor, untouched. I started doing an online course and there I am. In fact, I write poetry, and my dream is that one day those poems will become songs. So I wanted to catch up with the guitar, to create my own songs. Also, I told myself that I had to get used to being at home and I started playing sports there. I usually try to do sports every day. So, adapting, adapting ... I put on the little routine and, well, I carry it very well.
In full confinement, you have had the opportunity to work on the Etxekoak series. It's not little.
You are right. It was a gift, because I did not expect to work now, in this confinement. Suddenly, I received a call from PAUSOKA, I was asked to participate in this series, and of course, i said Yes! In the end, I want to progress in my profession, learn and learn, and improve and improve. This work also allows me to learn, because after all everything is new. We do it from home, each actor at home, with a tripod, with a light, and each one does everything: hairdresser, wardrobe, everything technical, learning text, acting ... After all, we do everything except for the correction, Jabi Elortegi does it. He is having a great learning.
"Etxekoak we do it from home, each actor does everything; it is being a great learning"
As for work, how has the pandemic crisis affected you? In Brecht you were about to premier la boda de los pequeños burgueses at the Arriaga, among others. Have you suspended more projects?
Not really. I was recording the Acacias 38 series on TVE, and it has been suspended. We will continue when we return to normal. We don't know when, that's true. la boda de los pequeños burgueses, which we were going to do in the Arriaga, has been totally suspended. On the other hand, later I will participate in a film that, at first, was going to be recorded in June, but I think we will have to wait. In the end, each day they say something different. So we are waiting and seeing what will happen every day.
There is also great instability in your profession. The consequences of this crisis will be enormous in the sector.
Yes, it will be. As for the theaters, we were initially told that perhaps they would start the programming at the end of the year, but it is increasingly delayed. In this confinement we are must be aware of the importance of culture. We are all at home, watching series, movies, listening to music, reading books ... You realize how important it is. However, it seems that we have not yet realized how important theater is. Well, some are doing theater differently. For example, recently I saw a micro-play online from a friend: I paid a euro, they gave me a code to access and see the play, and in this way you can see the actor performing at his house. I think the theater will also gradually adapt to this situation. In the end, we will have to work like this.
"We are at home and day by day we see what happens; we are confined"
Are you in contact with people from the sector? What mood do you feel?
This is all a shit for everyone. A lot of people had signed jobs: performances, tours ... and everything has gone to the trash. So you start to think that the money that you would receive in these months you are not going to have, that you are at home and you do not know what is going to happen. Being like this, we all have great uncertainty. Therefore, it is normal to create movements and try to improve and change this situation in the best possible way.
Your role in Acacias 38 has made you famous. Do you feel like you're famous? How do you live it?
No, I don't feel it at all. It is true that sometimes someone stops you on the street and says something to you, but you respond normally. After all, I am Ylenia, the Ylenia same as always, and there is nothing different within me. Yes, I'm working, I see that people are liking it, but I'm still the same as always. I don't know, it's a weird feeling. And I live ... I'm living well. The truth is that I notice it especially on social media, because the program has been an international success, so most write to me on social media. That also allows you to live more calmly. It is not going outside and being known to everyone, it is another type of success. Some know me, but I can walk down the street very calmly. That is greatly appreciated.
"Even if you have 220,000 followers on social networks does not mean that you are a good actor, you have to demonstrate your work"
The character that has made you famous still has an element that draws attention: she is one of the members of a lesbian relationship. Isn't it a little sad that that gets attention?
Yes, totally. I really think so. I thought we had made progress on this issue, but I have realized that this is not the case, much less globally. For example, in South America they are far behind. I knew it, but I didn't expect it to be that bad. Many girls write to me every day saying "thank you, Ylenia, thanks to your character I have dared to tell my parents that I am gay", and that type of message. It is very hard to read it. Because, after all, around me I live it normally and I have always lived it, with my parents, with my friends ... with everyone. So every time I read those messages, ugh, I get goose bumps, really.
Is it useful to have many followers on social networks when looking for a job?
The truth is that I don't know, because at this moment, I don't experience it. I have no idea if it will happen to me from now on ... You hear someone get a job because they have more followers ... But if it doesn't work then? No matter how many followers you have, in short, you have to assess how that person works, right? With 220,000 followers you may not be a better actor or singer, that is, then you have to show it by working, that's when you have to show it. I don't know if that's the case, but I wish I wasn't.
"Sport is very important in life, it teaches you how to lose and win and how to manage it"
As a young woman you dedicated yourself to rhythmic gymnastics, which gave her an actress’s vocation. Has any of what you learned in sports helped you work as an actor?
In gymnastics many values are learned, more than in gymnastics, in sport. Also, when you start so young, much more. From a young age you learn to have discipline, to live in an orderly way, to have a daily routine, a lot of things about food, also in psychology ... I think it also gives you a very important value for life: it teaches you how to lose and win and how to manage it. In short, in life we are continually winning and losing things. If you have not learned that well as a child, in maturity it is very difficult to manage it or learn to manage it. So I thank gymnastics because from a very young age I lost a lot and from time to time I won. I don't know if I learned to manage well or badly, but at least I learned to manage.
You made yourself known in Goenkale. How important was it, considering that for many it was the first step to make a jump to the professional world?
For me it was a school, just when I left the Getxo Theater School I was welcomed in Goenkale. In theater school I studied mostly theater and suddenly I got into a television series. In school you learn something, but what you learn there is not the same as what you learn in practice. I spent three years at Goenkale and for me it was really a master. In addition, I had colleagues who had been in the profession for many years. For example, Patxo Telleria played the role of my father, and I was constantly glued to him, asking and asking for advice. I remember the Goenkale era with a smile, because it was very beautiful and I learned a lot.
"I spent three years at Goenkale and it was a master for me"
In recent years, ETB has barely produced series. Were they already necessary, but even more necessary after this crisis?
It is always important to have products in Basque. In short, this is why we have ETB1: to make series in Basque and to create fiction. Therefore, I think it is always very important, at all times.
"We all have a lot of uncertainty in the sector"
Many times we see you very smiling in interviews. Is this the actor or is this really who you are?
Yes, that's how I am. Like all people, I have my bad moments, I cry a lot ... I always say: I have to make up for crying all the laughs I make. However, many times they are not sad cries, sometimes they are to clean my interior. But yes, I am like that, I always have been, since I was very little. People have always told me that I am laughing all the time. I am not aware. Then when I watch my videos, I realize that it is so. I always try to see the most positive things in life. Despite the difficult and bad things, and having to live through them, I always think that they come because something good is going to come. So I try to accept it and take it for good. I don't know, at the moment I'm doing quite well in life, so I'll try to stay the same, ha ha!
"KOLKOTIK"
What news would you like to read in the newspaper tomorrow? There are no more deaths from coronavirus.
The best plan for a Saturday night? Dance.
What is never missing in your fridge? Eggs.
What do you see when you stand in front of the mirror? A smile!
What scares you? The abandonment.
What brightens your day? Music.
What drives you crazy? The lies.
What embarrasses you? Phew! Do something wrong.
A little pleasure in life? Eat foie.
What is success for you? Do something right.
In the confinement, what genre would you play? Musical, to rejoice.
Series or movies, what do you see the most? Half and half.
What role would you like to play? Revolutionary Road, played by Kate Winslet. I love it.
A reference actor? Leonardo Dicaprio.
Two reasons to learn Basque? Because it is our language and, in addition, it has a tremendous melody.
In short, what is Ylenia Baglietto like? Positive.
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