all eyes of Argentina, 1985 they were fixed a priori on how Ricardo Darin Y Pietro Lanzani they would play Julio César Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, the prosecutors who performed the Juicio a las Juntas.
And secondly, as the director Santiago Miter and the screenwriter Mariano Llinás would have approached the intimacy of that historic trial undertaking that condemned the commanders of the dictatorship in a still fragile Argentine democracy.
Already installed not only as a film of the year, but as a social and political phenomenon that continues to generate debates and controversies, word of mouth after the premiere in theaters and streaming (Amazon Prime Video) placed at the center of the talks to a covered actor who is the revelation of history.
Let’s talk about Santiago Armas Estevarena, the teenager who plays Julián Strassera in the film, the youngest son of the prosecutor (in the film they call him Javier). Making his first appearance in a major production, this precocious talent on the verge of turning 15 looms as a potential stage figure.
Santiago is having his moment of greatest visibility in the Argentine film with the highest grossing of 2022. And being still a kid who goes to high school like anyone else, he shows that he has his feet on the ground.
From the start he says that they text him on his Instagram and that they recognize him on the street, but not so much. “At school I had more repercussions because everyone already knows me. Comrades, friends and even teachers congratulated me. He was very flashy. The truth is, I’m crazy about life. I can not believe. In other words, I don’t fall into this new reality, ”he confesses.
In the film Santiago shows a naturalness worthy of an actor with a long history. However, he is taking his first steps in cinema: he has made some short films and a small concert in a Chilean-Peruvian film that Netflix premiered in 2015.
“I’ve done some things but that doesn’t make sense. It is giant. Not just because of what the cast is, what it is to make a film, but because it is a great film. At 14, I’m literally making a dream come true ”.
-I imagine that you have understood the extent of the project, but have you imagined this level of repercussion?
-When the role came to me, I never believed it would be of this magnitude, this size. In the casting they told me he was with Ricardo Darín and there I thought more about the process and acting with Ricardo than what the repercussions would be. But even now I can’t understand it. I didn’t understand it before, much less now.
From advertising to working with Darín
Son of a psychiatrist and actor father, and a psychologist-playwright mother, Santiago has been doing theater since he was ten years old with Nora Moseinco, a breeding ground for young figures such as Martín Piroyansky, Inés Efron and Julieta Zylberberg.
Before that, he says he worked in advertising following the path of his older brother and aunt, who were also actors. And that in 2019 she made her debut in the theater Joey the brown monsterI work in the Cultural San Martín.
What he doesn’t remember precisely is when he did the first casting for Argentina, 1985. Except that he did it from Zoom, in a time of pandemic. “I hadn’t taken that much. It was a bit strange: you could only see my face and I was sitting, ”he explains.
On the other hand, keep in mind the day they announced he was staying. “My whole family was waiting for me in the kitchen. When they told me, I couldn’t believe it: I laughed, I jumped, I screamed, it was amazing that day.
-What happens to you now when they praise your work in the film so much?
– It turns me on a lot. I was very intrigued to see how all the work had turned out. Now that I have seen it, I am very happy, I was very satisfied. And I’m very excited that people liked it, it makes me want to act and keep progressing a lot more. Now I go to the theater with more desire, I have more control.
-What was it like working in almost all of your scenes with Darín?
-Excellent, a privilege. He is funny, charismatic. They have a unique humor. I could make jokes with him, we joked there on set. I lost a lot with him. Before starting to record, with Ale Flechner (plays her mother), with Ricky and with Santi (Miter) we were rehearsing the lyrics, as if to start breaking the ice. And already during the filming I let go of a lot more. Something I really liked is that they allowed me to create a little bit, give things to my character. I felt very comfortable in this aspect.
A near miss
To compose “Strasserita”, Santiago did not have the opportunity to be inspired by the real Julián. But he ended up meeting him at the exit of the first avant, after meeting Susana Giménez. “We left the room and I meet Susana face to face and she says, ‘Oh, Strasserita’, and what do I know. I salute you, you salute me. And as soon as I finish saying goodbye, I see that Julián was there ”.
-And what happened to you when you saw it?
-It was very strong and exciting at the same time. They were mixed feelings. I thought: “This man has lived through time, with the Strassera family he received threats afterwards, it was really hard. And knowing that I interpreted it was like an extra pressure. Then all in all. It was like a race. And nothing, we took a picture, we were talking there with the woman, it was very nice “.
-How much did you know about the history of the Judgment and the crimes committed by the dictatorship?
-What was the dictatorship itself, baby. My grandmother, for example, misses her best friend. And my parents told me that I think my mother’s godfather also has a missing relative. I knew the basics, I didn’t know much. In the tests we did with Ricardo, with Ale and with Santi, they told me a bit of everything that had happened. After this I learned more about the subject of convictions. I asked for more, I was more interested. So I got rich on the subject, if you like.
Didn’t they study it at school?
– At school, no. In fact, I couldn’t see that part. I think I saw it all from 1920 to 1976, which is more or less the beginning of the dictatorship.
The future is a galactic dream
-And what awaits you now?
-I don’t know, so far I haven’t received any projects. I really want to keep acting. I am patient, waiting. If I receive a lot of things, I will not choose everything at once, I will be more selective: see what suits me in school. “If I stay, I stay, otherwise that’s all.” It’s something I’ve learned all these years in casting.
Do you see yourself as an actor in the future? Are you going to study something else?
I’ve thought about it many times. I have the time of adolescence to live. I feel I still have a lot to discover. But for now, I’ll just stick to acting. I’ll see what life holds for me, what I like and what I don’t. Maybe I’ll go outside, I have no idea, really. But with what I have now I am very happy.
– Is there any particular story you would like to do?
-I love and really like the character of Joker, Heath Ledger or Joaquin Phoenix. I see them and they are so weird, so crazy that I say “wow”, it’s almost a fantasy to play something like that. And another fantasy is to play something Star Wars. I’ve been a huge fan since I was little.
POS
Source: Clarin
