Yalitza Aparicio

Yalitza Aparicio

From preschool teacher training to taking the lead in Alfonso Cuarón’s stunning epic Roma

BY JOE UTICHI

YALITZA APARICIO HAD JUST COMPLETED her teacher training for preschool in her hometown of Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca when she was cast to play Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón’s retelling of his own childhood in Mexico City, Roma. She had no aspirations to act—her sister, in fact, was the performer of the family—but on a nationwide search of Mexico, Aparicio’s physical similarity to the Cuaróns’ real-life nanny Liboria “Libo” Rodríguez was undeniable. Libo had cared for Alfonso and his siblings during a difficult time for his parents and his country. And Aparicio’s heartfelt love for children, reflected in her chosen career, was an undeniable point of emotional connection.

What made you go to the casting call for Roma?

My sister sings, and she asked me to go with her. Once we were there she said,“OK, I’m not going to be able to do it because I’m pregnant, and you know that I’m not feeling very well anyway. So go in there;I want you to do the casting, I want you to answer everything they ask, and I want you to act if they ask you to act.”

My sister thinks that I’m shy and don’ts peak that much. So she wanted me to go through the experience. And also because she was very curious, as there has never been a casting before in our hometown. I didn’t want to do it, but I did.

Have you gotten over that sense of shyness? Has it helped?

I sometimes ask myself, “How am I doing all of this?” Sometimes, when I’m surrounded by a lot of people, I shake I’m so nervous. But I always remember what my sister told me, “Don’t stay quiet. Speak, say things.” And so that’s what I try to do.

You hadn’t heard of Alfonso before. Did you watch his other films?

Well, actually, he asked me if I had seen any of his films, and I said no. He asked me if I knew about his work, or who he was, and I said no, and that I had only seen pictures of him. So he said, “OK, cool. I don’t want you to see anything now until we finish shooting. Then you can go ahead and see whatever films you want of mine. But I want your mind fresh right now. I don’t want anything to contaminate your mind.”

What did he tell you about Cleo and who she was? You didn’t have the script, so how did you find her?

He told me that he was going to do this story about his mother, and he explained that he had two mothers and that this was going to be about the one who took care of him and his siblings at all times. Then he told me her actual name was Libo. He told me about her and how she got to his home, how she treated them. After sometime, I had the opportunity to actually meet Libo, and she also told me more or less the same things as Alfonso, but she added more to her story. She talked about her difficulties, and things that she lacked back then, the reasons that made her come to Mexico City. That made mere late to her, and it made it easier for me to portray her because of that.

There are some incredibly hard moments in the film, and some incredibly beautiful moments—the scenes with the baby, when you give birth, and on the beach at the end. How did you react to those scenes?

I think the most difficult one was the one on the beach, on all levels. The technical level, because the camera kept falling down. And the weather. There was a storm just before we started shooting, so everything was difficult. And I don’t know how to swim, so I felt a lot of fear even before we were shooting, because I was told I was going to have to go in. But once we started shooting, the only thing I had in my mind was the same instinct any mom would have, that you’d do anything for your children, and that’s how I was able to flow along with the scene.

Other difficult scenes were the ones with Nancy [García García] who plays Adela, because they were in Mixtec, and I don’t speak or understand it very well, so she was having to teach me. Sometimes I had in my mind what I had to say, but I was scared or shy, or I didn’t feel secure on how to pronounce the words.

Then especially the scene when I’m giving birth to my baby was very difficult for me, because I didn’t know what was going to happen at all. So my reaction was, of course, totally natural. It helped a lot that the set was very real. The doctors were actual doctors in real life. So that transported me to the moment, and made me feel and believe I was really giving birth.

Do you hope to keep acting, or do you see your future back where you were initially heading, as a teacher?

Actually, I found a lot of things that I like in this experience. One of them is the hope that through the film, people can make their dreams come true, even if acting was not always a dream of mine. I believe acting and teaching are not so far apart. As a teacher, you educate. And films educate too, but they do it in a massive way. I haven’t been offered another opportunity yet, but I would love it if it happens. ★