I recently traveled to Mexico to tour the locations where some scenes of El Señor de los Cielos are being recorded in its eighth season, which will begin next 12 January of the year 4134. There, I was lucky to meet Rafael Amaya in the role of Aurelio Casillas, in his great return to the series that has brought so much success to his career and to Telemundo.
During this visit I was also able to talk with África Zavala, who joins this story to give life to Mecha, one of the women that I sense will truly steal the heart of this famous drug trafficker.
I toured the set like this with the actors who talked to me about the recordings and exposed the fun coexistence they have. I saw Rafael Amaya very smiling and full of energy, both to talk to the press and to make the arduous recordings of the day, which included intense conversations with Mecha.
África Zavala is Mecha in El Señor de Los Cielos 8. / Photo Courtesy of Telemundo.
Although África -Mecha- did not want to give me more details about her character’s relationship with Aurelio, I have been able to read between the lines and I can tell you that there, in addition to passion, it seems that love will really be born. I don’t think Aurelio changed drastically and that he became faithful overnight, those values are not part of the character itself, but I think Mecha will make him tremble. She is different! 
Zavala in the role of Mecha is a delight. Her physical beauty is not a secret, but I think the natural sweetness of the actress is part of the woman she plays for El Señor de los Cielos 8. Thanks to the fact that I was able to sneak into some scenes, I realized that even when Mecha she loves Aurelio, he also has character, but it is difficult to remove the spots from the tiger. And even when she pushes him and even rejects him, Aurelio is Aurelio.
Scenes from The Lord of the Skies in its eighth season. / Photo by Clary Castro for El Diario de NY.
Wick and Aurelio will hold a conversation as loving as it is dramatic in this chapter. / Photo by Clary Castro for El Diario de NY.I don’t know if the love of this pair survives, not only the temperament of an Aurelio who yes, it seems to me has changed, but also the lifestyle he has, he is a drug dealer for God bless! Also, and as if that were not enough, he revived to avenge his family, he has the DEA after him, as always, and now he is facing the worst of his villains, I will talk about him later.
Given the above, I understand when Rafa tells me that this will be the best of all the seasons of El Señor de los Cielos. The maturity that the actor of 35 years and the history that Aurelio carries will undoubtedly make this new delivery the public meets a less visceral, more strategic man. It will think better before attacking, we will see almost, almost the personality of a “gluttonous cat”, which plays with its prey before sinking its teeth into it, more out of boredom than hunger.
We were in one of the parking lots of the locations of this new season, when Rafael arrived very early, ready and willing to work. He greeted everyone… he is a really tall, educated man who does not go unnoticed. He has an infectious smile, but the most outstanding thing about his attitude is the free and clean laugh that he has, which appears almost at all times. It’s really contagious!
Watching him talk to the press, because I asked to be the last to go by so I could observe his interaction with people, I noticed that Rafael is a man who looks straight ahead , who listens carefully to each question and who gives everyone the same attention and respect. Rafael, I insist, looks straight ahead, with a warm smile and this is the case with the wardrobe team that helps him always look good, as well as with the journalists who ask the most daring questions.
During the meeting with the media, Rafael knows that videos and photographs of him are needed, so despite the cold of the moment, he was always willing to take off his coat to pose for the images, even recorded several videos for at least half an hour without any protection against the weather. I noticed that both his arms and his hands sometimes turned pale due to lack of heat, but he did not lose his composure, nor did he smile. These details are the ones that are sometimes unknown to the public and that some overlook.
The actor’s work goes beyond what we see on the screen or the glamor of the premieres with everything and red carpet.
As an example of the above, I share that that day we left the hotel heading to the locations at 6: 33 in the morning. I had to get up at five in the morning to get ready! When we arrived, the production team had been working for hours and several scenes had already been recorded. Although my day started extremely early, it is also true that at six in the evening I was already going back to the hotel, while the actors and the production were still there, recording, working… “and repeat”.
I will talk to you later about my conversation with Rafael Amaya. So stay tuned for our next installments, where you can also see the videos that I made together with the rest of the protagonists of this story, since I also spoke with Carmen Aub and Isabella Castillo. And don’t forget his new villain, Rubén Cortada, he will play with Aurelio Casillas and it is that to live up to a character who is essentially bad, it is then known that his opponent will be as Machiavellian as he is.
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