“I could enslave myself to TV for a salary, but my time is very valuable,” says Alejandro Fajardo, who is divided between the stages and his optometric office

His double passion of life is evident: Conversing with Alejandro Fajardo about acting and theater (his most well-known facet in the media, perhaps) is just as fascinating as discussing with him the details of how the human eye works. “Imagine that it is the only organ directly connected to the brain,” he explained to me during this interview that took place in the optometric office he shares with his father, Manuel Fajardo, in Urdesa.

That afternoon was a quiet day, with few visitors, although Alejandro can attend between six or eight patients in a much busier day. But when it comes to an end, it leaves you with the same feeling of fulfillment as a successful performance in the theater. “I never want to leave optics”, it states. “And I love it because this is an exact science and I love the exact sciences, as well as Physics, and it’s not that I was a great student, but I wasn’t stupid, just lazy ”, remember between laughs.

So, for Alejandro it is not about continuing with a family profession out of obligationbut of a personal and professional interest that during all these years as an actor (estimates about 20) It also allows you to have some economic independence and organize your own time.

With a more discreet profile than other of his media colleagues, Alejandro admits that he flees from the tabloids and any type of scandal.. “You know that I think people don’t like me because I don’t ‘acolito (synonymous with overlapping)’ very much”, she laughs again. “It’s not that I want to be disliked, but I don’t always give much of an opening. I have colleagues that I work with who love it and are aware of it and when they put a microphone on, they go on camera, but I try to stay a little behind, being as polite as possible, but I’m not interested in that area”. Doesn’t look like a political face eitherin addition to the character he played in Dignity (2017) together with Andrés Crespo.

Film graduate in Colombia at the Black María school, Alejandro bets this 2023 for directing and writing, although through his own creative process. “I don’t know how to write, but I have an idea that I want to put together, so I’m doing it backwards: instead of writing and starting to mount i want to have something mounted to start writing“, Explain. “As I originally studied Cinema, my process is visual and it is something that I have noticed in filmmakers who have directed me in theater such as Javier Andrade and Sebastian Corderowho take great care of the visual part of the work, the color palette and I love that about them”.

What was it like to work with Sebastián Cordero again on ‘Sin salida’?

I liked working with Sebastián again because Rage (2018) was a little bigger and we worked more in groups, but in No Exit Yes, it was a little more individual and I had never had that opportunity with Sebastián. It was cool getting to work on this character one on one with him and then with my colleagues (Érika Vélez and Liz Rezabala). We agreed with Sebastián that he is a character who was going to have a transformation and we were discovering more and more about García every time. I was very attracted to be able to transit that role.

Who are the characters that have marked you the most?

El Amante (2009), which we did together with Alejandra Paredes and Jaime Tamariz, was my first leading role and a text by Harold Pinter, one of my favorite playwrights. I learned a lot with them and started to do my own research. However, I think almost all the characters have contributed quite a bit. Also the first character I had in the cinema with deported prometheus it gave me a lot of seriousness in my career and a clearer focus of what I was looking for.

How has it been to live this cultural and theatrical moment in Guayaquil?

I am very excited to see that we have met many people with the same desire to work. We have all grown and the contribution of each one from different areas, theatrical, audiovisual, photography or set design… We coincided at a precise moment and it is what could have been the initial impulse to start doing things. The interesting thing is that it is not stopped and we have always looked for ways to make the industry bigger. We’re going very slow, but here we go.

Has television tempted you more?

I did television (secrets, 2014) because I wanted to work with colleagues. It was cool, although it is something that takes up all your time and is exhausting. It is a rhythm that I like, but because of my other profession (optometry), it does not allow me to give myself completely. Television does take up most of your day, it doesn’t leave you free time and I also need my time, because it’s something I’ve defended my entire career, because that way I can practice my two professions trying to balance them. And in that sense, I do try to take care of myself a lot, I could enslave myself for a salary on television, it would go very well for me, but time is much more valuable, even to rest.

Did you ever think about leaving Guayaquil to pursue a career in other countries?

I have had several offers, but in Guayaquil new projects keep me going, things happen here and that is one of the reasons why I returned from Colombia in 2004. I am also 50 years old and I would not like to leave and start from scratch in another country , if not with something concrete. I love that my classmates go because they are experiences that they are going to bring and from which we are all going to learn.

In which area do you feel most comfortable?

The theater and now I do say it head on and without hesitation. The life that the theater has is unique.

And how did your dad react when you told him you wanted to be an actor too?

For him it was like ‘you’re old, it’s your decision’. But finally here we are, receiving our patients and now he is my number one fan, we talk about the things I do, he never misses them.

In No Exit your good physical condition was also revealed, how do you maintain yourself?

All my life I have liked sports and when I lived in Colombia I had the opportunity to do extreme sports that seem to me the most cool because of the adrenaline. The physical challenge that sports take you to is also interesting because things that you could not do, then you begin to achieve. I’ve also taken care of myself when it comes to eating, it’s already a constant in my life, although I’m not inflexible either, I can eat a whole pizza in one sitting, I just don’t do it every day.

How many tattoos do you have and what do they mean?

Between 15 and 16 tattoos and this year I’ll get another one. Each one is a moment in my history, so what I wanted to see and I did the first one in 1994, in Colombia, and the last one was 2021.