On Monday, March 10, Univision premieres the telenovela “De Que Te Quiero Te Quiero” at 7:00 p.m. It’s a story about a romance that ended abruptly and resurfaces years later only to find that starting over is not as easy as it seems. Diego and Natalia fell in love at first sight. But after a shocking event and a major misunderstanding, she suddenly breaks off their budding romance and moves away, leaving Diego stunned and wondering why the love of his life has abandoned him with no goodbye or explanation.
Two years later, fate brings Diego and Natalia face to face again. Despite their many unanswered questions, the powerful feelings they once shared resurface, only to be met with the cold, hard fact that time has conspired against their love. Having moved on with his life, Diego is now married to the jealous and conniving Diana—a formidable rival for Natalia. But the truth of what really happened when they first fell in love may be the most challenging obstacle of all.
“De Que Te Quiero Te Quiero” (I Really Do Love You) is a fresh, contemporary take on the traditional novela that features a cast led by talented newcomers Livia Brito, Juan Diego Covarrubias and Esmeralda Pimentel, supported by esteemed veteran actors such as Cynthia Klitbo and Marcelo Sandoval. Latin Times had the chance to sit down with Livia and Juan Diego, and this is what they told us about their characters and working in this Lucero Suárez production.
What made you take on this project?
Juan Diego: “Mainly the challenge to portray two completely different characters. Because they are twins that are like water and oil. Diego is more charismatic, the friend everyone wants to have, super loyal, well educated, someone who will give you the best advice, super lovable, and he respects everyone. The other one is the total opposite. He’s very ambitious, a party boy and he likes to take advantage of people.”
Livia: “The story definitely caught my eye. It was well written. It had a clear beginning, it continues to develop to the climax and then to the end, and I think it catches your attention. And then my character is amazing. She is a virtuous character. She’s very lovable, honest, kind, studious, she’s good to others, she’s not selfish, and fights a lot for her dreams. She’s also very familiar, which for me is something that all Latinos are. She enjoys being with her family and share moments with them.”
Do you think you relate with your character in one way or another?
Livia: “I do think Natalia and I are very compatible in terms of personality. I added a lot of my traits to her, and Natalia ended up giving me so much more. I think we’re both very hard-working girls. Natalia was a girl who knew she needed to work, and she did it willingly. She enjoyed it. And I think Livia Brito is the same. I love being an actress, I love my work and it’s something I enjoy and I make people enjoy too. I make them laugh, cry and experience an array of things through TV, and for me that’s a pleasure to do.”
Juan Diego: “I’m sure I have a little bit of both. I have more of Diego than Rodrigo. I don’t consider myself as a boring person, but in terms of friendships, I have a few but they’re my friends for life, and in terms of family I’m very ‘stay-at-home.’ I always put my family first. Also in love, I’m a dreamer and very loyal, so it’s something very nice of Diego that I added. From Rodrigo, I think he and I are alike because we both fight for what we want.”
How was the chemistry between the cast and crew on and off set?
Juan Diego: “This is the production team that has made me feel the best. In the few projects that I’ve worked with, this is the one that I’ve felt the most relaxed and I loved how things flowed. It was a great team, a great family. Everyone got along and we enjoyed working together and supported each other like brothers and sisters.”
Livia: “We all got along extremely well. We made an amazing family. It was 10 months that I enjoyed so much. Every day I woke up feeling like I wanted to go to work, to enjoy everyone’s company, to laugh with them, enjoy the scenes… it was very sad to put an end to the shooting of this telenovela, but everything has a beginning and an end.”
What’s the best moment or funniest moment the cast shared while filming?
Juan Diego: “For me, the best was when producer Lucero Suárez used to invite the cast over to enjoy a meal or what not. We grew so close that all of us just wanted to continue hanging out outside the set, so we tried to find moments when we could.
Livia: “The funniest moment on set for me was a scene where all the characters were having a dinner. And we shot it from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next morning. I had to throw a snail at Don Vicente (played by Aarón Hernán), and he was supposed to stand up and the snail would fall on the chair. So he stands up, he places himself very close to the camera, and I throw the snail. I don’t know if it was good luck or bad luck, but the snail hit him right in the face.”
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