Manolo Cardona Reveals the Brutal Reality of a Week in a Coffin for 'Los Encantos del Sinvergüenza' - INTERVIEW

Colombian actor and producer Manolo Cardona knew his new ViX series began with a death. What he did not fully expect was how much time he would spend acting from inside the coffin.

In 'Los encantos del Sinvergüenza,' Cardona plays Francisco Valiente, a seductive man whose funeral sets off a mystery involving lovers, enemies, and unfinished business. The series, which premiered on April 24 on ViX, stars Cardona alongside Carolina Miranda as Alma Chablé, Daniela Álvarez as Morgana, and Erick Elías as Bernardo. The first episode places Francisco inside his own wake, watching as the people around him reveal pieces of the story behind his death.

"It was complicated," Cardona said in an interview with this reporter. "It was almost a week of filming inside a house on the outskirts of Bogotá, and I had to be inside that coffin whether the camera saw me or not. If the camera passed by and caught even a little piece of my face, I had to be there."

The actor said the days inside the coffin could stretch to 12 hours. "I would even fall asleep," he said. "My great friends and castmates would come visit me, bring me some water, some fruit, or something. Then suddenly they would go eat, and I was still there, almost forgotten. It was tremendous. I suffered it a lot."

The story brought smiles to Elías and Álvarez, the antagonists in the series, who were next to Cardona during the Zoom interview from Mexico.

Elías, who plays Bernardo, did not deny that the cast had some fun with the situation. "I have several little videos of him asleep, and we were there taking selfies with the dead man," he said. "We would draw on him. We were playing with him while he was asleep."

The series is adapted from Ángela Becerra's novel 'Memorias de un sinvergüenza de siete suelas' and was developed for television by Rosa Clemente. It follows Valiente through several decades. His death is considered a crime that opens a chain of revelations while a detective follows clues in a case where nearly everyone appears to have a motive.

Cardona, who is also an executive producer, said the story came to him through Patricio Wills. "He invited me to be the scoundrel," Cardona said. "When I started reading it, I said, 'Wow, what a fun character.' This is a character who has to be at a different decibel level. He is much higher than Manolo is in daily life."

That excess, he said, was part of the appeal. "I had the chance to really let go, to improvise, to do comedy and delicious dark comedy," Cardona said. "When the rest of the cast started joining, I said, 'What a delight of castmates.'"

For Elías, Bernardo offered a different challenge. The actor said he was drawn to a character who allowed him to play with comedy, power, and insecurity after years of being seen mostly as the good guy.

"I needed, at this moment in my career, a character like this, one where I could have fun, play, and improvise," Elías said.

He described Bernardo as a man who wants control but is driven by fear. "He has a desire for power and to control things, but also many insecurities and fears that make him make bad decisions."

Álvarez plays Morgana, Francisco's wife and one of the story's most explosive figures. She described her character as a woman raised with privilege but not necessarily affection.

"Morgana is a woman who comes from a good family. Clearly, everything has been given to her," Álvarez said. "Maybe not so much emotional attention, which is often missing in those very wealthy families. They give them everything, but the important thing is not there."

Then Francisco enters her life. "She meets this scoundrel and says, 'He fits me like a glove,'" Álvarez said. But when he begins looking at someone else, Morgana spirals. "She is not used to being told no. Then all this malice starts coming out. She becomes a woman completely without scruples to get what she wants, and she even begins to betray herself."

Part of the production's challenge was making Colombia look like Mexico. Cardona said the series was filmed in Bogotá, Girardot and surrounding areas, even though the story takes place in a town in Jalisco.

"It was a great challenge for the production designer to replicate Mexico in Colombia," he said. "We had to recreate Jalisco in Colombia."

The result, according to Cardona, is a hybrid of genres: thriller, melodrama, romance, suspense and dark comedy. "It makes you want to watch it, to follow its characters, their wrongs, their rights, everything," he said. "I think it is going to connect a lot with people."

It's also sexy, nostalgic, a blend of vintage Mexican movie humor and modern sensibilities, and a lot of fun.

The first episode is HERE