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He rose to global fame as Pablo Escobar in El Patron del Mal , crashed playing Hugo Chávez in El Comandante and recently stepped into the shoes of Sergio Jadue, former president of Chilean soccer involved in the Fifa Gate corruption case , in El President. Coinciding with the premiere on Netflix of Theft of the Century , the true story of the biggest robbery in the history of Colombia, EL MUNDO talks with the chameleon Andrés Parra, an actor who at 42 still dreams of giving life to the astrology divo Walter Mercado and the dictator Francisco Franco.

For the interpreter from Cali, it all began in 2012 when Caracol TV premiered Escobar, el patron del mal , a phenomenon that pulverized the audimeters of Colombia and much of Latin America until it captured the interest of Netflix, which included it in its catalog accompanying Narcos , series that debuted in 2015. «Obviously my career took another dimension. On a personal level, I am very grateful to this project because it allowed me to lose that political-social naivety that Colombians have with respect to our reality, "says Parra, as he distinguishes this fiction from other telenovelas about drug lords.

On the one hand, because with more than 1,300 actors, about 450 locations and a budget per day of shooting of more than 130,000 euros, El Patron del Mal can boast of being a local blockbuster. On the other, due to the commitment of its creators: Camilo Cano, son of the former director of the newspaper El Espectador , assassinated by Escobar, Guillermo Cano; and Juana Uribe, daughter of the journalist who was kidnapped for seven months, Maruja Pachón, and niece of the politician murdered by the drug trafficker, Luis Carlos Galán. «In the end, what we did was an X-ray of society in the 80s and having the victims involved and the journalistic rigor with which we worked gives it a seriousness and an importance that is far from the rest of the anecdotal narcoseries that were made later », Defends the actor.

His Escobar reached such popularity that he began to be a regular guest on other soap operas such as The Lord of the Skies or The Black Widow. Until Parra decided to bury him. “At that time I was exclusive to Caracol, but I submitted my resignation and jumped into the sea because I was very afraid of ending up there . It would have been the easiest and most profitable way, surely today I would continue to do so. But I do not regret a single day, "he says.

Then the interpreter asked himself: «What character can surpass Escobar, in the sense of inexhaustible, powerful and profound? I said Chávez. But I never imagined the consequences ”, confesses Parra. «It is a series that gave me a great lesson because its premiere in Colombia was an absolutely overwhelming failure. I have to my credit the record for the best rating with El Patron del Mal and the worst with El Comandante », he says with a half smile about this Sony Pictures Television production for the RCN Channel that in 2017 outraged Chavismo to the point of prohibiting its broadcast in Venezuela. «Then came the insults, the threats, the frustration. It was very difficult, but I thank him very much because he also opened my eyes to Latin American politics and I think world politics, "he confesses.

In his next television project, this time global, Parra became the face of corruption at FIFA . The president, a Chilean series created by Pablo Larraín and Armando Bó for Amazon released on June 5, narrates the FBI investigation to uncover the FIFA Gate, a corruption, bribery and money laundering scandal that shook the beautiful game in 2015. On this occasion, the Colombian actor plays Sergio Jadue, president of a small Chilean club that went on to lead the country's National Football Association (ANFP), act as second vice president of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) until he became one of the key pieces in this plot. "After facing this series, I was left with a question, could it be that if we end up in a position like this tomorrow, with that access to power, we are going to rot anyway? Are we human beings doomed? I don't dare to say that I would back down, I have no idea ", reflects Parra.

Back in Colombia and with the help of Netflix, on Friday August 14, the actor premieres Theft of the Century , a recreation of the real assault on the Banco de la República in Valledupar that occurred in 1994. «As Colombians we hold the title of having executed the robbery largest cash in the history of mankind. They were 24,000 million pesos, about 56 million dollars today , six tons and a bit of silver, "says Parra. “The irony is that in the end the easy thing was to get the money out of the bank. Imagine bringing it by land from Valledupar to Bogotá, which takes a 27-hour trip in a truck, when the guerrillas, paramilitaries, thieves, drug traffickers, the police and the army already know it. That's really the story, ”synthesizes the actor, who plays Chayo, the leader of the band.

Looking ahead, Parra assures that he would love to play the Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado, a famous actor and divo in Latin America who has returned to the cathodic conversation thanks to the documentary Much love , also released on Netflix on July 8. In addition, he confesses to having a thorn stuck with a Spanish character: «Four years ago I did a casting to play Francisco Franco in a film that I don't know if it was finally made. I had to make a small imitation of a speech by him in Salamanca that is on YouTube and I was delighted . But they never called me again, "he laments.

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