Esmeralda Soto stars in the new Netflix series ‘La Flora Más Bella’

• Esmeralda Soto speaks exclusively to MundoNow.
• The Hispanic actress breaks her silence about personal problems.
• “I have been discriminated against in the media.”

Esmeralda Soto stars in the series La Flor Más Bella as Mich. She is a fabulous and hopelessly authentic teenager. She will try to survive high school by navigating a love octagon (one level beyond the classic love triangle), social expectations and family traditions as she strives to become popular.

The series is inspired by the adolescence of Mexican comedian Michelle Rodríguez who co-created this comedy together with screenwriter Fernanda Eguiarte. Through laughter and irreverent situations, they manage to convey a message about the importance of tearing down labels, believing in yourself and learning to shine in a unique way in order to achieve our dreams.

How did you get cast and what was the challenge of playing Mich?

The beautiful Hispanic actress speaks exclusively to MundoNow about this new project, La Flor Más Bella, which premiered this December 7 on Netflix: “Well, the casting came to me about a year ago. They had told me that it was a series inspired by Mich’s life and like a year ago I didn’t understand, like I still don’t understand to this day, like I didn’t get it, everything that happened, everything we did.”

“This is so amazing that I think my little mind can’t take it in sometimes. And the wonderful thing about this character is that I think that’s exactly what Mich’s experiences are, my experiences, the experiences of the writer, of the director. So in the end she’s a character almost, almost nurtured by a lot of amazing women and I think that’s what makes her so wonderful.»

What was it like when you first spoke to Michelle Rodríguez?

“Well, right at the beginning I thought it was going to be Mich, that I was going to go live at her parents’ house. I mean, I wanted me to be half crazy, so that Esmeralda no longer exists. So the production and the directors told me, ‘Hey, this is not Mich, that is, she is a new character, she is a character that is based on this, but she is new and even the context is different.’”

“But I still feel like Mich is the most giving woman in the world. So, if I had any doubts, I know that I was certain that Michelle, even at 3:00 am, was going to be able to answer me. So, well, I always felt her very close to me, always very attentive to what I needed and, well, I am very lucky”. Filed Under: Esmeralda Soto La Flor Más Bella

Tell me, why do you say that if you had seen this series in your teens, it would have been very different?

«Of course, I think that as fat women, as women of dissent, I think we did not fit in the media, but it was something like that I feel that even my first characters of a lifetime were like fat relief. That is, they only could see me for my physique and they didn’t see me further. So I think we had poor representation and it’s still pretty ridiculous. So I don’t know how my life would have changed, but I do know that it would have been different to have had this representation from a young age of a character like me, incredibly powerful, confident.”

“What I like the most about La Flor is that it does not revolve around weight, but that is just a characteristic. It is not an impediment to achieve your dreams. Things I grew up with from, ‘You’re never going to be an actress because of this. You’re never going to be an actress because of that.’ So, I think while she didn’t talk about this, now she touched me. Who would say that now I had to be that actress who was now going to play those characters that maybe they will be able to help the girls of today and to be able to heal older people, that is, of all ages.” Filed Under: Esmeralda Soto La Flor Más Bella

Did some casting directors reject you because of your physique?

“I have been discriminated against in the media precisely because of my weight, as I commented about not being able to do the castings for the daring woman, the strong, desired woman, who leads the story, the beautiful woman. So I said, ‘But why,’ there really is no impediment for me to play those characters. And suddenly I had to cast those who were going to be my love triangle.

“It was something like I personally could not believe it, how is it that now I have to be this beautiful girl, no longer be this companion of the stories, but now to finally be able to live not one, not two, but three love stories. I do not think that what is read on the screen a lot, for many years, has been that fat women are not sexy, we are not objects of desire, we do not deserve love, we do not deserve that people fall in love with us, nor we with people. And I think that with this these schemes are being broken, new discourses are being made, it is not bringing us dignity.” Filed Under: Esmeralda Soto La Flor Más Bella

How have you managed to get this entire process of security and trust up to this point?

“Well, the truth is that for me to see La Flora Más Bella, how my self-esteem has risen a lot, because I had grown up knowing that I am not ugly, but I did not feel fabulous like Mich. Until now that I saw the series, I could see myself with different eyes and I said I’m gorgeous.»

“And I think of how many girls have to feel the same as me, who grow up thinking that because of this or that. We are not beautiful and that affects us on all levels. So it has helped me a lot to be able to see, see myself and see such a brave character, so sure of herself, and to be able to see beyond the character Esmeralda.” Filed Under: Esmeralda Soto La Flor Más Bella