“El Cartel de los Sapos” was probably one of the biggest Colombian shows that transcended borders, reaching all Latin America with its captivating story. The series was based on the book by the same name by Andrés López López, also known as “Florecita,” a former drug dealer who wrote the book during his years in prison. He revealed his experiences while in the Norte del Valle Cartel. López did change all the real names and locations when he wrote the book that inspired the series. The TV show focuses on two friends that enter the illegal drug business, thinking it’s the fastest way to become rich.
Forgetting any legal consequences, Martín González, who is supposed to be López, gets together with Pepe Cadena and plot their way to take down the biggest drug dealer ever: Pablo Escobar. Once he’s down, a new cartel is up, The Pacific Cartel, led by Cadena. Martín becomes rich and falls in love with Sofía, but he makes her fall in love with him by lying to her. Eventually Sofía learns Martín’s business and he has to choose between her or his drug business. The show goes on to tell the life of Martín according to the choice he made.
The series was a hit, especially because Manolo Cardona, who played Martín is an incredibly good looking and charismatic guy that was portraying such a complex character, but somehow made all the girls in Latin America fall in love with him. Everyone got a case of “I fell in love with the bad boy” and no one was afraid of admitting it. Manolo Cardona became an icon. Whenever he was on tour promoting the show, security had to be increased to the maximum. What seemed like harmless girls turned into Manolo-thirsty monsters, screaming, crying if they saw him and even fainting if they were so lucky to get a picture taken with him.
It was only natural to continue the success of the show with a movie of the same name. The plot was very similar, but, as Manolo exclusively told Latin Times, “The beauty of this movie is that it’s totally independent from the series. For those who did see the series, what they will find is more content that they couldn’t see in the small screen. And for those who are not familiar with the show, they will see an autonomous movie, and a story from beginning to end.”
It came out in 2011 and again, it was a hit in Latin America. In the movie, Martín eventually gets tired of Pepe especially when he forces him to stay in Mexico supervising the smuggling routes into the US, which means separating from Sofía, and things heat up. However, Martín sees an opportunity to leave the trafficking life when he stumbles upon an old acquaintance from The Medellín Cartel, who now works undercover for the DEA, so he becomes a snitch. In exchange for his cooperation, he serves a reduced prison sentence, during which time he writes a book, “El Cartel de los Sapos.” Now he must choose between power, justice, and love. And no matter what he chooses, he may end up losing everything…
Don’t you just feel like you want to go watch it? Well, now American audiences will have a chance to become part of this world with the re-release of the movie scheduled for October 18. Manolo Cardona was beyond happy to be able to share this project with an international audience, and as he told us, “We’re very excited that we can finally promote the movie in the US and we really hope that all Latinos and non-latinos will join us in the movie theaters for this great adventure.”
Why did you decide to premiere the movie in the U.S. now, if the movie came out a couple of years ago?
“Well, the truth is that up until now he didn’t have the opportunity to do so, and it had always been very complicated to find the right spot for Latin movies. There weren’t enough openings for Latin movies, but now, thanks to ‘Instructions Not Included’ and ‘Pulling Strings,’ our movies are being demanded.”
Was the movie script any different from the show’s?
“They’re very different. It’s not like the movie is a recap of the series. It’s a completely new and original story based on Andrés López’s book, and it’s focused on the love story of Martín and Sofia, and the gangster universe in which they end up stuck in, between the United States and Mexico.”
Does the movie have new, different characters than the series?
“Yes. We actually included a lot of Mexican actors like Kuno Becker, Adriana Barraza, who was in ‘Babel,’ it was the last movie of the great Pedro Armendáriz, may he rest in peace, Rodrigo Oviedo, Sandra Echeverría, Saúl Lisazo and I think that the fact we had all those great Mexican actors, helped the movie break box office records in its genre.”
What motivated you originally to accept this character?
“That it was a challenge for me. I love challenges, I love to be able to portray a character that has nothing to do with me, and I loved the challenge, and I don’t regret doing it.”
How did you prepare for the movie? Was your character any different from the show?
“I already had my character very well studied, but what we did with the director, Carlos Moreno was to interiorize more his personal conflicts and take the character to a new level, giving him more depth.”
Are there any traits that you admire of your character, Martín?
“His passion and what he would be capable of doing for love.”
If you had to recommend the movie to someone, how would you define it?
“I would define it as a super production, that was shot in three countries and over nine cities, LA, New York, Miami, Tijuana, Mexico City, over five cities in Colombia, and it’s a marvelous love story with an emotional roller-coaster that has a little bit of comedy, suspense, action, drama, amazing special effects, an impeccable production, wonderful acting, and a spectacular script. It’s totally worth it to watch it on the big screen.”
Will we see you more in the American screens?
“This year I was featured on two American series, which brings me closer to the anglo market. I was in the fourth season of ‘Covert Affairs,’ playing Teo Braga and I was also in ‘Reign,’ that premieres Oct. 17, as Tomás, the prince of Portugal, and it was an amazing experience between Europe and America, castles, swords, the costumes. It was a lot of fun!”
You are a very international actor, shooting from location to location, how do you manage the time zone changes?
“I live in a constant jet lag to be honest with you, but I’m fortunate enough to be working in many projects, as an actor and as a producer.”
Don’t miss “The Snitch Cartel” in theaters Oct. 18!
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