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Ana de la Reguera’s hilarious show “Ana” which is loosely based on her life, is about to make its season 2 premiere. Available to binge on Pantaya tomorrow Friday, July 22nd, the series created, produced, written, and stars the award-winning actress along with Tina Romero, Andrés Almeida, David Palacio, Christian Meier, Paly Duval, and Gabriela Roe. The show also features TV icon Carmen Salinas in one of her last TV appearances. Directed by Marcelo Tobar, the show will have you laughing while touching on very important points when it comes to Latina representation in Hollywood and their experiences, as Ana faces many challenges in her personal and professional life. HOLA! USA had the opportunity to watch the first 2 episodes and talk to Ana ahead of its release about the challenges, what she hopes Latina’s take away from watching it, her relationship with comedy, and more in this exclusive interview. Watch the clip and read the full interview below.
What are you most proud of about season 2?
Our production value. I think we learned from our mistakes in season one. And I wanted all the budget and all the money that we had to be reflected on screen. And our choices from the script, from pre-production, were very much for that to be felt. And I think it’s a series that looks much bigger, better produced, it’s very funny, and it was complicated to do like a show within a show because we are doing Ana, but Ana is in a show called Los Adames, so that was very difficult to do and I think it was very well executed.
What’s the most rewarding and challenging thing about creating a show loosely based on your life?
I have to do so many things at the same time, and just, not losing my patience because sometimes I just wanna… sometimes right now, for example, we’re doing interviews and in the two seconds that I have in between, I’m dealing with things with subtitles, things that we have to do this Friday, we have to get them ready. So I’m constantly working on two or three things at the same time, but that has given me a lot of talent in life just to be able to manage and to be calm with the pressure that I feel in my life, especially in my job. So it’s been really good because now when I go to a job where I just have to act and just be there acting and not doing anything else, I’m like, ‘this is so easy,’ you know, like it’s been a great school for me.
So we see the dedication to the late and great Carmen Salinas. Do you have a favorite onset memory with her that you wanna share?
What I really love about Carmen was how people were excited to see her, everyone would go talk to her, take a picture with her, and she would always talk about her experiences. She would give you advice. She would tell me all the movies that she shot in the studio when we were doing those scenes. So I knew who she was, obviously, I knew the legend that she was, but not until I worked with her. That’s why I learned a lot about not only being a professional but also the human qualities that she had with people and I really respect her.
Aside from reading a contract before you sign it, what do you hope Latinas in the industry, like myself, take away after watching the show?
Theres times -this is very egocentric- but when I see my name in all the credits, when the show starts, where it says, ‘created by,’ and, that I’m the star of the show and produced by and written by I’m like, ‘I cannot believe I did it.’ And I hope that when you read it, and when you see that, it’s like, ‘okay, I can do it too.’ And I wish that there were more female creators out there getting these opportunities. So I’m very proud of that, but I also wish there’s more of that and that it’s something that isn’t like special or an exception. So I think I would love that people can get that even if you’re not in this industry, like whatever you wanna do, that you can be your own boss.
Yeah. You’re definitely one of the Latinas paving the way for the younger generations, and it’s really inspiring to watch. So I love your mom’s character in the show. What does she say when she watches these episodes?
She’s like, ‘I’m not like that.’ She says, ‘I’m even worse,’ ‘Soy más terible que eso.’ So like sometimes she cracks up and really loves it and sometimes she doesn’t, because I do make fun of her. And sometimes I share things that maybe, she wasn’t that happy about, but at the same time, she understands, cause I had to explain to her that there needs to be conflict. You know, like all her conflicts during my 45 years of life are there in a half-hour show. So, they have to be there. So we have an excellent relationship, but I have to put all those moments there and they feel very condensed but my mom, understands it. So she plays the game and she’s happy about it.
And the show is hilarious. I love all the poop jokes. I feel like that’s a type of comedy that is usually reserved for men, but no, it’s funny for everyone. And I read an interview in the past where you said the best comedy comes from misery. So just tell me a little bit more about your relationship with comedy.
Well, yes. I feel bad and I think people that can’t poop are miserable. So that’s why it’s hilarious when people cannot poop, and my character is living through hell and is not in a good plac so that’s why she can’t poop. I thought that’s something that for me, at least when I get some good news, I immediately have to go to the bathroom. Cause it’s very emotional for me that I react immediately like that. So that’s why my mom and my whole family are very eschatolog, and that’s why I am too. And it was actually difficult because, in the beginning, the executive of the shows were like, ‘we’re not sure if people are gonna be okay with that‘ because people, some people really don’t connect with that, but we try to do it in a fun, elegant way. And I think it worked out well. And I think that comedy comes from incomodidad sobre la miseria de los demás, sobre este sí, sobre si sentirte out of place and so thats where comedy comes from.
I love it. And new characters are being introduced this season, when it comes to picking the right cast to join the show what’s something that you were looking for with each person.
You know, to be honest, I had exactly the cast that I wanted. So that’s why I’m so happy. For example, Antonia, the girl who played Martes, I started following her the year before on Instagram, and then when I started to write the character, I was like, ‘I want that girl.’ Because she has that personality, and I remember the studio was like, ‘well, she lives in Argentina, and she’s not an actress and lala.’ And you know, we auditioned other great girls. I was actually very surprised at how many good actresses there were, we had really good options, but Antonia, she had the personality, she was so tiny and so small that it was funnier and it played in her favor, you know? So that’s why she ended up getting the role, and also with Christian Meier, we did a show 20 years ago, and all the footage was real. So to be able to have him on the show with him agreeing to also make fun of himself, fue un tesoro para mí. And everyone, Andrés Almeida who is one of the best actors to come back to the show and Paulina Dávila pal igual Carmen Salinas, like all the people who come and do guest stars on the show are incredible.
Amazing. And one last question, if you can describe season two and one word, what would it be?
I would say caótica, chaotic.
