Mexico, 2012. The country was convulsed by the biggest fraud in the lottery and betting system: the theft of 8 million dollars, a case that became known as “The Melate scandal” and was reproduced in “Corazonada”, a tape that recently premiered Paramount+. The Venezuelan María Antonieta Hidalgo has a more than important participation in it.
The young actress plays Daniela, a dancer who gets involved in the scam. She is the main figure in the bar where the scammers meet to plan the robbery and due to luck (or bad luck) she overhears the plans and gets involved.
In fact, the thieves are officials of the official lottery and they recorded false live numbers with a fake number and their relatives collected the money in Mexico City and Zacatecas, where the Treasury charges less taxes for games and bets. The authorities became suspicious and confirmed their hypotheses when the officials involved stopped coming to the office after the coup.
To give life to “Corazonada” there was a luxury cast. You can enjoy the talent of Bruno Bichir, Michelle Renaud, Osvaldo Benavides (Nandito in the popular telenovela “María la del Barrio”) and the criolla, who immersed themselves in a story that is inspired by real events, under the direction of Manuel Craviotto (“Narcos”, Netflix).
The experience
«The experience of recording this project was spectacular. It was very exciting for me to belong to a 100% Mexican production and to work with José Manuel Cravioto, the director of ‘Monarca’ and ‘Narcos México’”, said the Venezuelan about the filming.
This is how María Antonieta Hidalgo continues to accumulate successes in her career, after participating in the film “The Exorcism of God”which recently returned to the national billboard after becoming the most successful Latin production of 2022.
In the same way, it is necessary to mention “Two Autumns in Paris”, a film in which he starred and which, in its tour of film festivals, between 2019 and 2020, added more than 80 awards. The list includes festivals held in the United States, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, India, Austria, Romania, among others.
Now she comes with “Hunch”, a project that, according to what she told Últimas Noticias, makes her very happy.
– What do you think was the biggest challenge in making this character?
– The biggest challenge was playing a dancer without being a dancer. I remember that in a guideline the director asked me to do a pole dance and inside I thought: “I don’t know how to get on the pole.” But I still did a dance and it was spectacular.
Exploring that sensuality was something I was afraid of, but I think it was the perfect opportunity to do it, because all the time I was surrounded by a team of professionals who made me feel comfortable and calm.
– What has been the feedback you have received from viewers of the film?
– People tell me that I don’t look like myself in the movie. It was my first time in the cinema with such short hair and yes there is a difference. They have also told me that it is not noticeable that I am a foreigner and that makes me very happy.
Being a real life Mexican lottery case movie, people here have been very interested in watching it and have had fun.
– How do you feel being the only Venezuelan in this project?
– That is the most beautiful part. Being Venezuelan is my inspiration for everything I do abroad, I am very interested in representing my country in the best possible way and being the only Venezuelan in the project was something very exciting.
So much so that the team found out that I am Venezuelan once I signed my contract, because I did my entire casting and rehearsal process in a neutral accent (laughs).
– How do you feel about being a successful Venezuelan in a market as competitive as the Mexican one?
– It’s a blessing. It represents the fruit of my labor over the past 13 years. Mexico has opened doors for me and I have worked non-stop to take advantage of every opportunity that has come my way.
I am very happy to have participated in this project and in 2023 we are going for more!
