New Kid on the Block
By Valerie López

Most Boricua audiences are just now hearing the name Jorge Alberti, but if you ask soap opera fans in Mexico and Chile, chances are they are very well acquainted with that name. The 31-year-old actor already has a well-established resume in Latin TV soaps with the fan base to go along with it.

“We were invited to the Festival de Viña del Mar [in Chile ] and since we were invited by the channel we sat in the front rows of the stage,” Alberti recalls. “As I walked [to my seat] a small group of fans began to scream. I looked and waved hello and then another group did the same. I stood up and they all started to scream ‘Niñito rico, lalalalala.'

It really makes my hair stand on its ends. The love these people have given me is incredible.”

Alberti is already a familiar face to Boricua audiences, thanks to the soap “Don Amor,” which is broadcasted weeknights at 9:30 on TuTV (Channel 6). Penned by José Ignacio Valenzuela, “Don Amor” rolled in Chile and in Puerto Rico , the first soap to be taped on the island since “Dueña y señora” in 2006 and before that, “Señora Tentación” in 1995. “Don Amor” began airing locally in November with good ratings, and it ends its TuTV run in late March.

The actor plays Lucián Carvajal, whom the actor describes as “a very complex character.” “This guy was a psychopath type with drug and alcohol vices,” Alberti describes him. “He would be well, but if he felt threatened, he would relapse. He suffered a tragic loss. He saw his girlfriend get burned right in front of him while he was dead drunk.”

One of the biggest highlights for Alberti while taping “Don Amor” was the opportunity to work with Boricua actress/singer Nydia Caro, who played his mother. “She became a very special person in my life,” he says. “We had amazing chemistry. At one point she really felt like she was my mother. She is very professional. She is a beautiful person inside and out because she captivates old and young alike.”

Although he is best known for his work in soaps such as “Lola,” “Dueña y señora,” NBC's “Passions” “Angel rebelde” and “¡Anita, no te rajes!,” Alberti has worked in other TV genres and in film. While Alberti filmed “Don Amor” in Puerto Rico , he had the opportunity to work in “Che,” alongside Academy Award-winning actor Benicio del Toro, directed by Oscar-lauded Steven Soderbergh. He originally tried out for the role of Camilo Cienfuegos, but the part went to Chilean actor Santiago Cabrera. Still, Alberti landed a small role as a soldier under the Fulgencio Batista regime. “Don Amor” producers gave Alberti permission to go film his scene and come back to the soap. The experience, he says, was intense.“Soderbergh came in and sat in a corner for 10 minutes, thinking about what he was going to do,”

Alberti recalls. “Then he said, ‘bring me a camera here.' [His crew] brought the camera to him and he said ‘action.' We taped the scene, he thanked us and left. It was very fast.”

In addition to “Che,” Alberti has had roles in movies such as the comedy “Oh Baby!” and a local action film, “Not Even the Devil,” which comes out this year.

Drawn to Act

Most actors have been in love with their chosen profession since they can remember. Alberti knew that he liked acting, but it was not his first choice for his life's work. When the Mayagüez-born actor was known as Jorge Alberto Martínez, his sights were set on the graphic arts. Once he graduated from Madre Cabrini School in Caparra Heights in 1995, he moved to Florida to study computer animation at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Four years later, he moved back to the island to complete a bachelor's degree in graphic design at Sacred Heart University in Santurce. But acting still beckoned.

“Back then, I gave anything to draw a falling leaf in a Disney movie, but that changes because what you love will always call,” Alberti says. “But ever since I was little I was interested in [acting]. I would go off to do shows like ‘El tío nobel' and ‘La casa de María Chuzema' a la mala. I once got onto ‘María Chuzema' and won a lot of toys. But well… I told my mom I wanted to make TV commercials, but she was a single mom. She raised my sister and me by herself. She couldn't take us to casting calls or stuff like that. When I turned 16, I started going to calls myself, but with her blessing, of course.”

During that period, Alberti also modeled for several local magazines and had a part in Telemundo's recently cancelled show “No te duermas.” He was also taking acting classes with renowned Puerto Rican actor Teófilo Torres. He acted in plays such as “Dialogo de carmelitas” and “Amor al prójimo,” both at the Luis A Ferré Performing Arts Center . Alberti moved to Mexico in 2002 to participate in the Intermodel 2002 Acting and Modeling Competition. Soon after, Alberti landed a spot on Telemundo/NBC's reality show “La isla de la tentación.”

Once he left “La isla,” Alberti made his first steps into the soap opera realm with guest appearances on the Univision soap “Gata salvaje” and “Ángel rebelde,” the mini-series “Al filo de la ley,” and the Fox series “ America 's Most Wanted.”

Working in “¡Anita no te rajes!,” Alberti worked with Mexican actress Adriana Barraza, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2007 for best supporting actress in “ Babel .” He has continued training throughout his career with coaches Roberto Moll (during his time with Telemundo in Miami ) and Patrick Malone at the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles .

“It's very easy to lose your character while you are taping, but if you have someone there taking care of you, your work will look good,” Alberti comments. “Thank God, I've always have had coaches there guiding me. I could suddenly say a puertorriqueñada, and they tell me ‘watch it, we have to repeat.'”

From Soap to Screen

Many Boricua and Latin American actors eventually seek to cross over into Hollywood , but Alberti has his sights squarely set on Latin American cinema. “I want to work in Mexican cinema. They are making some wonderful productions there, and in Spain too. I think us Latinos, we are super bien parados and we have some great opportunities there.

I would like to enter there and of course, not overlooking Hollywood cinema, which is recognized globally.”

As much as he likes living in his native Puerto Rico , Alberti laments the fact that most actors can't make a living in their chosen craft on the island. They emcee TV shows, sing, do radio shows, anything but act.

Acting roles, he notes, are few and far between, especially now as Puerto Rico wades through a deep recession.

“Many years ago, there were more work opportunities than what you find now,” Alberti notes. “Filming here is very expensive. And I think the permits [are another problem]. Permits are not awarded on a weekly basis, but rather daily…There are many factors that make working here difficult, and it should be just the opposite. This is a country that is full of life with incredible skies and landscapes. This is a great place to come and tape shows, but the truth is I don't understand why there are not more projects coming here. If that were the case, I would stay here to live. Hay que ver que es lo que esta pasando. We are asking for work a gritos. We want everybody to know that.”

Currently, Alberti is settled in Mexico taping a soap opera called “Vuelveme a querer” for Mexican network TV Azteca. Co-starring with soap stars Omar Fierro, Mariana

Torres, José Luis Franco and Sonya Smith, Alberti plays lead character Ricardo Robles, a man who was plucked out of a tragic event to later become a powerful businessman.A new corporate venture takes him from Japan to his native Monterey , where he will exact his revenge on those who did him wrong.

“This is a character that is very different from all the other parts that I have played,” Alberti explains. “He is very macho a lo mejicano and gets things that way. He suffers tragedy when he is young. His father was murdered in front of him and his father's girlfriend is raped. A nana takes me away and raises me with her husband. I grow up with this noble family, study finance and go to work in Japan . Five years later, a business opportunity arises in Monterrey and I come back not just for the business but with a personal plan to take revenge on the one who killed my family.”

If the soap does well, Alberti will roll “Vuelveme a querer” until June and take a short vacation. Then he'll make another soap for TV Azteca to fulfill his contract. He also relishes another role, this one in his personal sphere, as husband. Alberti married dancer Katia Parrilla in Puerto Rico in December. She remains based on the island while she is on tour with singer Luis Fonsi. Once the tour is over, the couple will settle in Mexico while Alberti finishes his contract.

In the meantime, Alberti continues to look for new opportunities and to further hone his craft. He is not at a point yet where he can be selective about the roles he picks, but he is very grateful for the roles he has landed and the body of work he has been able to create.

“Sometimes it's not very easy to be selective in soaps because its el projecto que caiga,” Alberti says. “It's a bit different from film. In movies you can get five scripts, read them, and decide which one you are the most interested in. You may not be too choosy in soaps but thank God, all the projects I've got have been good ones. So I can't complain.”