Adamari López knows what it means to reinvent yourself without losing your roots. Since she began acting at the age of six in Puerto Rico, the actress and host has gone through soap operas, reality shows and entertainment programs to become one of the most beloved figures on Hispanic television in the United States. Today, in addition to continuing to lead Desiguales and ¿Qué Caerá?, she combines cameras with motherhood and her business projects, while once again starring in a DIRECTV campaign.
But behind the image of the host that millions of viewers see on screen there is a woman for whom Spanish, family and her roots occupy a central place. In conversation with Noticia NY, Adamari talks about how she seeks to keep her daughter Alaïa’s Latin identity alive, about the experiences that transformed her way of understanding life and how she manages to balance motherhood, work and new projects. Read the full interview and discover the most personal side of Adamari López, her priorities and what continues to excite her after so many years in front of the cameras.
This is the third time you have starred in a DIRECTV campaign. What does it mean to you that a brand chooses you again as a face to connect with the Hispanic community?
A lot of pride and a lot of joy. I feel that DIRECTV goes with me, with my values and with my way of thinking: staying united with our community and our families. Being able to enjoy programming in Spanish fills me with satisfaction, and having an accessible plan with more than 60 entertainment, news and sports channels seems wonderful to me. My daughter loves sports, so we enjoy Liga MX and UEFA Champions League matches together, while she practices her Spanish. For me it is very important that, even if you study in an English-speaking school, you do not lose your language or your identity. Additionally, with MiEspañol I can take the programming with me on my tablet or phone and enjoy it wherever I want.
MiEspañol seeks to bring together entertainment, sports and news in Spanish in one place. What role does Spanish-language television continue to play in the lives of Hispanics living in the United States?
I believe that today we want our children not to lose the essence or culture of where they come from, and to be able to develop in both English and Spanish without losing their Hispanic identity. That’s what I try to do with my daughter: I want Alaïa to be able to communicate with her family in Spain, Puerto Rico and the United States in our language and to maintain our traditions and roots. Through television and programming in Spanish we can continue celebrating our traditions, from carols and the Three Wise Men to the Mañanitas of the Virgin of Guadalupe. I lived almost 15 years in Mexico and I also feel part of that culture, so I celebrate its traditions as if they were my own. In my house I watch Spanish channels because that is what I consume and what I promote, and I think it is wonderful to have access to so much programming that allows us to keep our culture alive.
You live between two languages and two cultures. Are there things that you feel you can only fully express in Spanish? And what does it mean to you to maintain that cultural connection while developing your career in the United States?
I understand myself better and express myself better in Spanish. For me, English is my second language. What’s more, in English I sometimes put the present, past and future in the same sentence, and I still make mistakes when conjugating or using verb tenses, especially when I get nervous. If you’re going to give me an indication, if I want to hear news, laugh and be entertained, I want to watch programming in Spanish. I understand sport better in Spanish and I want Alaïa to not lose the language either. In my house Spanish is spoken all the time and she participates in Who Will Fall? Kids, where you have to get around, talk to the children, ask questions and present the program in Spanish, so you need to have the correct vocabulary. For me it is very important that I can maintain that connection with the language and the culture, and that is also the programming that we want to provide to our audience.
In addition to this campaign, you are working in television, you have a jewelry project and you are Alaïa’s mother. How do you balance all of these roles and what project has you especially excited right now?
Finding a balance to do all those things—being a mother, getting ahead with work, continuing to grow professionally, devoting time to the family and not losing everything from perspective—has its complexity, but I think you have to have a lot of love and a lot of passion for what you do. I love my family and I love my job, so I always find that space to share with my loved ones, dedicate quality time to them, continue enjoying and be in contact with the public through the projects I do. I am very excited to be at Desiguales in the afternoons and I am very excited to do for the fourth season a trivia program that unites the family, that is for everyone, where you learn and that can also generate a positive and even economic impact for those who participate. I’m also excited to close the week with Who’s Better?, a show of extraordinary talent that amuses and impresses you. All of those things motivate me, make me feel happy and proud of the work I do and make finding that balance much more beautiful and feasible, because I can do everything without leaving anything out.
You have spoken publicly about very difficult moments in your life and how you have turned them into opportunities to raise awareness and accompany other women. Is there an experience that forever changed the way you view your purpose and career?
Of course, I think my purpose changed when I found out I had cancer. Until that moment I had never gotten sick or been in a hospital, except perhaps to visit someone, and understanding the fragility of life and how much I wanted to fight to get ahead and enjoy the little things in front of me again completely changed my way of thinking and being. It made me much more a believer and faithful to my faith, firmer in my values, closer to my family and much more aware of enjoying every little detail. Since then I have had beautiful moments, but also strong moments, and it has been very important to keep faith. During my illness I had doctors who spoke to me in English and which I did not understand exactly, so I tried to find information in Spanish. All of this made me rethink many things in my head and in my life. It is something that I will never forget and that has made me grow a lot.
After everything you have experienced and built, how do you define success today: by the projects you achieve, by the person you have become or by the impact you can have on other people?
I believe that I can define success by how I have known how to get up from difficult moments, look for meaning in life, find a purpose and try to maintain a positive attitude. I believe that success lies precisely in those falls that I have had and how I have been able to overcome them.
