Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Natalia Jofre. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Natalia, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
What a question! I could talk about this for a long time. But to keep it short and simple let me share one particular story. I was by chance sharing a breakfast table with two ladies, both of them held in high regard by society, and they were talking, or better said, gossiping about a woman I had never met. They told me her whole life story and did not hold back on demeaning her. They talked for the better part of two hours about this woman who had taken a lot of decisions they didn’t approve of. They talked about her career, her marriage, her looks and even her home decor. But what I could hear past all the opinions, was that this woman had led a very interesting life, led by courage and her own compass. She hadn’t hurt anyone and followed her own desires and expectations. That day I thought: I would much rather be the person people talk about than the people who waste their precious time trying to put others down. Side note: I do see the irony in me sharing that story and I will stand by it because I believe it brings the point across. People’s opinions of you are only theirs. And if I ever base my decisions on someone else’s point of view I want it to be because it aligns with what I feel like is right for me.
Sending my love to readers dealing with haters. And to the haters, too. I hope you use your divine energy to enjoy your own life to the fullest.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am an actor and producer from the heart of South America – La Paz, Bolivia. I switched a career in Advertising for one in the cultural scene and am very grateful to have worked with some of the most talented and generous artists in my country and have starred in more than 20 plays since. In 2019 I dove into film acting which led me to Los Angeles in pursuit of immersive training. Now, after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, I am very excited to be working on new roles for projects to be shot in LA and celebrating one of my short films, Fernando Arze Echalar’s “What Is Left Of Us,” just had its British premiere as part of the Official Selection for the Manchester Film Festival 2024. I believe in the power of stories and their impact on us. How they can transform feelings, transmute energies, inspire us or put important subjects on the table.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Kindness, curiosity and resilience. Kindness to those around me and to myself are essential for me. In a work scenario it allows to create a sense of community and respect, which is the only way I feel is truly conducive to a soulful process. I love connecting with and trusting the people with whom I create. And that always starts from a place of kindness. Curiosity is vital because it leads you to learning any skill, it keeps you on your toes when you get to a “comfort zone” and takes you to dig deeper. Curiosity leads you to feel with all your senses. It brings expansion. And resilience is just as important, because if we as artists are not firm to the point of stubbornness, if we don’t build a tolerance to uncertainty, if we don’t have a vision for our project coming to fruition, we will be very tempted to cut the journey short.
For those staring out my advice is to consume art. Any kind you like. Figure out what kind of creator you want to be (even if you change your mind down the road) and get the curiosity ball rolling. Figure out what you find admirable and wonder about that. Figure out what turns on your creative engine and dive into it.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think this really depends. If your strengths already in alignment with what you want to do, I say by all means focus on those. On the other side of that, if you detect that bettering your weak links will bring you closer to the kind of artist you want to be, use your time on that. But even in this case I believe that our strengths should never be in the back burner for too long. I believe in the power of hard work, and if you put your energy and time in working on something you are good at, that’s how you become great at it. And that gives us a feeling of accomplishment and fulfilment. Even if your strength isn’t directly related to your goal, working on it will give you that. And if at any time working on your weak link gets frustrating or extra hard for any reason, that spark of joy can keep you grounded and optimistic.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliajofre/
- Other: https://imdb.me/NataliaJofre
Image Credits
Eduardo Capriles, China Martinez, Chochoè, Pato Peters, Javier Ishino, Alvaro Manzano, Tina Vonn.