Cecilia Suárez: Art allows us to connect and converse

For Cecilia Suárez, while telling intimate stories makes it possible to connect with others, it also sparks conversations about topics that might be uncomfortable or confrontational. 

The Mexican actress believes this requires courage and honesty, both from the person telling the story and those willing to listen to it. 

“For me, speaking about intimate things is what creates identity. It requires courage, honesty, and a desire to share one’s own experiences so that the story, when told, connects us,” she said. 

Cecilia Suárez held a discussion with students from the Monterrey campus, primarily those studying communication, days before starring in the stage production of Liliana’s Invincible Summer at the Luis Elizondo Auditorium. 

Theater is unique because of the connection with the audience, Suárez said during the talk held at the Department of Media and Digital Culture’s film studio.

“The bond with the audience is not a small thing, for the simple reason that we are brought together, night after night, with a group of people who all agreed to attend. 

“We gather together to celebrate something, to listen to something, to think about something, to feel something,” said the actress, who has over 30 years of experience. 

She invited the students and professors in attendance to enjoy movies in cinemas, in the format for which they were made. 

“Movies are meant to be watched in a cinema, not on a television. There is a beauty in the experience being uninterrupted, in time standing still for a moment, as you witness the story and share it with others who are there just like you,” she explained. 

Suárez was in Monterrey to star in the play based on the book Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza, which has won various awards, including the 2024 Pulitzer Prize. 

The story reconstructs the life and femicide of her sister, Liliana Rivera Garza, who was murdered in 1990 at the age of 20 by her ex-partner. 

The author recounts aspects of her sister’s life by drawing on letters, notes, documents, and the accounts of family and friends. 

It also reflects on gender-based violence, abusive relationships, and the difficulty that existed, at the time, in identifying and naming those forms of violence. 

Suárez stated that these issues should be addressed by both men and women. 

“This work is highly confrontational, particularly regarding the role of men in our society. The testimonies from those close to Liliana pull no punches because the experience was incredibly harrowing,” she said. 

The play opened the Nuevo León Theater Festival and was performed at the Luis Elizondo Auditorium on August 23, to a sold-out house. 

Every artist is open to criticism regarding their work, so the actress advised young people not to be afraid to create art. 

“The creative process exposes you to many fears: to the eyes of others, but also to your own critical judgment, and that of your family as well. It brings together lots of critique from different places. 

“Navigating that and understanding why you need to tell the story you’re telling allows you to view all those comments as merely a breeze passing by what you’re doing,” she noted. 

The actress was joined in the conversation by Alejandro Bruna, a professor in the Department of Media and Digital Culture. 

“She’s one of Mexico’s most renowned artists, with a career spanning more than three decades in film, television, and, of course, theater, which is what brings her to Monterrey,” the educator noted.