He won the sympathy of the public thanks to his quota of humor in all the programs in which he worked. Pachu Pena stands out and generates a warm atmosphere with his peers in each of his casts. He recognizes himself familiar and sensitive. During the summer he joined the cast of “One night at the hotel” at the Del Lago theater in Villa Carlos Paz, and is preparing to face a comedy tour throughout the country.
News: Despite his popularity, he was always able to protect his private life. What is the secret?
Pachu Pena: What I do I take as a job, and my family is another story. They get it. I’m not one to upload photos with my family so as not to expose them. I am very low profile. Before uploading anything, I consult you. I want to protect them. I move if they ask me for a contact, go to a work, I do everything for them.
News: Have you ever felt invaded by the media or questioned the weight of fame?
Pain: Not because I thank God for the love of the people I made laugh. I always stop to take photos. The only thing I don’t like is that they record me or take surprise photos, I like that they ask me for them. But I lead a quiet life, I never had any problem of that kind.
News: What stands out from your participation in “Cut and confection”?
Pain: For me the first thing is to entertain people. I enjoyed it a lot. Each presentation of mine was something different, it had my stamp, something of humor always. I think I caught many ladies who managed to spend some nice afternoons.
News: How did you experience the whole process of “Showmatch La Academia”?
Pain: There were many hours of rehearsal, testing cameras, a great effort, a busy year with a lot of work. It was a difficult year for Marcelo (Tinelli), and if things went wrong for him, things went wrong for all of us. But the rating is on the street, and people always told me about the show. I don’t know if the rating was low as they marked it, but we provided fun. I felt the affection and the return in the street.
News: What does Marcelo Tinelli mean to you?
Peña: I love him very much, I adore him, I respect him. I will always be grateful that he supported Pablo (Granados) and me on this path. He put us into orbit to do what we do today. During the past year that I was at La Academia I enjoyed it a lot, I love being close to it. He is a wonderful person, I have an enormous and eternal affection for him. And I know he’s comfortable with me and he showed me that he had a lot of fun.
News: What memories do you keep in your heart of your beginnings in Rosario with Pablo Granados?
Pain: We have known each other since we were very young. We both have Rosario very present, we love our city. “Young Proposal” was a TV show that was born from scratch and everything that came in from sponsors was to pay for the studio and production. From there we made our career. And also with the band “Macaferri y Asociados” we made the leap.
News: Are you still as friends as at the beginning?
Pain: Yes, every now and then we get together to eat at a grill with friends from Rosario. We remember many things. When we see each other it is pure fun and eternal affection. With Pablo we did several things for companies, streamings, shows. I owe him a lot, I enjoy being with him.
News: How were hidden cameras born?
Pain: Teto Medina went to Rosario to sing his Videomatch theme that was all the rage. There we created the hidden camera. We took it to Sarmiento and Córdoba, fully pedestrianized, and we assembled everything. I was a policeman. We immediately took it to Marcelo. It was 1992. He had an office in Florida and Viamonte, we passed him in the elevator and left it with him. He did not give us ball. So we also took it to Pergolini, who was the contra, and he played it on his program. But later with “Macaferri” we went to sing “Rhythm of the Night”, Marcelo liked it and from there we stayed working with the notes on the street in Videomatch.
News: Have you ever renounced your nickname “Pachu” or the fact that it was your mother who renamed you that way makes you emotional?
Peña: I never reneged. He was Patchouli and then he was Pachu. But it amuses me that there are people who don’t know my real name, José María. Sometimes I fill out forms and put Pachu inadvertently.
News: You recently revealed the situation of abuse that you experienced at the age of 16 with a priest… How did you overcome it? Did you manage to regain confidence? Did she keep going to church?
Peña: From then on I did not recover my confidence. There have been many cases in the world. I am a great believer in God, in the Virgin, but I do not believe the priests. I know there will be some wonderful ones, but I have been to weddings and when a priest speaks to me it gives me a strange feeling.
News: What does God mean in your life today?
Peña: God is everything to me. I have it very present. I don’t go to church, but I am very religious. My parents were Catholic, but they didn’t go to mass. I was baptized, but I took Communion when I got married.
News: Does humor help you channel everyday vicissitudes? How?
Pain: Yes, perhaps I take them from another point of view. We all have problems, some more serious than others. Serious problems are health problems. I suffer when I see chains to raise funds for kids who have to have surgery, that hits me a lot. But the rest I take with humor.
News: What are your greatest virtues and your greatest flaws?
Peña: I am a simple person, I make friends wherever I go, I am sincere and transparent. Among the defects, I have the easy yes, I commit to many people and out there I end up failing someone with things that I cannot fulfill. AND I’m shy, it’s hard for me to say what I feel or some things and then I’m left with that thorn.
News: What is love for you?
Pain: Love is something that I like, that I enjoy, that I need. I don’t know if I can live without love. It is a much needed remedy.
News: How do you build lasting relationships in fleeting times?
Pain: With my wife we have been married for 23 years, we know each other, she knows what my work is like. She works at Viacom, she does wardrobe. We are buddies, we are aware of our children. Once you get established, it’s nice to know that you have your partner by your side.
