(CNN Spanish) - Let's go back to the 1930s, to the city of Los Angeles. The Great Depression in the United States, the city was dominated by racial segregation, the film industry in "Hollywoodland" was born with great success and everything was ready for the 1932 Olympics. These are some of the elements that serve as background for the development of HBO's “Perry Mason” series.
What is it about?
Based on characters created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, this drama series follows the origins of the most legendary criminal defense attorney in American fiction: Perry Mason. When the case of the decade knocks on his door, Mason's relentless search for truth reveals a fractured city and, perhaps, a path to his own redemption.
With more than three decades of career, the Mexican actress Verónica Falcón is part of the cast playing the role of Lupe Gibbs.
“She is a very empowered woman because she is a woman who is ahead of her time. She is the owner of a speakeasy. Her relationship with Perry Mason, and that they will discover throughout history, is of two characters who support each other. It is the third fastest pilot on Earth at the time. She is a woman who lives on her own terms. She is a strong woman, she is a wise woman and very free with her way of thinking, with her sexuality, with her life, and I think she is a woman who inspires us. The character is based on a real-life woman: Pancho Barnes (her full name was Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes), who was also a pilot. She broke the sound barrier, flew for various Howard Hughes movies. She was an extraordinary woman ”, details Falcón.
As a pilot and owner of a speakeasy, Lupe is a demon from the California skies and the third world champion in airspeed (Photo courtesy HBO).
Set in 1931, in Los Angeles, California, a year in which many Mexicans, who lived in this city after fleeing - a couple of decades before the Mexican Revolution - faced deportation. “It was very easy for me to get into this era because we had an extraordinary team: both the costume designers, the art designers, all the people who designed the scenery and who found every element of props, hairstyles, costumes and makeup. They are so well done and so well accomplished that it is very easy for actors to enter. They set the table for you and it's a time that I love, a time when Hollywood begins to be Hollywood. Despite coming from a great depression, it is a great time, "says the actress, whose performance in the series represents her fourth participation in original HBO productions. She was part of the series "ROOM 104", "Sr. Ávila ”and“ Capadocia ”.
Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) and Lupe Gibbs (Verónica Falcón), two characters in order, with respect for each other. (Photo courtesy of HBO)
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What does Lupe Gibbs think of Perry Mason?
Veronica Falcón?
"I think Lupe is not mistaken. She knows what time Perry is at. She respects her moment, she knows that she is a man who comes from a divorce and war, that she is in a very difficult and dark moment of her life. Lupe's respect for Perry has to do with his respect for her. They are two characters who reversed themselves as equals in a very horizontal league, rather than a vertical one, where one has more power than the other. That attracts him a lot. He sees her as an equal. He does not treat her as a woman who is doing something special, or as a woman who is straining or as an ornament. She treats her as a person and for Lupe it is extremely important, because she has had to fight very hard for men to respect her as an equal and as being one of the few pilots of the time it cost her work. Having a man like Perry who respects her freedom and that they are both very honest, they have always known what the position of scada one is. There is a great friendship and honesty between them ”.
The renowned pilot Amelia Earhart Putnam, sailed the skies around the world at the same time as the character of Lupe Gibbs. In fact, she flew solo in real life, in 1935, from Los Angeles to Mexico City.
"I think the freedom to be in the air. She is a woman who always lived on her terms and does not like it and does not allow her to be put in a box or put a label on it. Many women try to do that and lead a fight for gender equality. And women like Pancho Barnes, on whom the character of Lupe is based, are pioneers, great visionaries, they are very free women. For Lupe, the passion for flying has to do with freedom, "stresses the actress.
"Perry Mason" can be seen every Sunday at 10 pm, on HBO -channel that is part of WarnerMedia, like CNN en Español-, throughout Latin America.
** Confirm the transmission schedule in your country and with your Pay TV operator.
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