DON'T CRY FOR MIA, ARGENTINA

Spotlight

Mia Maestro's DNA is obviously blessed, and not just in the looks department. Her father is a stockbroker, her mother holds a doctorate in economics, and her sister has a Ph.D. in computing systems. So how did this Argentinean come to acting? "My grandfather was an architect. He used to build banks all over the country, but he built theaters as well. And he used to perform as a hobby." Born in Buenos Aires, Maestro began taking acting and singing classes when she was six. At 18 she went to Berlin to study music and theater. "Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler—it was so inspiring to me. It was only for four or five months, but at that age it felt like years." Back home, she took parts in the theater until the day she knocked on the door of film director Carlos Saura, who was casting Tango. "I didn't have an agent and I didn't have an appointment, but I had to audition for this. I knew I was going to get it." Tango was nominated for an Oscar for best foreignlanguage film in 1998. Since then Maestro has worked constantly in television and film. She was in both of Mike Figgis's digital films, Time Code and Hotel, and this spring she can be seen in Frida, based on the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, starring Salma Hayek and directed by Julie Taymor. "I play Cristina, Frida's sister, a character who has been very mistreated by biographers. They just portray her as a woman who slept with her sister's husband, but she was so much more than that. In a way, Frida and Cristina complement each other." Is there any competition between the two Latin-American beauties playing the roles? "Not at all. It's totally the opposite. Salma is my best friend in Los Angeles."

KRISTA SMITH

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