Rossi de Palma on the sisterhood of Picasso and the "invisible" women
Rossi de Palma - one of the most famous Spanish women in the world; she is engaged not only in playing movies, but also directing, modeling and charity work. When she debuted, the world was amazed at her appearance, far from glossy canons, and captivating straightforwardness. Despite the fact that the actress has been working in show business for three decades, she does not lose her earthiness. This is also indicated by the creative pseudonym: Rossi de Palma in Spanish means simply “Rossi from Palma de Mallorca”. Together with model Barbie Ferreira and TV presenter Tanya Llaçaroy Rossi de Palma, she appeared in the video for Violeta, Mango’s bodybuilding sub-brand. We met with the actress in Barcelona and talked about fashion, stereotypes and liberation.
About labels
In the English "Wikipedia" the first line in my description is "revived Picasso". I cannot define myself as "Picasso", I do not have copyrights for that! I would not have objected, by the way, to partial copyright and deductions in my favor from purchases of paintings by the artist. But seriously, I really recognize myself in the asymmetries of “Avignon girls” and in other pictures with asymmetrical women. I see myself in the works of Modigliani, or even Matisse. Matisse is the artist who makes me the most emotional.
As for Picasso's reviving picture, I don’t remember where it came from: the Mexican people invented this, or Pedro once said this at the conference, in general, the source is unknown. But in Mexico my name is La Picassa. I recently went to New York, and everyone there said to me: "Oh, yes, this is true, you came to life with a Picasso painting, living art!" What can I say: I am a work of art! We are all works of art made of flesh and blood.
On the role and power of love
I used to play the maid, the nanny a lot of times. And I am often asked: "Are you not tired yet of playing the servants?" You know what: no, not tired. On the contrary, I love doing it!
At one time, many Spaniards and Portuguese emigrated to France. I met a huge number of these women who were able to achieve a good education for their children, who became managers, achieved high positions and prosperity in French society. It seems to me that the French are a little less warm and caring than the Spaniards - and these Spanish and Portuguese women who worked there as concierges, maids and nannies, gave French children such love, such care, that a whole generation of French grew up with Spanish notes. I would say there was a complete merger of cultures.
Therefore, for me to play a servant, nanny or maid is always an honor, always a tribute to those women. Well, then I love to play "unknown" women from social classes, the idea of which is not shrouded in glamor. I play them with great love and respect.
About beauty
Beauty is not some stereotypical canons, beauty is absolutely in every woman. All women are beautiful when they are confident. Therefore, it is important how society behaves. Therefore, it is important to design clothing brands that help women feel beautiful - and not marginal in the backyards of life. Society is changing, and thanks to this process, a new generation of women is growing in a more open environment - they understand beauty more widely and are ready to accept themselves. All the less iron canons of attractiveness make women to suffer by comparing themselves with the “ideal” and never matching it.
About inspiring women
I put on a play called “Resilience of Love” (“Resiliencia de amor”) - I hope someday I will bring it to Barcelona - how art helps you live. There is a little Dali and a little Lorca, but first of all it is a performance about women. It is mainly dedicated to the Cuban artist Ana Mendiete, very organic and in her work - she was looking for a female identity; my play is about it too. Another woman mentioned there is the photographic woman Francesca Woodman.(Speaking Spanish, Rossi de Palma uses feminine. - Approx. Ed.), a talented woman, she died very young - she committed suicide. I also remember Anna Magnani, the Italian actress who always made me excited: she is absolutely wild and endlessly talented.
Sometimes I find magical women in some monologue published on YouTube: for example, the video in which the famous opera singer Maria Callas talks about the artist’s loneliness, how indifferent the crowd is to the human personality, how no one was interested in her well-being. Countless women inspire me! Choreography, artists, poetess ... Maya Angelou! Philosofini! This list is endless. Women are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The female world is so rich.
About sisterhood
There is such a word - "sororidad", sisterhood. It means solidarity and cooperation of women. I always, always support a woman before anyone else. I always protect women. I will never speak ill of a woman. Yes, it is possible to discuss, analyze: where she acted correctly, where it was wrong, what consequences her actions had. But for me, if you are a woman, you are automatically a winner and deserve respect and admiration. For example, I have a girlfriend who recently said she would not dress Melania Trump. But I will never say anything bad about Melania Trump, because even she deserves my respect - simply because she is a woman.
I mean by sisterhood exactly that. We need to cultivate this feeling in the younger generations. You know, when I hear a woman say, “I find it easier to find a common language with guys,” I mentally exclaim, “Oh, my, my, that’s what you’re mistaken!” Between us, women, there should be no rivalry, masks - we are what we are. I have a strong group of girlfriends, and we always ask ourselves: "How would we live if we didn’t have each other?" We women always help and support other women.
But at the same time, women can be extremely cruel to each other. Sometimes the first to blame and shame women are not men who rush, but other women, especially older ones. They point at each other with their fingers, call for reprisals, expressing a huge amount of accumulated uncertainty and frustration. I believe that we should learn the art of sisterhood, mutual respect and support - this will give us even more strength and power, and also liberate us.
About restrictions in the cinema
I am not very worried about the limitations. We all have physical characteristics, this is a fact. Charlize Theron, by the way, gave the "Oscar" for the fact that she appeared on the screen in an image so far from the conventional representations. And all these metamorphoses are interesting! Yes, of course, there are roles that you would be interested to play, but you cannot do it. But at the same time there are so many roles that you still can and want to play! I always try to focus on things that I can bring to life, and not on those that I secretly cherish. It is always better to be grateful for what you have, than to suffer for what you do not have. Each of us always has things for which you can thank life.
In addition, I think that cinema as an industry is less dependent on standards than fashion. Because the characters are as diverse as the society outside the movie. Take the movie "Precious"! There, the main character is not at all conventional appearance. This is the richness of cinema: it expands the perception of the world. In the movie, you can take someone who, in reality, would be despised by everyone, and make him or her main character. And suddenly the whole world falls in love with her, as they are carried away by the magic power of art, the story that the film tells.
About the feminization of the world
I am sure that feminization is necessary. Not only cinema, but the whole society: all spheres of art and human activity should become more feminine. Women inspire me a lot more than men. Men and patriarchy have long dominated and have already told their stories, they can no longer be listened to. So many artists have not received the deserved glory, and such a huge reservoir of women's history has yet to be released. It hides many heroines, role models: daring, brave, revolutionaries of their time - if you begin to dig the depths of the past, they will not have a number.
About the style
I have no style! I am like a Swiss knife: today I'm cutting here, and tomorrow there, depending on my mood, weather, who I want to be today. Clothing is the same way of communication as speech or gestures, with its help we transfer our identity. I have many faces: today I feel the same way and I wear total black, tomorrow I feel differently - I wear a scarlet dress, because passion is in me. Colors, styles, accessories - it's all language. I love all styles, and I don’t like to limit myself. Sometimes I feel more Russian, sometimes more Spanish, in the style of flamenco. I do not believe in borders, except for gastronomic, so my outfits are inspired by the folklore of the whole world.
About women and power
Now it is very popular to pursue what men have, to imitate them. But men are not our mirrors, they do not have many of our problems. We need to understand who we are, not looking at them, not comparing ourselves with them and not opposing ourselves to them - and this is exactly what has happened over the years. Take Merkel and Lagarde - their female power is not close to me. These women, in order to demonstrate their power, molded themselves into someone no better than men. It seems to me that these are not the women who are guided by empathy, the desire to protect, the desire to cultivate - those qualities that, in my view, would have a female society.
About evolution in fashion
Previously, fashion was a closed territory, where only people of a certain appearance were allowed. To all who went beyond the established framework, treated with a share of contempt. At the same time, the business was ready for larger models, since there was a market for them and no one wanted to lose the opportunity to make money. Even so, all the "unfashionable" models were by default "second-rate" - such "yes, but no." They made money on them, but they received neither fame, nor admiration, nor the status of an aesthetic ideal.
Today, everything is exactly the opposite: the fashion world has become more open, plus-size models work very much, they have no problems with orders from large brands. It seems to me that a wonderful liberation is taking place: the industry, women, the ideals of beauty. The world will only get better, only freer. I am friends with one "non-standard" model, and she always says: "It is only a matter of time." So it is - it is only a matter of time. The complete liberation of beauty is bound to happen, sí o sí.
About sizes
Yesterday, a story happened to me: I wanted to go to the store, and at the entrance to the senor, she said to me: "No, no, you can't go in, we don't have your size!" In such situations, I would like to say: "But listen, you have to think about clients of different constitutions, people are very different!" It’s not only with plus-size that happens - miniature people have the same problems. All that they can find in the mass market, it is great for them, then too long. We should not forget about such things: we are all different, but each of us should be able to easily find something beautiful of its size in the store. At least, until they invented a magic fabric that will instantly sit on the figure.
About love for Russia
I love Russian. Ochi black-ee, passionate eyes-ee! Such a beautiful, melodic sound! I have a lot of fans in Russia: there is one girl, she leads the instagram Iloverossydepalma. She lays out my photos that I myself have never seen in my life. Every time I ask myself: how does she find it all? She is beautiful, big hello to her. I send love to all my fans in Russia!
PHOTO: Violeta by Mango, Deseo, K.G. Productions, Fidélité Films, ADR Productions
