“I had to relearn how to be Colombian”: David Palacio spoke to Infobae about his character in 'Rhythm Savage'

The actor, a native of Medellín, lived in the United States from a very young age and built his acting career in Mexico, which is why this is the first character that forces him to reconnect with his paisa origin

On March 2, Netflix arrived 'Rhythm Salvaje', a Colombian series in which many national talents shine and that, since it was available on the streaming platform, has been among the top 10 of the most watched in Colombia. David Palacio, is one of the Colombian actors who is part of this production and spoke with Infobae about the importance that 'Checho', his character, had in reconnecting with his Colombian roots.

It should be remembered that this series tells the story of Antonia (Paulina Davila) and Karina (Greeicy Rendón), two dancers from diametrically opposed worlds who share their passion for dance. In addition to them, the series features the national talent of David Palacio, Juan Manuel Guilera, Angela Cano, Cristina Warner, Sergio Herrera, Martina la Peligrosa, Sashua Lopez, Kevin Bury and Elisa Torrente.

The character of Palacio is' Checho ', the half-brother of one of the dancers,' Bombita '(Martina la Peligrosa), who will do the wrong thing to protect that family bond. “He is a real character, you can find him in any neighborhood and in any commune... is a man who, due to circumstances and decisions in life, decides to take the path of microtrafficking. He has to take his younger sister forward, so he uses this to sustain himself, which is not justifiable, but it is very nice that in the series you see the consequences of bad decisions,” the actor told us.

David Palacio es 'Checho' en 'Ritmo Salvaje'. Cortesía

The 31-year-old paisa moved from a young age with his family to Los Angeles, in the United States, where he finished his high school and began looking for opportunities on television. “I started working on television back in Los Angeles pulling cables, then I moved on to productions, in one I started clapping and they paid me to go and applaud. As a good paisa, I started to ask to rummage, I asked the actors where they studied and how they had built their careers, so I thought I was going to do the same.”

In 2011, David Palacio auditioned for admission to Televisa's CEA (Center for Art Education) in Mexico, and won an acting training grant, which led him to move to CDMX. Since then he built his acting life in that country, participating in different productions of Televisa, Azteca TV, Telemundo, Lemon films, W Studios, Univision, Imagen TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime.

Indeed, the one born in Medellín had to return to his city and reconnect with his roots, but he also did so with the intention of avoiding being a cliché. Palacio had in his hands a young man of limited resources, a paisa who, out of necessity, entered the world of drug trafficking, but at no time did he want to become what is often seen in productions, but when he returned to his country, he also wanted to leave a different mark.

David Palacio y Greeicy Rendón en 'Ritmo Salvaje'

The first thing I did was go to reality, go to the neighborhood, to meet people and not fall into the cliché that since he is the man who sells drugs then he is automatically the villain. Checho in the series is a cool that encourages love for his family, not to keep his feelings to himself and it is clearly seen when within that world he is forced to do things that he does not want,” he stressed about the construction of his character.

Actor Paisa has been in productions such as 'La Piloto', 'Beauty and the Beasts', 'Heart that Lies', 'Wild Lands', 'Educating Nina', 'False Identity 2', among others. His first characters as Colombian were made in 2021 in the second and third seasons of 'Ana La Serie' for Amazon Prime and 'Rhythm Savage' for Netflix.

In addition to acting, Palacio has also explored his talent for making music, which he discovered at a sad time in his life. “I discovered a talent in music, when I was in a difficult time, of self-knowledge, I looked in the mirror and did not recognize myself... I fell into a void and I began to narrate my process through music, beautiful things have come out and this year I am going to release more songs that have come out of the bottom of my heart”.

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