Gorgeous on the inside, too

HT: Ashli

Friday Five: Eduardo Verástegui

Most CitizenLink calls to action involve petitions or phone calls to senators — not a trip to the Cineplex. Yet this one — a call to see the movie Bella during its opening weekend — is also important.

Bella is a small-budget underdog film with a big message that illustrates the inherent value of life. That’s why Eduardo Verástegui, the film’s leading actor and producer, dedicated three years of his life to the project.

He realized "80 to 90 percent" of what was coming out of the media was "poisoning our society.” So Verástegui set out to make films that not only entertain, but also make a difference — a far cry from the projects that sprung him into superstardom in his native Mexico and across Latin America.

Bella opens in select theaters this weekend. Verástegui talked to CitizenLink about his faith and his journey.

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You visited an abortion clinic as part of your research for your part in Bella. Tell me about that.

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I ended up going to an abortion clinic because I wanted to do research — to understand my character and understand the pain she was going through so I could help her. I thought it would be very simple and easy — just get in there, stop the first young lady and ask her a few questions. Of course, I was very naive and I didn’t know what was going to happen.

When I got there, I was in shock because I saw all young ladies — 16, 17 years old — going in, and I forgot about the film and I didn’t know what to say.

I see a group of people outside trying to convince a lady not to do it. A lady in that group pointed me to a couple who didn’t speak English, only Spanish. The couple recognizes me from the soap operas, and we start talking for like 45 minutes and became friends. We talked about life and faith and Mexico and her dreams. And she missed her appointment.

I called her the next day and said, “Listen, I don’t believe in coincidences; I was there for a reason.” So we built a friendship through the phone.

Months later I receive a call from a man who was there that day and he tells me he has great news: his baby was born yesterday, and he wanted to ask me permission to name him Eduardo.

I couldn’t even talk. I just started crying.

I didn’t plan to do that, but I was used by the grace of God as an instrument to save this beautiful baby. Even if Bella doesn’t sell one ticket, I rejoice in the Lord for little Eduardo.