Alejandra Herrera will arrive at the FICG with "Over the Waves"

Actress Alejandra Herrera is experiencing a very fruitful moment in her career, having recently released the film "A Fisherman's Tale"—a horror film set on Lake Pátzcuaro , Michoacán —currently in theaters. She is also preparing the film "Over the Waves," which will arrive in the city as part of one of the most important cultural events: the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG). The film festival, now in its 40th edition, will be held from June 6 to 14, 2025, in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

“Sobre las olas,” a co-production between Mexico, Spain, and France, which is also competing for the FICG Maguey Award , is an exploration of matriarchy in which a mother reveals her true personality when money and power come into her life.

Alejandra Herrera plays the daughter of this woman, a young shaman manipulated by the authoritarian shadow of her mother, whose control inevitably spreads to the entire village in which they live.

In an interview with EL INFORMADOR , the actress shared her gratitude for the current state of her career, with a very Mexican horror film that is generating buzz—“A Fisherman’s Tale”—and the premiere of a new film at one of the most important film festivals, both nationally and internationally.

“I'm very happy, honored, and grateful to tell these stories that are so inherent to our culture and our identity,” says Alejandra Herrera. “I love 'Over the Waves.'”

He adds that “the director—Horacio Alcalá—is Mexican, but has lived in Spain for many years. What I really like about this director is that the script is a rough outline; it's not something you have to follow religiously. They give you the character, we create it, we talk about it, and that's it: the actor is fully responsible for the character, how he reacts to things, and for improvising with it .”

Regarding Horacio Alcalá's personality, he explains, "It's great to have this kind of director because you can freely use your creativity, with your colleagues, and I really liked that. I was free to suggest elements, how to do certain scenes, how I visualized the character at certain moments, and we built the film."

Regarding her character, she explains, "I play a shaman who is somewhat manipulated by her mother. We see this matriarch figure so present in Mexican culture, and I'm very excited to be able to present the film at the FICG, where it's also competing for the Maguey Award," the young actress said.

The film also allowed Alejandra Herrera to pursue her own path of interpreting roles and stories in accordance with her worldview, based on what she defends and values ​​not only as an actress, but also as a person.

“ When I choose a role, it has to be consistent with what I think and believe, with the message the film has. I'm very hesitant to do something I don't believe in. It wouldn't make sense to do something I'm not committed to. Things I really want to say, communicate, and interpret, and above all, keep in mind the responsibility one has as an actor, because it's not just about playing someone who may not exist, but rather, one is going to give voice to someone else, to a community.”

Terror with a Mexican label

In addition to “Sobre las olas”, Alejandra Herrera recently released “Un cuento de pescadors”, directed by Edgar Nito, a Mexican horror feature film that focuses on a legend from Lake Pátzcuaro : “La Miringua ”, an ancient creature that, according to tradition, can drag men into the depths of the lake after seducing them with its ethereal figure .

The experience of filming such a movie was thrilling for Alejandra Herrera. “ For me, it was very exciting; it felt like I was acting out the stories and legends my grandmother used to tell me. It was very beautiful. It's also a narrative of our own, a legend of ours, that doesn't absorb the horror elements that foreign films don't typically offer. I'm very happy that Mexican cinema is pursuing these narratives, and that these types of films have their own identity,” the actress says.

What is the feature film about?

According to the official synopsis, the film directed by Horacio Alcalá is set on an imaginary island where a working mother reveals her true personality with the arrival of money and power in her life .

With the submission of the town priest, “Don Marcario,” purveyor of the word of God in vain, he will succeed in bringing an entire town under his feet.

The family's daughter, "Trinidad" —played by Alejandra Herrera— acts as the narrator with her own interior monologue, which guides the viewer in her reverie and also serves as a counterpoint to her mother's boundless ambition.

CT