SERIES HONORS A TRANS LEGEND
Ortiz’s life paved the way for thousands
The extraordinary story of late transgender icon Cristina Ortiz is a TV series hitting HBO Max Thursday — thanks in part to the poignant signature she gave two award-winning Spanish filmmakers.
Known across her native Spain as “La Veneno” — which means Poison — Ortiz was already a popular TV personality and unintentional activist in the late ’90s. But after the movie-making team ofJavier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi got her “magical” autograph on her 2016 biography — “Not A Whore, Not A Saint: The Memories of La Veneno” — they decided to bring her life to the small screen in “Veneno.”
“She didn’t know how to write, so she just drew a cross,” Ambrossi, 36, told the Daily News from Madrid.
The celebrated directors — known as Los Javis to their Spanish fans and a couple for nearly 10 years — grew up in the ’90s and said they were fascinated by the larger-than-lifeLa Veneno, who spoke openly on television about her experiences as a trans woman and a sex worker.
After reading her story, they were hooked. “It was funny, it was tragic,” said Calvo, 29. “It was perfect.”
Ortiz died in November 2016 just months after the release of her memoir. She was 52. The official cause of death was traumatic brain injury after an accidental fall.
But before her death, La Veneno had already changed history and ushered in a new phase in transgender visibility in Spain as the first trans woman to achieve mainstream popularity.
“She was a star,” said Calvo. She was watched by “every father and every mother” when they were growing up.
Los Javis’ 8-episode series was scheduled to premiere on Spain’s streaming service Atresmedia in March, but the pandemic brought production to a halt.
Jedet, who plays La Veneno in her late 20s, said that she had a very personal relationship with the series.
“I was going through my own transition while I was playing hers, so I got to understand her more,” she told The News.
“My life is easier, because she had such a hard life, and she didn’t have the love she deserved,” said the actress, who is thankful for having “the best mom in the world, and the best grandma and the best grandpa,” who fully accept her.
Actresses Daniela Santiago and Isabel Torres play La Veneno at other stages of her life.
Jedet is just one of about 60 transgender people who worked behind and in front of the camera on the series, according to Ambrossi, who noted the significance of being behind the first TV show in Spain with trans actors playing lead roles.
“I hope the series can help show how beautiful the trans community is,” he said. “How beautiful, and magical, and deep it should be — not traumatic and dark.”
When “Veneno” launches on HBO Max, which bought the streaming rights for U.S. and Latin America, the series will have two versions: one in Spanish with subtitles, and one version in English, dubbed by transgender actresses.
Two new episodes of “Veneno” will stream every Thursday.