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Mexican actor shows Down Syndrome is not an obstacle

Paco plays a genius, an expert in security systems and software who has Down Syndrome

Paco de la Fuente was awarded the Ariel prize in 2017 - Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
21/07/2019 |13:37Ariel León Luna |
Redacción El Universal
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Mexican television

is trying to adapt to the 20th century and its current issues, especially since they had been previously ignored by mass media .

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In recent year, several telenovelas dealing with homosexuality have been broadcasted in public television , in an effort to be inclusive .

Now Rúben Galindo is joining in and creating a more inclusive public television . During the second season of the series “Not afraid of the truth,” Galindo included Paco , who plays a genius who is an expert in security systems and software and who has Down Syndrome .

The character is also a cyber police agent who is best friends with the main character, Manu , played by Álex Perea .

For Galindo, including a character with Down Syndrome is a way to de-stigmatize people with this condition.

Paco de la Fuent

e has starred in films and television series , including the series “40 and 20.”

The Mexican actor says that he “always wanted to be an actor and my parents supported me, they never said no, on the contrary, they encouraged me and I started taking acting workshops in Torreón when I was 8. The way in which Rubén portrays people with Down Syndrome makes us be seen through another lens.”

Paco, who was awarded the Ariel prize in 2017 for his role in “ The Alien ,” said that he “read the script and I loved it. Paco is strong, he is not victimized for having Down Syndrome , he is another (character) in the story, with the same capacity and that is good because many people with Down Syndrome are like that and that helps us to be seen in other ways and so that there are more roles for us in TV.”

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