by the El Reportero news services
An emotional Benicio del Toro received the Donostia Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival for the “effort” he has put into his lifetime career, a prize the actor dedicated to the “little piece of land” where he was born – Puerto Rico, where he first went to the movies and learned to “dream,” “love,” and have “self-respect.”
Del Toro was presented with the second Donostia Award of the 62nd San Sebastian Film Festival by Cuban actor Jorge Perugorria on Friday in a jam-packed Kursaal Auditorium.
When Del Toro walked down the red carpet shortly before appearing onstage, his fans went wild greeting their idol and taking “selfies” with him. Del Toro was the leading figure of the day at the festival, where he presented his latest film, “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” in which he plays the most famous of the Colombian drug lords.
This is the latest role in the long career of this actor, who was born in San Juan in 1967 and moved with his family to the United States when he was 13, and who, since his debut in movies 25 years ago, has played a long list of characters, all very different one from the other.
Winner of an Oscar for his role in “Traffic,” Del Toro has appeared on the screen as Che Guevara and “Basquiat,” and has worked in such films as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Terry Gilliam, Snatch, and 21 Grams by Alejandro González Iñarritu, with which he obtained his second Oscar nomination.
