Salma Hayek: 'I Hardly Had Any Memories Of What It Is To Be Mexican'

Salma Hayek: 'I Hardly Had Any Memories Of What It Is To Be Mexican'

Salma Hayek may have portrayed a cold-hearted Mexican cartel queen as Elena in Oliver Stone’s “Savages," but in the September 2012 issue of Germany's Vogue the actress told the magazine that while filming she didn’t feel connected to her past in Mexico.

"I am proud to have been involved in this film with all these great actors,” Hayek told Vogue Deutsch (as translated from German to English). “Honestly, I hardly had any memories of what it is to be Mexican. My life is completely different now."

For Mexican-born Hayek, who got her start in telenovelas such as "Teresa," the statement is a surprising one.

“What did Salma mean by basically saying she forgot what it's like to be a Mexican woman? That she's too French and rich for our blood?” Hispanic blog Guanabee wrote, alluding to Hayek's marriage to French billionaire François-Henri Pinault.

Fans of the 45-year-old actress expressed their discontent with the statement on Twitter.

"Unfortunate declaration," Yohali Resendiz tweeted in Spanish. "Her fame affected her memory."

As Guanabee suggests, maybe something was lost in translation during the interview since the quote sounds rather pretentious -- quite unlike Hayek. Remember her Burger King commercial?

Regardless of whether she has any recollection of what being a Mexican woman is like, Hayek defended her native country on one front -- the drug war.

"It’s true that we have a problem in Mexico and it is important to talk about it. However, the U.S. is playing a major role, even if they claim it is purely a Mexican problem." Hayek told Vogue Deutsch (as translated from German to English) when asked about her work in "Savages." "More than 30,000 people have been killed in the past few years in this drug war -- mainly by arms that come from the U.S.”

In June, the actress expressed a similar sentiment during an interview for “Savages” with Good Morning America’s host George Stephanopoulos.

“It means a lot to me that we're making this movie because I feel like when you hear about Mexico you only hear about the part that Mexico is very violent,” Hayek told Stephanopoulos. “But nobody talks about the part that we're right next to the United States... And all this violence that's happening there, it's done with American arms.”

Check out photos of Hayek in the gallery below!

69th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals

Salma Hayek 2012

Before You Go

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot