U.S. HISPANIC Versión en español
Jessica Caldrello of Casting By: “The Casting Of La Celda De Los Milagros Faced The Challenge Of The Mexican Accent”
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 13 de marzo de 2026
Jessica Caldrello and Guillaume de Fonvielle, Founders of Casting By
Casting By, led by Jessica Caldrello and Guillaume de Fonvielle, handled the casting for the film La Celda de los Milagros (101’), a production by Secuoya Studios and Black Sheep Productions in co-production with The42Film, Rock & Ruz, Angostura and N&L Films, which premiered globally on Netflix on February 13 of this year.
ENSURING THE MEXICAN ACCENT
For De Fonvielle and Caldrello, the biggest challenge of this project was that it was filmed in Colombia, while most of the characters were Mexican. They explained that they conducted in-person casting in Colombia with actors capable of performing a Mexican accent and, when the production opened the possibility of bringing actors from Mexico, they also searched in that country.
“In the cast we started with Sofía Álvarez, who played Yadira, the mother; Gustavo Sánchez Parra, who was already attached to the film, as was Omar Chaparro; we brought Arturo Ríos, who played Iván, the little girl’s grandfather, the one who basically trades his life for that of our protagonist so he can live, and in a way repay all the harm he caused him. Juan Pablo de Santiago also came from Mexico to play Javier, who was inside the cell; Jorge Jiménez played Captain Avilés; Marco Treviño played Director Navarro; Solkin Ruz played Guard García. All these people we brought from Mexico,” Caldrello noted.
They pointed out that this does not always happen. “For example, it has happened to us in Spain where they tell you, ‘we’re not flying anyone in,’ so you have to work with what’s available locally. But here there was some openness to say: ‘for these characters, which are very important, let’s fly people in from Mexico.’ It’s an additional cost for the producer, but in the end it’s better for the project and it’s justified,” they said.
“Most of the main cast was Mexican. But Natalia Reyes, who played our teacher Ingrid, is Colombian and handles the Mexican accent very well; Gonzalo Sandoval, who played Sergio, the fake priest, also came from Mexico. In fact, Gonzalo works with us at Casting By and this was the second time he went to Colombia. The first time was for a series we did with the production company 11:11 called Memorias de un Sinvergüenza. He went as an actor and also as a coach, which is part of the services we offer at Casting By. He served as a coach on the film and on that series, making sure that all the Colombian local talent delivered the Mexican accent correctly. He coached them day by day on set or even days before their call times, fine-tuning the accent,” Caldrello explained.
She added that having Gonzalo Sandoval on set every day, training the actors, was a great advantage for the project. “You also have someone on set who has a more Mexican ear and can say, ‘hey, a Mexican would never have said this phrase,’ and we redo the take. That’s definitely an added value we brought to the project. We not only selected the actors, but also guaranteed their Mexican accent.”
DURATION OF THE PROCESS
Asked how long the casting process for La Celda de los Milagros took, they said: “It was a short and fast process—about two months or a month and a half before production began, and then during the first two weeks of production we were there finishing the remaining characters. Then we continued with coaching throughout the entire shoot.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROJECT
For Caldrello, casting La Celda de los Milagros had a very special meaning. “For me it was very special because one of the executive producers, Mónica Aguirre of Black Sheep Productions, is my comadre, my best friend for more than 20 years. It’s her first project. She opened a production company and this is her first project as an executive producer. It was very special because we worked together at Telemundo. Coming back to work with her was wonderful; it was a project made with a lot of heart. We’re basically family, so what you want most is for it to succeed. I also think there was a strong desire to prove that in Colombia you can make a good product that convincingly portrays Mexico. The result is there—it turned out beautifully… I’ve already watched it three times and I cry every time,” she said.
NINE YEARS OF CASTING BY
Casting By will celebrate nine years in 2026 and, as part of its growing development, the company is about to unveil a new project about which they cannot yet offer details.
They are also working on a project for Amazon, an eight-episode series that “is going to be incredible,” Caldrello said. They added that they currently have four projects underway. “This year I want to work a lot and stay focused, because the industry is changing a lot and you have to take advantage of the moment while things are flowing,” she concluded.
