Salma Hayek and the behind-the-scenes of "Eternals": "Everyone came to tell me about their problems".

Salma Hayek laughs when answering if she felt like the mom of the group on the set of Eternals. "Yes, because everyone also came to tell me about their problems... and I liked it a lot,'' says the Mexican actress, who at 55 plays the matriarch of the 10 superheroes in the new Marvel movie.

As a sample, the actress said she has "thousands'' of anecdotes. "For example, Barry (Keoghan), who plays the role of Druig, has dyslexia like me and he came to my trailer every day: `Help me, help me with the lines, I'm embarrassed for others to hear me read. And there I would sit with him and we would laugh a lot. Like doing homework with my child,'' Hayek said in a recent interview via video call from London. "He's much younger than me, and he's another actor with dyslexia.

The film follows a group of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have lived in secret on Earth for thousands of years, and now reunite to fight the evil Deviants, a fictional race of humanoids. The cast includes Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, and Lauren Ridloff (the first deaf actress to play a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).

And Hayek, in the role of Ajak, whose superpower is healing, is the only one with a direct connection to the Celestials, an ancient race of beings who possess vast abilities to manipulate matter and energy, and who sent the Eternals on a mission to Earth. The actress, who had already had experience with CGI (computer-generated imagery) in Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids films, said she was surprised by how little the technology was used in the film by Zhao, the Nomadland director known for her rather a naturalistic style.

"Normally they don't use locations (for superhero movies), but all the set design is done afterward with computers. We shot in the Canary Islands and here in the UK and I loved it, it all felt very organic,'' he said, noting that his only CGI scenes are those in which he appears talking to a Celestial. "You're looking at a cross on a green wall while you have thousands of extensions that are heavy and this thing I have on my head, (a kind of helmet) that's also heavy, and I ended up with some neck pains... but I only do that a couple of times.''

One of her biggest challenges was the wardrobe for the film. In addition to the headdress and extensions, some of her costumes were so tight that gaining just a few kilos (pounds) could be a problem. "I was dreading it because the shoot took about five months. I didn't go every day, but in a five-month period where you gain weight, I'm going like this all the time,'' she says, waving her hand, "I was like, 'Oh, I'm not going to be able to go up or down because of those suits...'

"I was right!" he added with a laugh. "After the pandemic, we had to do a couple more takes and the suit didn't fit! It's a good thing it was something very small (what had to be filmed), because it was traumatizing, an embarrassment. But well, it happened to many of us''.

Salma Hayek surprises the world wearing a bikini

It took only four days in 2021 before actress Salma Hayek showed off her shapely figure and delighted her fans with a sensual bikini photograph. The 54-year-old Mexican artist turned on the social networks and captivated the glances of locals and strangers alike. The Veracruzana showed herself in a cocoa-brown halter-neck bathing suit, which highlighted her spectacular curves and flat stomach. Hayek didn't specify where she is in the world, but she did highlight that she is enjoying her last days in a paradisiacal resort setting in the sunshine.

Although she didn't write any description in her Instagram publication, the Hollywood star accompanied her outfit with tortoiseshell sunglasses and a shiny gold necklace. The images show a relaxed and self-esteemed Salma with a positive attitude after a chaotic 2020 that was overtaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a matter of minutes, the postcard caught the attention of more than 16.8 million followers on her social network. So far, the picture has 1,346,457 likes and several comments to praise the famous, who always showed solidarity with vulnerable groups facing health crises around the world.

Such publications are not isolated, since last week the same actress decided to say goodbye to the year 2020 with a series of photographs in nature and from a paradisiacal beach of unknown origin. Salma Hayek, like most people in the world, was under shelter in her house due to the arrival of the pandemic, but she did not waste any time and did try to clear her mind with some sporadic outings and funny comments through social networks.

In the photo posts, she issues to her fans you can read of a Salma proud of her age and the ravages that time has left on her body, such as some gray hairs or even small wrinkles. She also surprised everyone when she shared several photographs of her enviable figure at the age of 54 and others from 20 years ago. Some decided to flatter the actress and commented that "there was no difference between the two photographs".

Salma Hayek celebrates the success of her Netflix series Monarca

Salma Hayek doesn't forget her Mexican roots and that's why she decided to celebrate the most recent success of the Monarca series, of which she is a producer and which is carried by Netflix, with a series of photographs in her Instagram account in which she boasts life-size handcrafted piñatas of two of the biggest icons of her career: artist Frida Khalo and science fiction character Satanico Pandemonium.

Excited because the Monarca series is a global trend, Salma Hayek wished to shout it to her more than 11 million followers with a short text: "I am celebrating with my Frida Kahlo and Satanico Pandemonium piñatas that the Monarca series I produced for Netflix - and it just came out yesterday - is already in third place in Mexico and trending all over the world!

Salma Hayek is the executive producer of Monarca, a series based on a powerful family dedicated to the tequila business that puts the darkest side of Mexico in front of a screen. Some critics compare it as the counter-face of La Casa de las Flores which, while presenting a view of the country's conservative society, does so from a more hilarious and pink profile.

In Monarca, on the other hand, there is dialogue from a realistic and crude angle, without comedy that sweetens the story. The series, premiered the other day by Netflix, begins its plot with Ana María (Irene Azuela), a journalist who lives quietly in Los Angeles, with her husband and daughter. One day, she receives a call from her father asking her to visit him in Mexico, she goes to the request and is surprised that her father has big plans for her: to give her the presidency of the tequila company she runs, amidst large bribes and a quite corrupt system.

Within the cast are found: Irene Azuela (The Hotel of Secrets), Juan Manuel Bernal (Capadocia), and Osvaldo Benavides (The Perfect Dictatorship, with the special participation of Rosa María Bianchi (Amores Perros), Gabriela de la Garza and Daniela Schmidt, among others. Monarca is produced by the companies Ventanarosa, Lemon Studios, and Stearns Castle. Ventanarosa, for its wall, is the production house of Salma Hayek, who filmed the series in Jalisco, a state where the perfect agaves grow to praise the production of good tequila, under the creation of Diego Gutierrez.

Undoubtedly, one of the most recent successes of Netflix that adds one more success in the career of Salma Hayek, the actress nominated for an Oscar in 2003 for the film Frida and who is now preparing to participate as one of the protagonists of the film Eternals of Marvel Studios, along with Angelina Jolie. With Mexican skin, Salma Hayek scored Sept. 15 as a day of double celebration on social networks and affirms - once again - her roots. We recently saw her in Mexico on a promotional tour of her new series, Monarca, and she didn't stop enjoying the country's cuisine and her closest friends.

Salma Hayek has not ceased to show her love for her country, whenever she can. On her last birthday, for example, she shared with her fans a video in which she sang some Mexican hits to the rhythm of mariachi, in memory of Chavela Vargas and, again, Frida Khalo. In the artist's words: "What better way to celebrate my birthday than with my family, friends, good weather in London, a Mariachi band of pure women, lots of tequila, wine, delicious food, love, dancing and singing badly in memory of Frida Khalo and Chavela Vargas. Thanks, Francois, Valentina, and Marjo for this unforgettable night," she wrote on Instagram. Salma, always faithful to their son and celebrates Mexico.