Back in 2017, Netflix had wrapped up their third and final season of Narcos: Colombia, where they covered the violent events that took place in the South American country of Colombia, at the hands of the Medellin and Cali cartel throughout the 1980's and 1990's.
When the Colombian chapters of the series came to an end four years ago, many viewers of the show began to wonder if Netflix would eventually film a series showing Mexico's involvement in the drug-war over the past 40 years.
One of those people was Marilyn Uribe, an actress that was born and raised in Tijuana, a city that would play a pivotal role in the Mexican chapters of the show. The actress says that she never ruled out the possibility of Netflix eventually making a television series of Mexican cartels from recent decades.
In November of 2018, Netflix released the premier of Narcos: Mexico, a series that would highlight the foundation of the Guadalajara Cartel led by Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo throughout the 1980's, and his eventual arrest for the murder of DEA agent, Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.
The series went onto highlight the eventual growth of several drug-trafficking organizations that became independent after Felix-Gallardo's arrest in 1989.
One of those organizations was the Tijuana Cartel founded by the Arellano-Felix family. The show displayed the start, the rise and the eventual fall of the Tijuana Cartel's golden era. But most of all, it displayed how the organization ran their business, which was as a collective family unit.
The family included seven brothers and four sisters.
Actress Marilyn Uribe landed the role of Alicia Arellano-Felix in the series Narcos: Mexico, one of the four sisters of the Arellano-Felix family.
This experience became almost surreal for Marilyn, who grew up in Tijuana during the 1990s, which is the decade that is believed to be the Arellano-Felix organization's most impactful time frame in the drug business.
“Within my projects, I somehow always end up telling a story that has to do with the city of Tijuana, but this is definitely the biggest one yet,” declares Marilyn.
"I have several friends who are older than me, including former professors, who have shared experiences with me regarding that era, making this acting role closer than ever for me," says the Tijuana actress.
Joining the cast of this world-famous television series has been significant to Marilyn from not just a career perspective, but on a personal level as well. With over a decade of filming experience, she says that her involvement in this show finally gave her reassurance that her parents are proud of her career achievements.
"They saw me working all these years, but I never really felt like they were proud of how my career had developed," Marilyn told ChulaVistaToday, "I remember the higher-ups of the series then called me while I was at my mother's house to confirm that I was joining the cast, and I began crying out of pure excitement, and then I saw my mom crying, which made me cry even more." she added.
However, her addition to the cast wasn't an easy path for Marilyn, as she was initially turned down for the role she had first auditioned for.
Marilyn had initially auditioned for the role of Guadalupe, the wife of Hector "El Guero" Palma, one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. Although she was not given the role for that character, she did receive a phone call months after for another opportunity in the series.
"The casting director called me to tell me they want me to audition for another character instead, but that it was a secrete and they couldn't reveal who it was just yet, other than it's a character from a family operating in Tijuana," Marilyn said with laughter, "I told the casting director that I was raised in Tijuana, and that this information alone made it anything but a secrete to me," she added.
On November 5 of this year, Netflix released their third and final season of the Mexican story in this series, putting an end to a chapter that provided intensity, drama, and knowledge about the origins of the drug war throughout the modern era in North America.
Nonetheless, this is anything but the end for Marilyn Uribe's time on-screen, because just like with several actors and actresses involved in the series, this insanely popular project will be a monumental stepping-stone for their careers going forward.
With 11 years now living in Mexico City, Marilyn says that she is only getting started. The Tijuana native sees herself living in Los Angeles one day, where she plans on growing more than ever within her industry.
"There's an empowerment now of being Latino and speaking with an accent, which are things that perhaps weren't so acceptable in the past, so I want to take advantage of those openings going forward as my next goal." Uribe said.
The actress says she is grateful for the opportunities, projects and connections she has made in Mexico City over the past decade, but that she thinks it's time to make the move that transforms acting careers.
"I know I can continue to grow in Los Angeles against the competition that will be ten times more challenging than it is here, but it's something that I have prepared for leading up to this moment in my career," she said.
Marilyn says that starting all over again in not just another city, but another country this time around, is a tough challenge that she is ready to face.
However, above everything else, she sees it as a career-move that sooner or later she will have to make in order to reach her professional objectives.
"I want to at least try it, I have nothing to lose, because the worst thing that could happen is to not even make an attempt," Marilyn stated.
