“I want the audience to know Alicia, not just the actress”: Alicia Mercado’s new challenge leading the hosting of “Yo soy”

There are first times that last just a few minutes and others that remain a lifetime. Alicia Mercado keeps them almost like a personal album: the first play, the first full stage, the first character that changed her career, the first day of filming “Me caigo de risa”. Now, to that collection of memories, she adds another moment she hopes to keep forever: becoming the new host of “Yo soy”.

Read more Colombia prepares for a change of command with a ceremony in Cali and «a 180-degree turn»

“I did the casting and when they told me I got the role, I couldn’t believe it. I always wanted to be part of ‘Yo soy’, although I never knew from which place,” she recalls.

After the initial excitement, doubts came. Alicia wondered if she was ready, what the new challenge demanded, and how she should face it.

“I thought: ‘What am I getting myself into?’. Then I did what actors do: prepare ourselves to take on the task and do it well,” she says.

She looked at “Yo soy” again, but no longer as a viewer. She talked with Jely Reátegui and Franco Cabrera, asked for advice, and reviewed the work of Karen Schwarz and Diana Sánchez, who previously held the position she now occupies. She wasn’t looking to copy their styles, but to understand the rhythm of the format before finding her own.

“I loved the work of both and was inspired to see them perform in that role. But I also wanted to add something of my own, to discover what kind of host I wanted to be,” she explains.

The challenge is no small matter. As an actress, Alicia is used to protecting herself behind a character, a script, and someone else’s story, as in ”Susy: Una vedette en el Congreso“. In hosting, however, she must react in the moment, listen, and show herself without disguises.

“I want people to get to know Alicia a little more, not just the actress, but also the person. Acting and hosting may seem similar, but they have different tools. Here there isn’t always a script and one must be prepared for whatever happens,” she says.

Although years ago she hosted shows on CMD, Canal J, and TV Perú, she feels this experience puts her on a different stage. “Yo soy” maintains the solemnity of a gala, but also leaves room for spontaneity and humor, two registers she will have to move between naturally.

She also knows that comparisons will be inevitable, but they don’t bother her.

“People will compare and they have every right to. I will listen to the criticisms that come with respect and that can help me grow. Those that only seek to harm, I simply won’t take into account,” she maintains.

Stage complicity

In this process, she will have Franco Cabrera by her side, a friend and colleague with whom she had already worked on other projects. The prior trust has facilitated a complicity that Alicia considers essential to sustain the program.

“Who better than Franco to do this with me? He’s a pro and a great partner. Since I arrived, he advises and helps me. I come from theater, where teamwork is everything,” she highlights.

Read more On which channels do Tigres UANL vs. Real Salt Lake play and what time do they play for Leagues Cup 2026?

Music is not foreign to her either. She does musical theater, sings, and grew up in a family where songs were part of everyday life. Her father worked singing in the metro during the years he lived in France, and several of her relatives dedicated themselves to music professionally or as a hobby.

READ MORE: Actress who brings Susy Díaz to life in film: “Playing her is a responsibility I take on with great respect”

“I come from a family of singers. My cousins, Cristian and Lucía Covarrubias, won the Viña del Mar Seagull in 2016,” she recalls.

That closeness allows her to understand what happens behind each participant: the nerves before stepping on stage, the need to be heard, and the hope of finding an opportunity that changes their path.

Alicia knows that wait well. Her career was built among plays, recordings, and days that often took up holidays and weekends. For years she believed she had to accept every offer, even at the cost of rest. Over time she learned to choose.

“When I was younger I wanted to do everything, even if I didn’t sleep or didn’t have time. Now I still invest many hours in my work, but I also try to take advantage of free time to be with my family, my boyfriend, and my dogs,” she admits.

Humor has been another of her resources to get through difficult moments. She doesn’t use it to deny pain, but to face it head-on and lessen its weight.

“Laughter doesn’t hide what hurts; it reveals it and makes it more bearable. In my family, we have always used a lot of humor. Laughing at my misfortunes has helped me keep going,” she states.

Today she faces this new challenge with enthusiasm, but also with humility. She doesn’t know what doors it will open or how much her career will change, although she is willing to learn as she goes.

“I always receive challenges and changes with open arms. I’m sure something beautiful and challenging is coming. I feel ready to learn and to receive what destiny has prepared,” she concludes.