Any way you read it, Amado means love
By Dawn Mazzurco, Soap Opera Update, 1990	Home   Cette page en Français

"Amado. When I first saw the name, I thought it must have been a misspelling. Apparently it's a derivation of amore - so I think that basically spells out the kind of things they have in store for my character... I hope !" So says Rawley Valverde, the handsome actor who has been cast in the role of Amado on Santa Barbara. And something tells us that his wish for a romantic side to his character is something that is mirrored by the many viewers of Santa Barbara.

With his darkly handsome face and sculptured body, Rawley and Amado are just what Santa Barbara needs right now - a talented, young leading man, with enough angst and passion to set the town and its female citizens on their ear.

From the first time the people at Santa Barbara saw this striking young they knew they had something special. "I tested last year for Ric Castillo (played by Peter Love), and I guess they liked me enough at that point in time. They had a high school storyline coming up and they wrote me a nice little recurring role last summer." But a short time later, Rawley came face to face with Santa Barbara and its inhabitants once again. "Four months ago, I heard through the grapevine that Santa Barbara was looking for another young Latin leading man-type, but I was at first discounted because I'd already done the show, plus the thought I might be a little old for what they had in mind. So we really didn't pursue it." But after an extensive casting search, all roads led back to Rawley Valverde. "Finally my agent called and said "They want you." It's storybook time."

As for the sculptured body, one couldn't help but to notice it during Rawley's first few weeks on the show. "I was given no primer on this guy" Rawley explains. "I show up on the set one day and the next thing I know I'm being handcuffed to a chair and my shirt's being ripped. I really had no idea what to expect." Obviously neither did the higher-ups at Santa Barbara, waiting a few weeks into his run before signing the actor to a contract.

So let's hope that this daytime "fairy tale" continues to build, with Amado finding a leading lady who can try to tame this Latin lover. Then we can all enjoy amore with Amado in the sunny seaside town of Santa Barbara !