I recently came across a story that Mauricio Ochmann shared years ago, and honestly, it’s quite intense. The actor was traveling by road when his driver told him he needed to refuel, which seemed strange considering the trip was short. He arrived at the gas station and suddenly someone knocked on the window: “The boss wants to meet you.” With not much choice, he got out of the car and found himself surrounded by several trucks.

What’s fascinating is that during the encounter, everything was quite calm. The guy gave him a hug, explained that he intercepted him because he didn’t know how else to meet him. Ochmann says they behaved well, everything was respectful. But later, when he googled to find out who he really was, he discovered that the guy was “heavy,” as he puts it. Weeks later, he saw a news story: he had been killed.

Now, here’s the interesting part when we think about who El Chema is in real life. The character Ochmann played in the series is inspired by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the founder of the Sinaloa Cartel. That is, Ochmann was portraying on screen the life of one of Mexico’s most notorious drug traffickers, and then he ended up meeting someone from the same world in person. Life imitates art, doesn’t it?

What caught my attention most was that years later, Ochmann reflected on why he decided to step away from the role. It wasn’t because of the encounter itself, but because he realized something deeper. During his tours in Mexico and the United States, he noticed that his audience included children from 5 to 13 years old who admired him specifically for being El Chema, not for his work as an actor. He questioned the message he was sending, how he was idealizing drug traffickers for the new generations. That made him reconsider his participation in the series.

It’s interesting because while Ochmann decided to leave the genre, other actors like Rafael Amaya continue exploring these stories, but apparently from different perspectives. What’s clear is that the question of who El Chema is in real life continues to resonate, especially when you see how these stories impact the audience, particularly the younger ones.