Viva Vega!

Straight-talking Isela (Ee-seh-luh) Vega, a well-seasoned native of Sonora, is the top female film star in Mexico, where she's made about 25 pictures. Before she became an actress, she was a night-club singer in Mexico City; prior to that she lived for a while in L.A. and tried a variety of jobs, from factory work to cosmetology. She also writes her "own stuff" and, over the phone, she read to us little parables and observations, some in verse, on a variety of subjects. "Play violent," she cautioned, "and only them that really need you will stay. Play the beggar; you will have coins coming your way. Play the fool--let them show you what to do. Play it cool; they will say that you pretend. Play it humble--they'll stick it up your ass." Hmm. "Well," she told us, "if you want to see me from the outside, you might as well see me from the inside a little. I might be very cruel sometimes. I don't know ... I don't have any objective way of looking at myself." For more of la señorita's observations on life and love, turn the page.