Kepa Amuchastegui
Biography
Kepa Amuchástegui Eloizaga (Bogotá, December 9, 1941 – same place, May 27, 2025) was a Colombian actor, screenwriter, and director. He was born on December 9, 1941, in Bogotá, the son of Basque immigrants. He studied Architecture at the Universidad de los Andes, where he joined the university’s theater group and later became its director. Although he completed his studies in architecture, he chose not to submit his thesis or graduate, preferring instead to pursue acting. He studied acting in Paris at the Université Internationale du Théâtre, then returned to Colombia in late 1968 and founded the La Mama theater. He later traveled abroad again, trained, and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London before returning to Colombia in 1971. Amuchástegui devoted several decades to theater and was initially reluctant to enter the world of television. At age 42, he made his TV debut in La pezuña del diablo (1983), and from then on built a long artistic career as an actor, director, and screenwriter. In theater, he stood out for his role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1983), which he considered one of his most memorable performances, and for his role in the TV series Camelias al desayuno (1985), directed by Bernardo Romero Pereiro. As a director, he gained recognition for memorable TV series such as La casa de las dos palmas (1990), and as a screenwriter for El Divino (1987), Garzas al amanecer (1989), and Perfume de agonía (1997), among others. His portrayal of Roberto Mendoza in the hit telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999–2001) earned him widespread international recognition. Among his most recent projects were productions for digital platforms, such as Bolívar (2020) for Netflix and Caracol Televisión, in which he played the craftsman Gervasio, and the sequel Betty la fea: la historia continúa (2024–) for Amazon Prime, where he reprised his character Roberto Mendoza through flashback sequences and archival footage. In 2021, he received the India Catalina Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his artistic career. In 2024, Amuchástegui made headlines when he revealed through social media and interviews that, despite his long career, he was facing financial difficulties and looking for work, as he did not have a pension and was only being cast for temporary or secondary roles. He continued writing, although his scripts had not yet attracted the interest of television networks. In his later years, he shared his experiences on his YouTube channel. In April 2025, he announced that he had to decline the lead role in the stage play El Padre due to urinary health issues, having undergone surgery in December 2024 and experiencing a slower-than-expected recovery. He passed away on May 27, 2025, at 11:11 p.m., at the age of 84, from bladder cancer, as confirmed by his team through his official Instagram account.
