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Juan Diego Botto

Juan Diego Botto as Felipe Juan Diego Botto Rota was born August 29, 1975 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He is the son of actor Diego Fernando Botto and actress Cristina Rota.  Botto has two siblings:  Maria, who is his elder by two years, and Nur, who is four years younger.  Botto is not married, but lives with the actress Ana Rayo.

Juan Diego Botto's father disappeared while Argentina was under the military leadership of Videla.  The family fled from Argentina to Madrid where Botto trained at his mother's acting school.  Botto later continued his studies in New York.   He made his film debut in the 1982 movie, Juego de Poder.  Except for Zorro, all of Botto's work has been in foreign-language films.

From what is known of Botto's life, it appears that some of his own personal history became Felipe's personal history for the Zorro series.  The disappearance of Botto's father and the fleeing of his family from Argentina closely parallel Felipe's memory in the series of his parents fleeing the fighting between the rebels and troops and of the resulting loss of his parents.  Botto's experience in Argentina has had a profound impact on his life.  He is an active member of HIJOS, an organization formed by the children of missing and exiled Argentines.

Sources:

www.imdb.com
www.efp-online.com/html/shst1998/shst_1998_bott.html
http://galeon.hispavista.com/mordecai/Botto.htm
http://www.iespana.es/juandiegobotto/biografia.htm
http://www.cine-espagne.com/banque/acteurs/bottorota.htm

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New World Zorro Main Page Cast Bios Character Bios Complete Episode Lists Cast and Crew Interviews
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