Jorge Perugorría Joins Thiago Lacerda in 'Hotel Nacional', a Cuba-Set Drama Heading to Iberseries
Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría has been cast in the upcoming film Hotel Nacional, joining Brazilian star Thiago Lacerda in a drama set against the backdrop of Havana's most famous hotel. The project, written and directed by Diego Corsini, is being pitched this week at the Iberseries & Platino Industria Co-Production and Financing Forum — a market event connecting filmmakers and producers from across Ibero-America and Europe (Variety, 2026-09-07).
Perugorría is best known for his lead role in Strawberry and Chocolate (Fresa y Chocolate), the 1993 Cuban film that earned an Oscar nomination and remains one of the country's most internationally recognised productions. In Hotel Nacional, he plays Rubén, a veteran bartender at the emblematic Hotel Nacional de Cuba — a historic 1930s hotel perched over the Malecón in Havana's Vedado neighbourhood. Rubén introduces the story's central characters to a forgotten cocktail called "Between the Sheets," which becomes a thread connecting them across the film (Variety, 2026-09-07).
Lacerda, known to Brazilian audiences for the period drama Seven Women, stars as Bruno — a grieving man who travels to Havana to reconnect with the roots of his recently deceased Cuban wife. There, his path crosses with Pilar, a Spanish doctor in the city for a conference, at the hotel bar. The two grow closer while wandering through Havana (Variety, 2026-09-07).
Corsini, for whom this is his eighth feature as a director, is targeting early next year to begin shooting. The Spain-based Cinescalas leads production. The Cuba portion of the shoot involves local partners at i4films and is supported by ICAIC — the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, the state body that has overseen filmmaking on the island since 1959 (Variety, 2026-09-07).
The Iberseries forum, now in its fifth edition, selected 20 projects from 14 countries, including Cuba and Spain, for its co-production and financing strand (Iberseries & Platino Industria). Hotel Nacional is among them, giving Corsini's film a slot in front of producers, financiers and distributors who can help move it from script to screen.
For Perugorría, the role adds another chapter to a career that has made him one of Cuba's most visible acting exports. For Lacerda, it is a step into a Spanish-language co-production that draws on the cultural ties between Brazil, Spain and Cuba. The film does not yet have a release date.
