MIAMI - Karla Souza was in the middle of filming her new Prime Video series 56 Days when her family received devastating news. Her brother, Adrián Olivares, the only Mexican member of the iconic Latin pop group Menudo, had died.

"Being here in Miami really makes me think about him a lot," Souza told me in an interview to promote the series, already available in Prime Video. "I was actually filming 56 Días when he died, and the production let me leave and come back. I was incredibly grateful to them for that."

Souza stars in Prime Video's 56 Days, a psychological thriller based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Howard, in which she stars as Lee Riardon, a woman whose controlled public image masks an increasingly chaotic private life. She shines even more than she did in How to Get Away with Murder, El Presidente, Technoboys, and much more.

The Mexican actress credits her brother for her career.

"Adrián is the reason I felt, or believed, that I had something to do with this artistic world," she said. "He had so much love for music and for what I did," se explained.

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Karla Souza habla de su hermano el fallecido #Menudo mexicano adrianolivares, su duelo y su legado. #56days #primevideo #karlasouza

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Olivares joined Menudo in the early 1990s, becoming a point of pride for Mexican fans at a time when the group was already an international phenomenon. While Menudo was known for its rotating lineup, Olivares' participation remains significant within the band's history.

For Souza, his importance was deeply personal. "He loved everything about my career," she said. "He was like a cheerleader. And having that in my family was so beautiful, because he was a creative who understood, and someone I respected and admired deeply."

She revealed that the siblings had plans to collaborate creatively. "We were going to collaborate together," Souza said. "Every time we talked we'd say, 'What are we going to do? What song are we going to make?' And then nothing."

Olivares is survived by his daughters, whom Souza addressed directly during the interview, emphasizing both their resilience and the long road ahead.

"His daughters, the girls, they're so resilient," she said. "But of course this is something incredibly difficult. It's a process."

interview with Karla Souza 56 days brother adrian valladares menudo
Courtesy/Alicia Civita

Souza placed their experience within the broader context of loss in her own family. "My father died 13 years ago, and I'm still processing that," she said. "So imagine what this is like for them, for his precious girls."

She added that the family is focused on supporting one another as they move forward. "As a family, that's what we have to do, hold each other, support one another with love, and learn how to live through these moments that arrive without warning," Souza said.

While 56 Days marks a major step in Souza's career as the lead of an English-language thriller, her time in Miami has also been a reminder of her brother's presence in her life. "I miss him so much," she said. "And being here in Miami makes me think of him even more, because this was his home."

The series, also starred by Dove Cameron, Avan Jogia and Dorian Missickis already available in Prime Video.

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Prime Video, Interview