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Jorge Facundo Arana Tagle (born March 31, 1972) is an Argentine actor.He is the winner of various awards for television and theater in Argentina. Arana is also noted for his solidarity work.

Early life[link]

Arana was born in Buenos Aires,Argentina.His father,Dr. Jorge Arana Tagle is a recognized attorney of Admiralty law and professor at the University of Buenos Aires and his mother, Mathilde von Bernard is a former hockey player of German ancestry.He has three sisters. He was first taken to an acting class by a friend at the age of fifteen. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Arana received treatment for much of 1989 and underwent regular testing until 1994, when he was finally declared cancer-free.

Career[link]

Early work(1992–1998)[link]

He began performing in Argentine telenovelas in 1992, playing smaller parts. Arana is also a musician, having studied the saxophone. While he struggled to get bigger acting jobs at Telefe, he met a street musician and the two became friends, with Arana performing on the Buenos Aires streets for many months. In 1995, his acting career took off after he was castin the hit telenovela Perla Negra (Black Pearl), alongside Andrea Del Boca. In 1996, he acted in another telenovela, named Sueltos (Loose).

His participation in Montaña Rusa, Otra Vuelta (Lets go for Another Round on the Rollercoaster) a teenager-oriented telenovela, paved the way for Arana to be chosen as Alejo in Chiquititas (Tiny Angels). He played the lead in the fourth season of the popular show; this proved to be the highest-rated season in the show's seven-year run. At the same time, he worked with the well known Argentine actor Gastón Pauls in a play named El Rafa.

Breakthrough,Muneca Brava & film career (1999–2001)[link]

After Chiquititas, Arana was cast in the 1999 telenovela Muñeca Brava, where he appeared alongside Natalia Oreiro. Airing on Telefe, Muñeca Brava became a huge hit and was sold worldwide, with success in over 50 countries and territories. The success of the show consolidated his status as a leading man. In 2000, Arana and Malena Solda played a romantic couple in Buenos Vecinos (Good Neighbors). Later, he starred in the 2001 series Yago, Pasión Morena (Yago, Dark Passion), with actress Gianella Neyra. Arana filmed his first movie, La Fuga (The Escape), in 2001. He also reprised his role as Alejo for the Chiquititas feature film. Both movies did well at the box office being the number one and two most watched in Argentina that year.

Further success,move to Canal 13& Theater (2002–2007)[link]

After four years in Telefe, Arana moved to Canal 13, where he had an important role in the successful police show 099 Central. In 2004, he starred as the title character in Padre Coraje, for which he received numerous awards, including a Martin Fierro de Oro.He made his first attempt on the stage in 2005 with the play Visiting Mr. Green where he held the role of Ross Gardiner,the play had huge success being the most watched play that year in Argentina and led him to win various awards. In 2006, he reunited with Natalia Oreiro for another Pol-ka/Canal 13 production, Sos mi vida, which was the year's highest-rated television program in Argentina.^[1]

Back to Telefe,Solidarity & Everest (2008–present)[link]

In 2008, he returned to Telefe for the thriller soap Vidas robadas for which he also received many awards.Later he started a tour in Argentina with the theatrical play Poder se puede which promoted the importance of early detection of cancer,^[2]and filmed the documentary Donar Sangre Salva Vidas for which he climbed on the top of Aconcagua to raise the awareness of blood donation.^[3] After a small break he returned to the small screen in 2011,again cooperating with Telefe,starring in the romantic comedy Cuando me sonreis.^[4] In 2012 he decided to make an expediction to Everest in order to promote his blood donation campaign,while telefe offered to broadcast a documentary.He reached the base camp at 5,364 metres (17,598 ft) but the Altitude sickness made him stop climbing for a few days,at his second try Arana's illness progressed to high altitude pulmonary HAPE and cerebral HACE edema which led eventually to stop the access and to flew with an emergency flight back to Kathmandu.The news went big to Argentina and after some days to calm his fans he announced that he is good and that the main target of the trip to promote the "Donar Sangre Salva Vidas" campaign will succeed as the flag of the organisation will reach the top even without him.^[5]

Solidarity work[link]

The last years Arana has devoted his life and most of his work to solidarity causes.Being appointed as 'ambassador' of the Fundaleu foundation he participates in all of its campaigns,while he has been the face or participated in several other foundation's campaigns such as UNICEF.^[6] He is the founder of "Donar Sangre Salva Vidas" campaign for which he has filmed two documentaries and supports it consecutive .He also has moved his acting carrer towards this target,with Vidas robadas and Poder se puede with which he traveled in the most isolated parts of Argentina.In 2012 he became the "Godfather" of the first university for indigenous students of Abra Pampa in Jujuy Province.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Besides being a saxophone player,Arana has many hobbies and he has taken part in many extreme sports like diving,water-skiing,surfing,formula and motorcycles races while he has a pilot diploma since March 2006.He is also an amateur climber. Arana holds a blog where he publish his mini stories and he has published some of his cartoons in newspapers. He has claimed that if he wasn't an actor he would like to be a world champion surfer,a climber,a cartoonist or a novelist.^[8]

He had a realationship with the actress Isabel Macedo for ten years.Since 2007 Arana's longtime partner is Maria Susini. Together, they have a daughter, India Arana (born 2008) and twin boys, Yaco and Moro, born in 2009.

Filmography[link]