From Tamer to Olga: Warm Letters Across the Mediterranean

In this intimate letter that drifts gracefully across language and sea, Egyptian writer and journalist Tamer Salah El-Din addresses Spanish actress Olga Mancea, reflecting on truth, art, and the quiet power of sincerity. The piece continues a dialogue that began when Olga responded warmly to his earlier review of her performance in Arturo Dueñas Herrero’s film Secundarias.

The Arab world today reads only two kinds of writers—those of power, and those against it. I am neither. I am not a writer of the establishment, yet I hold no hostility toward it. So, those searching for applause or scandal will find neither in my work.

Once, I wrote news reports, investigations, and opinion pieces for a range of newspapers—independent and oppositional alike. Back then, the telephone was a constant companion, ringing at seven or eight in the morning, or deep in the night: an angry official, a nervous politician, or a man of authority alarmed by something I had written. The calls that came just before dawn, however, were usually from the editorial desk—verifying a story, weighing the risks of publication against the strength of truth carried by my words. Sometimes the editor-in-chief would call at six a.m., assigning an urgent investigation or checking that I was following unexpected overnight events. In every case, I answered on the first ring.

Much of what I wrote in those political pages was later cited by officials as evidence—of corruption, negligence, complicity, or even as signs of a coordinated act against the Egyptian people. I have always looked truth in the eye. I still do, and I still believe in it, despite everything.

It amazes me, Olga, that you have done the same—in your own field. You captured my attention and senses through a performance shaped by experience and passion. You looked into the soul of your role and into the audience’s eyes—but never into the camera, perhaps because it was never part of your inner compass. Your gaze turned inward, seeing yourself as a queen from history, a woman of the present, and an artist for all times. You played two distinct characters as if you possessed two selves, holding each with the delicate mastery of a hunter—firm enough not to let the bird escape, yet gentle enough not to crush it. You kept it alive, warm, and vivid, as only an artist can.

Curious about your name, I looked it up—and was surprised. Olga is not Spanish in origin, but Scandinavian, derived from the ancient Helga: “the sacred one,” she who carries an inner light, who forgives without words. Because of that, your name appears often in world literature, forever linked with forgiveness, purity, sanctity, grace, and the quiet act of helping without being asked. You embodied all of that in Secundarias, the film by Arturo Dueñas Herrero. Of course, names can deceive—one may bear a sacred name yet act cruelly. But you, Olga, are pure-hearted, and the proof lies in the kind words you sent in reply to my piece about your performance, passed along by Arturo himself. You thanked him for his direction, praised your colleagues, and expressed joy that this art had crossed the Mediterranean and found appreciation in another culture.

Allow me to share a belief of mine: some things in this world require no translation—the language of birds, the rustle of trees, the changing of the seasons. Other things we simply gaze at with wonder: the colors of the sky, the rhythm of waves in a calm sea, the same waves rising like mountains in a storm. There are sensations we feel without awareness: the pure air drifting over fragrant orchards, the scent of rain shifting from countryside to city, the sting of desert winds, the chill of night, and the warmth of a sunlit day. Art expresses all of this. It needs no language, no soundtrack.

I believe that watching your general rehearsal—without music or effects—would have led me to the same conclusion: that you possess a luminous presence which crosses borders and speaks directly to the heart. Perhaps I write these words filled with nostalgia, moved by the tenderness of your message.

May the waves of the Mediterranean one day carry me to a live performance with you as its radiant star.

Until that moment, art shall remain our shared language—

you, creating; and I, in awe, finding purification through wonder.

     Tamer Salah El-Din – Egypt

Writer, journalist, and founder of Caffeine Art News, exploring the intersections of art, truth, and emotion across cultures.