Mexican actor got married to a Potchefstroom girl

Alonso Grandio, the handsome young actor who portrays the role of Mark Perez, in the South African soapie, Rhythm City, recently got married in Potchefstroom. He and his wife, Monique Oberholzer, a Potchefstroom girl, tied the knot at Makojalo on 12 October.

Monique is an Afrikaans girl from Volkskool High  School who studied drama in the USA. They first met at a drama school in Los Angeles in 2014. “I liked Monique the first time we met but was too shy to ask her out. I only later took advantage of her birthday taking her out to celebrate”, says the friendly man with the dark brooding eyes. He not only fell in love with this Potchefstroomer but also with her country when he first came to South Africa.

Today Alonso and Monique are permanent residents in Potchefstroom, living in a spacious, modern house in Miederpark. “I love living in Potchefstroom. I found it the perfect place for my introverted side”, he says.

Alonso was born and bred in Mexico City. With its nearly nine million residents it’s the most densely populated city in North America. Growing up in a city that never sleeps, at first, he felt Potchefstroom was a little bit too slow. He now, however, appreciate its beauty and cherishes the cleaner air and a more relaxed living pace. “And there’s never traffic! You can be anywhere in Potchefstroom in just five minutes”, he adds.

This fine young actor grew up in a traditional Roman Catholic household. He wanted to become an actor since childhood and regularly volunteered for roles in church plays. However, when he wanted to pursue an acting career after school, his parents weren’t too fond of the idea. He, therefore, enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies, specialising in cinematography. “Only after I had completed my bachelor’s degree, I convinced them to pursue my dream and signed up for an acting course in Hollywood.”

Ironically, although Alonso had minor roles in few big-budget Hollywood productions like “Fast and furious 7”, his acting career took off in South Africa. Recently he was even cast in a Hollywood Netflix production “The last day of American Crime”.

He played roles in various South African television productions, but his first major television role was that of Mark Perez, a Spanish sound engineer for the multi-award-winning e.tv daily soapie Rhythm City. This youth drama is set against the backdrop of the fast-paced South African music industry which is playing out in the clubs of Soweto and the recording studios and radio stations of Johannesburg.

Even though the tight schedule of the soapie requires him to be on set in Johannesburg every day, he still prefers to travel daily from Potchefstroom to Johannesburg and back. According to him, it’s more cost-effective, but he also admits that he wants to spend time with his beautiful wife as much as possible.