Julie Gonzalo Pauses ‘My Argentine Heart’ Promo to Deliver Heartfelt Speech on L.A.

Before celebrating the premiere of her new Hallmark Channel movie, filmed in her home country of Argentina, actress Julie Gonzalo delivered a heartfelt message on January 17, 2025, about her adopted hometown of Los Angeles, which has been ravaged by wildfires.

At the beginning of a Facebook Live session to discuss the filming of “My Argentine Heart,” premiering on January 18, the actress said that she wanted to first take a moment to acknowledge the thousands of residents impacted by the wildfires in L.A., where she lives with “When Calls The Heart” star Chris McNally and their two-year-old daughter.

“I would really briefly like to address the Los Angeles fires that are happening right now,” Gonzalo told fans tuning in for her live chat. “It’s really hard to talk about something so fun and so amazing and a really lovely experience that I had a couple months ago, shooting this movie, while all of this is happening.”

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Julie Gonzalo Says She’s Called L.A. ‘Home For the Past 20 Years’

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Gonzalo, 43, was born in Buenos Aires but moved with her family to Miami when she was nine, per the Miami Herald, learning English as she attended school there. Gonzalo later headed to Los Angeles to pursue acting in the early 2000s, eventually landing TV roles on hit series like “Veronica Mars” and “Dallas.”

“I know so many people have been affected,” Gonzalo said of the wildfires as she began her Facebook Live from an undisclosed location, “and whether they’re evacuated or have lost everything, it’s something that has to be addressed.”

“I feel very grateful for the health of my friends and family that are there,” she continued, “and very grateful for the firemen and women who have been bravely combating these fires that are just unimaginable. It feels just horrific to watch, and I can’t imagine being affected right now, as so many are.”

“Before I do speak about something so beautiful,” Gonzalo said of her new movie, “I do want to say that my heart is with you, and my thoughts are with you if you have been affected, and all of Los Angeles — a city that I love and I’ve called home for the past 20 years. And anyway, I just wanted to say that.”

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Julie Gonzalo Says Filming in Argentina Was a Dream Come True

Hallmark

Returning to her home country to film “My Argentine Heart” was “truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Gonzalo told fans gathered for her Facebook Live. “I did always have the dream that it would happen, but I didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”

Co-starring fellow Argentinian Juan Pablo Di Pace, who last appeared in Hallmark’s 2024 movie “Branching Out,” Gonzalo marveled that almost everyone involved in the making of the film were from there, too.

“The most impressive part is that the entire cast is Argentinian,” she said. “The entire crew is Argentinian, aside from a couple of Canadians and (one) American. Everyone else is from Argentina. So the honor and privilege to be a part of this is truly one of a kind.”

Gonzalo said it was a very special experience to be able to compare upbringings and traditions with everyone in the cast.

“I was able to speak Spanish to everyone, it was the coolest thing,” she gushed. “But what surprised me the most was that we were all raised exactly the same. So, I was raised in an Argentinian house my entire life, I still speak Spanish to my parents … (and the cast) were all relatively close in age. So I think we all had the same upbringing. We had the same foods we love, we had the same music we love. We had the same things our parents used to say to us when we were little kids. Christmases were very similar. Like, everything was so connected.”

According to Hallmark’s synopsis of “My Argentine Heart,” Gonzalo plays Abril, who “goes to Argentina to save her family ranch from being bought by her ex. But when outside forces threaten the ranch the pair must come together, rekindling their love in the process.”

When Hallmark shared a social media preview of the movie on January 14, Di Pace commented on Instagram, “Happy to be part of this international Hallmatk revolution. And the fact that 100% of the cast was Argentinian, every single one… 🙌🙌🙌🙌”

“My Argentine Heart” premieres on Hallmark Channel at 8 p.m. Eastern time on January 18. The movie will be available to stream the next day on Hallmark+ and will also re-air several times on Hallmark Channel, including on January 19 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.