S44: Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt

[Whimsy]

Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt

Age: 43

Hometown: Ponce, Puerto Rico

Current Residence: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Occupation: Engineering Manager

Three Words to Describe You: Energetic, adventurous, loud

Why do you want to be part of Survivor? This is the dream! I also want to continue representing the Latinx and Latinas out there (just like some pioneers have done in the past) and hoping some new people get inspired to go after their dreams.

What's one life experience you feel has prepared you for the game? I am a first generation in the States. I moved with nothing and barely able to speak the language. I had to learn and adapt all by myself to succeed in this country.

Which previous player do you identify with the most? Who do you think you will play most like? I absolutely love Sandra. I am from Puerto Rico and if I can be half as good as her, that means I will win once (although I want to compete in the challenges!). After re-watching seasons, I truly like Angelina. She is seen as a "villainess" but I love her female empowerment and her negotiations have changed the game.

What will you value in an alliance partner? Strategic collaboration and encouragement from each other when we get to the "lows." Honesty is also important, but I know this game well enough to know that honesty is very hard to achieve in this game.

Favorite Hobbies: CrossFit and playing board games.

Pet Peeves: Rude people (it is always "nice to be nice"!).

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Beyond my family (which is the best part of my life), I am proud of a few things. I am proud how far I have taken my career. I am proud of all the patents I have. I am proud of all the marathons I have done.

What is something we would never know from looking at you? That I played for the national youth basketball team (12 years old and I was the captain). Or maybe that I have over 40 patents filed.

Who in your life is your biggest inspiration and why? My mother! She does not care too much about material things. She loves a simple life and always reminds me to respect people no matter the circumstances.

Why will you be the Sole Survivor? I am in it to win it. I want to represent those people that may sound different, may look different. We do not have many role models out there, so I would love to win and be a role model for others. And of course, the money would be life-changing.

[LadyChatts]

Exit interviews with Heidi:

https://parade.com/tv/heidi-lagares-greenblatt-survivor-44-runner-up-interview

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-44-heidi-lagares-greenblatt-interview/

-she said that her game wasn't flashy, because she feels in this new era that flashy players go home; she does feel she managed to play a strategic game and have shields in place

-she was worried about making solid arguments at FTC due to English not being her first language

-she was surprised at not getting all the Soka votes since they were together from the beginning (she was glad to get Danny's vote, because she believes he voted for her as a sign of respect for her game play, and not because they were allies)

-she didn't intend to blurt out that she might put herself in fire, but she was seriously considering it.  She didn't want to say anything ahead of time in case she changed her mind, but thinks maybe blurting it out helped make her decision to go for it

-she  would have voted for Carson if he was in the final 3, due to him having the best overall game (it's why she put him fire) or Yam Yam (she said they had kind of an unspoken bond due to both being Puerto Rican)

-she doesn't have a 3-D printer to make puzzles, but apparently her husband gave her a flint after she watched the first season and she became obsessed with making fire that way, always finding an opportunity to use it.  As the reaction of her fire making record, she was on such a high of winning she didn't even see the jury's reaction or let it sink in what she had just accomplished

-she said Danny still didn't believe until they talked that she voted for him, and did so because she wanted to prove she was playing her own game and wasn't just his puppet.  Danny did give her respect for that (she also said that she knew Frannie was going home at that vote, but was under the impression Frannie and Carolyn were going to vote for Danny but she was the only one, and everyone tried telling Danny she turned on him)

-her and Jamie became good friends, but never worked together in the game.  She said some of the moments where she bonded with her fellow castaways are what she wished had made it to TV

-she wanted to work with Tika after the Brandon vote, mostly because she didn't trust Ratu and didn't want to vote with Lauren and Jamie to take out a Tika since they had written down/thrown her name out.  She also felt that if it came down to Soka vs Tika, the people playing the middle would probably go through.  She thinks she would have been 5th if she worked with Lauren and Jamie

-she doesn't think she was playing as quiet of a game as people thought.  She said she made moves on her own, like finding an idol, getting herself to the final 4, throwing Brandon's name out when he was voted off, put herself in fire and won and made the final 3.  She feels she had a good showing with a padded resume, but says if anyone thinks that was a quiet game, maybe she needs to play more flashy next time

As to her thoughts of live final vote->immediate reunion:

Quote

 

How hard was it transitioning from that emotional Tribal Council, and watching someone else win the million dollars, and then having to shift into the after-show?

That was the hardest, I'm not going to lie. That was the hardest thing. And if there's anything that we can change for future generations is, give us a little break in between the votes and then the pizza party or whatever. Because that was seriously…. I didn't show it, but my, my head was like [drops heads down]. I tried everything I could, and I was exhausted at the time. So it's hard to kind of go back to reunion mode. That was very, very hard. We still had a good time and it's fun to talk on the spot, but I wish I had just a little bit of time of processing behind that.