Page 15 - Demo

MOST MAGAZINE - ISSUE 8015MOSTMAGAZINEQ: THEATER AND FILM REQUIRE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PERFORMANCES. WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT EACH MEDIUM? A: Oh, definitely. I love both for very different reasons.Theater, for me, is so much harder. It%u2019s a place of growth. The audience is right there with you, reacting in real time%u2014so you know instantly whether you%u2019re taking them on the ride%u2026 or not. And what%u2019s wild is that it can be one thing one night, and something completely different the next.I%u2019ve loved my experience with theater because while you do the work beforehand, the character continues to grow every time you step on that stage. It%u2019s alive. It%u2019s never finished.Now film... I%u2019m a sucker for subtlety. When I watch someone barely react on screen%u2014but I still feel everything they%u2019re going through%u2014that%u2019s magic to me. That%u2019s the kind of actor I strive to be in film and TV. Quiet but undeniable. Honest, even in stillness. Q: YOU%u2019RE PASSIONATE ABOUT TELLING STORIES FROM THE LATINA, INDIGENOUS, AND AFRO-LATINO PERSPECTIVES. WHAT KIND OF STORIES DO YOU FEEL STILL NEED TO BE TOLD IN HOLLYWOOD?A: Oh boy%u2014where do I start?!There are so many real-life heroic stories from our communities that haven%u2019t even been touched yet. The history of our people on this land is rich, powerful, and often erased. I can name three scripts off the top of my head I%u2019d love to write, and I already have one personal journey that The Low End Theory pays tribute to: genre.People love genre films%u2014but how often do you see a Latina, Indigenous, or Afro-Latino lead in one? Or even in the room behind the camera, to be honest. It%u2019s wild. Like, how are we still watching five-season shows set in NYC without a single Latino character? Come on. Tell me you%u2019re in a studio bubble without telling me you%u2019re in a studio bubble. Am I right?I don%u2019t need every story to be about us%u2014I just want stories where we exist. Where we live, breathe, thrive, mess up, fall in love, and survive. Just like everyone else. We don%u2019t need to be explained%u2014we just need to be there.That%u2019s why producing has become such a powerful part of my journey%u2014because I don%u2019t want to wait around to be cast in someone else%u2019s version of the world. I want to build the world where we already belong. Q: AS AN ACTOR, PRODUCER, AND PODCASTER, HOW DO YOU BALANCE THESE DIFFERENT CREATIVE ROLES?It%u2019s definitely a balancing act, but it all feeds the same mission%u2014storytelling with impact.Acting grounds me in the emotional truth, producing gives me control over the bigger picture, and podcasting lets me connect with real people in real time. Each role strengthens the other. It%u2019s not always easy, but when you%u2019re passionate and intentional, you make the time.