Interview by Sydney Nash.
Q: You got your start working in television and film industry in Mexico. How did those experiences prepare you for your transition to American film and television? In what way are they different?
A: Mexico was the best training I could ever have. I worked non-stop in Mexico for six years doing shows and movies. I was on set pretty much 24/7, which was great. I got to work with amazing actors and learned as much as I could from them. Working in Mexico gave me confidence, craft, stability and all the strength I needed to get back to the U.S. market.
The only difference between working in Mexico and the U.S. is the budget.
Q: Tell me about your first introduction to performance. When you decide you wanted to become an actor?
A: I was 11 years old. I had my first theatre class in school, and the teacher told us to lay down on the floor. She put some music and during the whole hour she guided us to just feel our breath and our emotions. After we finished the class, I went to my parents and I told them I wanted to be an actor.
Q: Who is your professional role model?
A: My parents.
Q: You starred in Nicolas winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young as Yaritza, which was quite a powerful character. Tell me what it was like to work on this project.
A: It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Nic is a great director, and he is so different from any other director I’ve ever worked. The way he likes the pace, the movement, and the style is so different from what I’m used to doing and from what the audience is used to seeing.
For example, before every scene he would come to me. He would ask me, “What’s going to be your position?” So, I would have to pick a position for my character in that moment (before any rehearsal). Then, he would tell me, “Ok you’re not going to move anymore.” I would have to stay in that position through the whole scene without any movement from my body, not even my arms or hands. Every scene would last between 15 to 20 minutes. Every emotion would have to come through my eyes.
Every day we came to set, he would have a different and even better idea than what was scripted. There was no point to learning the lines anymore because they were going to change anyway. But that’s why he is so great, because he works with what you gave the day before. If he sees something new in that performance, he would incorporate it the next day. He would change things every day, but it was all to make the story better. I was truly and fully immersed in the role of Yaritza.
Q: What would you consider the most pivotal role in your career so far, and why?
A: I think it would be Miss Bala and Too Old to Die Young.
Miss Bala opened the doors for me in the U.S. market, and Too Old to Die Young has been one the most challenging roles I’ve done.
Q: You star in Paramount Networks show 68 Whiskey as army medic Rosa Alvarez. What initially drew you to this project and this character?
A: The conflict Alvarez is going through. Her family and herself are being deported, even though they promised her citizenship when she joined the army. She has lived in the U.S.A. pretty much all of her life. She has no other home but the U.S.A.
To me, it’s very important to talk about this subject, and I can only hope this resonates with people and makes them aware that the only reason we come to this country is to have a better life, to offer a better future for our families and the only way to do that is by helping this country to be better as well. We need to have more stories like this shown on TV and film.
Q: Your character is part of a medic unit that’s been deployed to Afghanistan by the US army but whose father has recently been deported by ICE, which is a storyline that is all too real for many Americans. How did you approach your portrayal of your character in grappling with this conflict? Did it resonate with you personally?
A: It definitely resonates with me. The most important thing for me was to show Alvarez’s struggle between staying in the Army, even though the U.S. doesn’t see her as a citizen and the idea of going to a country (Mexico) that maybe in paper is “her country”, but she has never lived there.
We need to understand that life is larger than a of piece paper (passport). A piece of paper could never define who you are, and that’s why I think we need to tell these kinds of stories more often. People don’t realize that all of the “DREAMERS” don’t recall living in any other country but this one. This is their home. We need to be more empathetic to other peoples’ lives and journey. That’s why art is so important. Art needs to move and touch people’s hearts; it needs to question people’s actions.
Q: The show is both a drama and a comedy. Do you prefer one genre over the other? Which one do you find more difficult personally as an actor?
A: I love doing both. It’s like life. In real life, you have a little bit of drama and comedy. You need to have both to make it more interesting.
Q: What’s your favorite on-set memory from making the show?
A: I have a lot. But I guess the most amazing one was the first week of shooting. It was Friday, and it was a night shoot. This was the first time we were going to shoot inside of the Black Hawk. We shot for around 15 hours, and we were doing our last shot of the day. So we get in the Black Hawk, camera starts rolling, we get up in the air, and as we were shooting, we started seeing the sunrise. I remember we all just looked at the beautiful sunrise and in unison, we all went “Wow”. Instead of feeling tired, we all just wanted to keep shooting. I mean we were flying on a Black Hawk, watching the sunrise and getting paid for doing that. I mean what else can you ask for? I’m truly grateful.
Q: What are you looking forward to most in the next year?
A: To keep doing what I love. To do more films in the U.S. and work in Europe as well.
Quick Questions
Q: Dream co-star?
A: Meryl Streep.
Q: You’re not on set. Where can we find you?
A: Either the movie theater, a coffee shop or the gym.
Q: What’s been the most underrated tv show/movie you’ve recently seen?
A: Capernaum.
Q: If you weren’t an actor, what would you be?
A: Always an actor.
Q: Next vacation destination?
A: Barcelona.
Q: Best meal in Los Angeles?
A: There’s so many… Adamae. Rossoblu. Cassia. Norah. The Factory Kitchen.
Q: Guilty pleasure?
A: Reading the gossip on the magazines while grocery shopping.
Q: Best advice you’ve ever received?
A: Never give up.
Creative Director & Fashion Editor: DEBORAH FERGUSON
Assistant Fashion Editor: JUAN MARCO TORRES
Makeup: GRACE PHILLIPS using Armani Beauty @ Tracey Mattingly