On November 2, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and the International Puerto Rican Festival launched an event titled, “Cafecito con… Puerto Rican Actors: Luis Guzman and Luna Lauren Velez.” The event was held at the Silberman School of Social Work in Harlem where renowned actors Luis Guzman and Luna Lauren Velez were set to speak about their experiences navigating the entertainment industry as Puerto Rican actors.
Alongside Guzman and Velez, sat another star in the crowd by the name of Elvis Nolasco, a Dominican actor best known for being a part of the award-winning series “Godfather of Harlem”, and “American Crime.”
Guzman and Velez began their conversation by speaking about the struggles they had to personally face in an industry that lacked diversity and Latinx representation. Velez spoke about facing constant criticism for not looking stereotypically “Latina” enough and being turned down for roles where a Latina actress was needed.
“When I started in the business I couldn’t get an audition as a Latina because their idea of Latin was blanquita (white) with long straight black hair and then when I finally did get an audition they wouldn’t see me for anything that wasn’t Latina,” said Velez.
Guzman followed that with a personal story of him going into an audition and the casting director asking him, “Can you be more Latino?” He followed that up with “Can you give me an example?”
When it comes to representation in the entertainment industry the actors specified that representation does not solely fall on what we see on our television screens but who is behind the productions like the writers, producers, directors, etc.
Guzman shared a personal story of when he was in the medical drama series, “Code Black”, and had to go into the writer’s room to correct the Spanish on his script. The person who was responsible for the badly written Spanish, he exclaimed, was a white writer who had said he used Google Translate. Guzman took this opportunity to speak out and educate the writer’s room on the correct way to articulate what they were trying to say.
Although Guzman was proud of himself for speaking up for his culture, the act of not hiring a Spanish writer spoke volumes regarding the entertainment industry not taking the time to educate themselves on how to properly represent different ethnic groups on their platforms.
“I am tired of being stigmatized by an industry that does not understand us,” said Guzman.
Although the actors both agreed that we have progressed in representation compared to when they first began their careers, they emphasized that there is still a long way to go not only in representation but when it comes to our communities supporting each other.
“Instead of figuring out how Hollywood is going to let us in, I think it’s creating and believing and supporting that the stories that we have to tell are worth it. As a community, if we want to change the movie industry we have to be there and support each other,” said Velez.
The actors highlighted the importance of uplifting and supporting their communities when it comes to seeing independent films by Latinx directors and producers who tell their own stories instead of putting money solely into big blockbuster films or products that are only detrimental to the Latinx community.
Guzman, who is a part of the independent film titled “Story Ave”, told a touching story on how the only reason why this film was able to come to fruition was because of two Latino men in Chicago who gave the production a million dollars on top of all the money they had because they believed in them.
Guzman and Velez also specified the importance of pouring into your own communities by employing your people and having them be the ones to represent you in the industry that you are in.
“I have a Latina publicist in Los Angeles and when she walks into the room with me… everyone has blonde hair, blue eyes but I take pride because we all have to promote our people, we have to promote each other and we are capable of doing so,” said Guzman
