It's not a joke when I say I didn't know I was "Hispanic" or "Latino" until I got to Hollywood. Sure we spoke Spanish to my Abuelita who lived with us, sure my family had emigrated from Colombia when I was three. But It never crossed my mind that I wasn't white, whatever white means. I just wasn't raised that way. I'm not even Hispanic enough to know what a pocha was when that's what I was called.
I went to Catholic schools with all different colors of kids. Fear and loathing of the nuns was a universal trait, so not much to differentiate us there. My favorite music was The Beatles, my favorite TV show, Star Trek. When I did children's theatre they just slapped dark makeup on the white kids and called them Sharks, and no one blinked when I played the Scottish lass from Brigadoon, or the blonde chorine, Adelaide. My best friends were... I don't even know.. maybe they were ethnic too, I can't remember.
I move to Hollywood and every second audition its, "Can you use an accent?" YES, I'm an expert at Cockney and New Jersey and I do a very good Russian....I suppose you mean can I have an accent showing that Spanish is my first language? What a bore.
I'm just me. I'm proud to be Latina, especially after working so hard in the entertainment industry and fighting to do the roles that don't call for tattoos on my face or a mop in my hands. But GEEZ... My natural accent is Duuuuude, and Whut-EVER. and Oh Mah GAWD. I hate cleaning house, I've never killed a guy and I need to use sunscreen or I'll burn in 20 minutes. I'm a complete Sci-fi nerd and can recite the Alpha Bravo Charlie alphabet.
Huh...Whateeeevvvvveeeer. Later ese.
2 comments:
Oh, Girrrrrrl. I so know how you feel-
I forget I'm anything but a random person until some doofus asks me if I can do accents (and we both know they aren't asking for Welsh)
Well, as any ethnicity other than white, you have a tiny tiny bit of an edge because they can put you in a box. (Not that their box doesn't suck in a hugely limiting way. They have no imaginations) I'm a tall goofy white guy. There's a million of me in Hollywood.
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