Page 3 - Workshop It News Today

And thats latin representation in hollywood. i know you all come from different aspects of it, which is so great. so lets talk about representation. how has it been, being a latin woman, writer, director, in the biz? - it was funny. when i was a little kid, i used to watch tv and movies and everything, and i thought, "maybe they just dont know we exist." - right. - right? like, maybe they just havent heard of us. and then i realized that it wasnt necessarily they didnt know about us, it just-- m...

And since coming on the scene, hes helped reenvision what working in the film industry can be. so i wanna understand how you started, man, because youre really, truly, one of the pioneers who brought independent films to everyone, and allowed everyone to believe that they could possibly make an independent film. you were one of those guys. - its just something i always loved to do. i love being creative. i wasnt very good in school. id be sitting in the back of the class making flip cartoon movi...

- i wanna know what hes saying. - youll find out as soon as i leave. [studio audience laughter] - he made us believe that maybe one day, we too could crack that code. - so in the summer of, like, 75, 76, one of my friends started to drive and almost every day we would go to hollywood boulevard, and wed stop and wed get out, and wed walk up and down the hollywood walk of fame, then youd go to the graumans chinese. - yeah, yeah. - and then, you know, i would see george burns star, and i would be l...

And we as an audience, were a hard audience." - yeah, yeah. - because theres been such a starvation for representation that when one thing exists, were like, "it better represent all of us." - no, yeah. because all we have is one show! - one! hes like, "so what do you think would change it?" and i said, "ill tell you what i think would change it. "for me, its im gonna tell one story "about one cuban american woman that lives in los angeles "thats super, super, super specific to me and my experie...

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And so you feel accepted in the black community. do they accept you as equally even though youre latina? - that was also very tricky because it was-- at the beginning, when they, you know, are like, "oh, yeah, absolutely, you know, youre one of us," and this is great, and then, you know, you have conversations and you go deeper, and of course, theyre fascinated. and youre not ostracized. - right, right, right. - but it was like feeling like i have to give this up to be that? - oh, you felt like ...

Have you heard of it? - yes, of course. yeah, yeah, yeah. - most people dont know the history of pedro pan. so during 1960 to 1962, 14,000-plus cuban children came to miami... - right, right. - and they were gonna be held until america got castro out of power. - yeah. - that didnt work out. now its too many people in miami. - got you, got you, got you. - so we ended up in portland, oregon. - and then you get to hollywouldnt... and what happens? - well, first, i went to england and i went to grad...

And without a doubt, the best mexican food in the country. this is a melting pot with a little bit of all of us latinos. even its name is latino, cause it aint los angeles. nuh-uh! its... [in spanish pronunciation] los angeles. ♪ now, hollywood has become a global mecca for film and a place that many of us wanna reach. but what if i told you that a latino was behind one of the most prolific tv empires in the world? well, its a fact. in the 1950s, cuban actor and producer desi arnaz and his wif...

- all right. - lets eat! - this is the truck, huh? so why this truck, bro? - these are the best tacos. theres great tacos-- - all my friends tell me, who are foodies, say this is the spot. - thats right. this is the spot. so i think we try a little of everything. - sure, sure, lets do it. im down with that. - i think we get you a little pata. - all right. [laughs] were doing "fear factor" here. - no, no, no-- - i didnt know it was gonna be a "fear factor" situation. - lets try something. [upbeat...

Theres all these white guys and me, that was it. - thats gonna be your biography. - thats the name of my-- [laughs] both: "all these white guys and me." - "the gloria story." - thats really true. and then i was doing monologues, i was writing for women of color. cause were nowhere, right? - right. - ill do that, and ill put up a show in hollywood, and ill book a theater. - boom. - "la weekly." they will review your show if you have a six-week run. i get tuesdays for six weeks. - ooh! - pay 150 b...