it takes the right people at the top to know better and to do better. I think
that's why identified has been such a success, and I think it's going to be
kind of a blueprint for more to come. E o. It is so good to see you. The last
time I got to visit with you was live in New York City on Send You play like
a Mexican snack taste test with us. But it was so far. So tell us a little bit
about the show and where it centers. Identified follows a Mexican family,
the Morales family, and they are centered in Mama Tina's, which is the
grandfather's taco shop in Boyle Heights, which is an actual
neighborhood here in Los Angeles. They're actually going through
gentrification, which is happening in so many parts of America. There, in the
crossfire of Do they like Salau, or do they strap up their boots and kind of
just like do what they've been doing? But if they do that, do they, like, get
left behind? Because the town is changing. My role is Jessica Castillo,
who is Anna, the lead of the show. It's Anna girlfriend Jessica is an activist.
She moved to Boyle Heights when she was a teenager on. She fell in love with
the neighborhood and the town and its people. And now she is kind of like not
going with what's happening with gentrification. And she's one of the
only ones that standing up to the people that are coming and buying out
and wanting to help out her neighborhood and let it let the culture
sit there as it should. I'm out here enjoying the day when there's a long
list of people waiting for a miracle. I know it's an all that next cast, but
are the writers all that next as well? Yeah, it's so I think that's why it's
so beautiful, right? Because that's how you get authenticity when you are
writing what you know. This season, there's actually only one person who is
an African American male. But besides that, everyone's Latin ex, and that is
so cool to see. I've never seen a writer's room like that ever. I feel
that something like a hint ified where not only the writers are people that
look like us, but also the execs. Actually, I want to say there was only
one white exact. Everyone is a color, and most of them are women. It takes
the right people at the top to know better and to do better. I think that's
why identified has been such a success, and I think it's gonna be kind of a
blueprint for more to come. What is your favorite part about playing? Yes,
a gun. What have you learned about yourself from this role? It's just the
fact that she's unapologetically herself. She's queer woman. She's brown,
she's black, she's Dominican and she's walking in. Her power like that to me
is amazing. What has he got taught you? I think I love is love is love, right?
I myself am not a woman in the queer community. I am Ally absolutely, or an
LGBTQ plus community walking into it. I was skeptical of like how would I play
her but truly represent a woman that it was a queer woman. I wanted to do right
by her and tell her story correctly. I know what love is. I know what it feels
to be loved. I know what it is to love and to hug and kiss and to feel And so
I brought that to Yesica because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who
that person is. It just matters if you love them. And so I've grown so much
because of her. Thank you for looking out for my family. Taleban. Ah, you
gotta love her family. And I have to say congratulations because you guys
were renewed for a season two. Yeah, coming Season two is happening. I'm so
excited about that. Is there anything that you know about Season two? I know
is that they are bringing the heat and it's gonna be so good. Like, I think
you're gonna be like season one. Know, this doesn't even compare. I truly,
truly do believe that the characters are more explosive. You're getting a
deeper dive into their personal lives a little bit more. And I think that's
gonna be cool within your Latina. How do you identify and what is it like
living that identity in Hollywood? You know what I identify as the Latina?
Which is why sometimes I say that something Latin I also identify as a
Hispanic. I come from Miami and Miami. We always said, Oh, I'm Hispanic like
That's just how we grew up. I remember seven years ago that I would walk into
a room going in for a Latina role and they'd be like, You don't look like
what we were expecting. And then when I would walk in for a African American
role as soon as I open my mouth, they were like, No, that's not what we want.
You have an accent that doesn't make sense. And so I was kind of like in
limbo between two worlds. Yeah, and not knowing what I identify with. And how
do I make this a career out of being true to myself because what I won't do
is be a sellout or or change who I am for the sake of ah, career. Do you feel
like Hollywood is becoming more inclusive? I dio I feel like I feel
that way, and I think that I could say proudly that I feel like I'm attributed
to it, right, because I'm not changing who I am. I'm also being very vocal on
what Afro Latina is and what that means and what's going on and how we need to
do better. I think that everyone should know that there is not one country in
Latin America or the Caribbean that doesn't have black people, regardless
of where they are. I don't care if you're talking about Mexico. I don't
care if you're talking about Cuba. I don't care if we're talking about
Honduras. Every country in Latin background has black people. So we have
to remember. If you're proud of where you come from, you have to be proud of
everywhere that you come from and everything that you come from,
including the black brothers and sisters, that we're talking about the
black Latinos. And so this black lives matter movement. It's such an effect
right now. And that, I would say, has attributed to a lot of people waking up
and also owning who they are and being able to speak up and speak probably
about who you are. Yeah,