Stephanie Beatriz: "Latinos want to see ourselves represented in a way that seems multifaceted"

Actress Stephanie Beatriz participated in the series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and lent her voice to Disney's "Encanto" (Photo Stephanie Beatriz)

(CNN Spanish) --

Actress Stephanie Beatriz rose to fame for playing Rosa Diaz in the series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

On the big screen, she participated in the musical "In the Heights" and more recently we heard her in "Encanto" in the character of Mirabel Madrigal.

In 2016 she spoke publicly about her bisexuality on her Twitter account.

Two years later she married cinematographer Brad Hoss and today she is the happy mother of her daughter Rosaline.

Perhaps few know that she was born in Neuquén, Argentina, and at the age of three she moved to the United States. She is the daughter of a Colombian father and a Bolivian mother, and has always shown her pride in being Latina.

Zona Pop CNN spoke with her in a video call to Los Angeles about her plans, what it means to be a Latina today in the Mecca of film and television, and of course, "Encanto."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stephanie Beatriz (@stephaniebeatriz)

advertising

Stephanie Beatriz, in favor of telling Latino stories

Stephanie Beatriz Bischoff Alvizuri, her full name, has always been in favor of telling Latino stories that fill the community with pride.

She fights for the main roles in series and films to be Latino.

"More stories are needed from us, in the main roles, more from us completing the cast, more from us as directors, more from us as producers, more and more and more because we have so many stories to tell," says the actress.

"There are so many of us in the United States. We make up 20% of the population in this country. Latinos are not a monolith. We are all kinds of people. We come from all kinds of places. Many of us have different kinds of stories. We want to see ourselves represented in a way that seems multifaceted," she adds.

Pop Zone: Do you think the Hollywood industry still sees us as drug lords or cleaning people?

Stephanie Beatriz

You know, what's interesting is that a lot of the stories that you're talking about, for example, stories that surround crime, everybody loves real crime right now.

So I can somehow understand why things are done like this.

But I also think that what happened to me in "Charm" was incredible.

Colombia has had a long history in the cinema and particularly in the United States.

And it's not always a great performance.

The wonderful thing about the job is that now when a person says 'I'm from Colombia,' people will say, "Oh, like Encanto."

"Encanto" featured the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, Wilmer Valderrama and Carolina Gaitan, among others (Photo Disney)

Proud member of the LGBTQ community

In June 2018, Stephanie Beatriz spoke to GQ magazine about what she posted on Twitter in relation to being bisexual, saying, "I'm bi and getting married this fall. I'm excited, nervous, terrified and happy. I choose to get married because this person in particular brings out the best in me. This person happens to be a man. I'm still bi."

Pop Zone: You are a great inspiration for the Hispanic LGBTQ community in the United States, because they see someone like them.

What does that make you feel?

Stephanie Beatriz

I am very proud.

Very proud to do something to make someone feel more accepted.

I accept myself.

I love myself because whatever your career is, no matter how long it lasts, no one lives forever.

One of the things I'm most proud of is that storyline in the series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" of Rosa coming out as bisexual and the kind of public discussion about bisexuality and in the queer and lesbian community that that sparked.

It's been very, very moving that particularly fans of the show are saying they're bisexual and Latino or maybe they're gay.

I identified with that story.

The characters of Carla (Stephanie Beatriz), Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) and Cuca (Dascha Polanco), give the film "In the Heights" a fun touch.

(Photo Warner Bros. Pictures)

Visibility of Latinos

The most recent project that Stephanie Beatriz is developing is the Spotlight Dorado initiative together with McDonald's in the United States, to elevate Latino talent in multiple industries, starting with film.

"I was telling you that 20% of the population in the United States is Latino, but in reality only about 1% of the Latino stories that are told in Hollywood. So we seek to encourage Latino filmmakers, whether they are a writer, a director or a producer."

"For me, no one in my family was in the entertainment industry. I didn't even know how to get in or what to do or how to get there. And this is an amazing way to nurture these new filmmakers. There are so many of us, there are so many stories to tell." concludes.

Pop Zone Specials