Actress Champions Diversity in Hollywood
At a recent discussion panel on immigration, actress Diane Guerrero kept wiping away tears from her cheeks.
Guerrero cried when Richard Blanco (author of For All Of Us, One Today) read a poem about the constant need for identity among immigrant communities.
She wept when Jamaican-born reggae musician Etana sang I Rise, about the courage of immigrants who continue despite challenges and sobbed when sharing the gut-wrenching experience of her parents being deported to Colombia when she was 14-years-old.
Guerrero is a U.S. citizen, known for her role in the popular Netflix’s series Orange Is The New Black and her most recent participation in the show Jane The Virgin, as Jane’s closest friend, Lina. The show is one of the few TV programs with a Latina as the main character and it truly showcases the Hispanic culture in the U.S.
The event was part of National Public Radio’s “Long Way Home: Immigrant Stories of Old Roots And New Roots” broadcast live from the Koubek Center at Miami Dade College on Feb. 24.
The broadcast aimed to spotlight accounts of diaspora alongside a variety of artists who share stories of their own journey in a live, on-stage conversation.
Miami was chosen as the platform due to its transformation by modern immigration. In 2013 according to the U.S. census, Hispanics made up 65 percent of the city’s population.
Panelists included Miami-based and Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat. Each guest speaker discussed the challenges and victories they have encountered along the way and how their cultural legacies have influenced their approach to life and success.
“Home is where your family is,” Guerrero told host Michel Martin. ”And maybe I won’t get that until my family is together. I’m still trying to find home.”
Guerrero talked about the importance of diversity in the media and how fortunate she is to be part of two very diverse shows.
“It’s showing, it’s representing us,” Guerrero said about shows like Jane The Virgin, “I think we lack a representation of us [Hispanics] and I think that we’ve been calling to see ourselves in the media.”
She understands the hardships that minorities encounter in the film industry.
“We need to change the conversation we can’t stand for comments like: ‘Oh who gave this person a green card.’ We can’t have that bigotry floating around.”
Guerrero’s advice to Hollywood-watchers and aspiring actors is to be united against racism and resilient.
“We need to focus on the fact that we are a community and we are here together and we are stronger in numbers and just be super-resilient,” Guerrero said after the panel. “In this country and in Hollywood in particular it’s the last one standing.”
