Los Angeles audiences will have an opportunity to witness art used as a powerful form of activism when Constance Marie and eight other actors take to the stage to read monologues inspired by true stories of families and communities affected by ICE.  Malice: Stories of Injustice, a special two-night theatrical event at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

The monologues are inspired by real stories and written by Vivianne Nacif and Juan Pablo Oubina 
Directed by Vivianne Nacif.

Performances will be on March 10 at 8PM (Constance Marie will perform on this day) and March 11 also at 8PM. The performances feature nine monologues inspired by real-life stories of individuals affected by immigration enforcement actions. The fundraising event is designed inform and create community around the topic of immigration, not only as a theatrical experience but as a fundraiser with all proceeds going to help support and aid immigrant detained and/or their families.

Post-show discussions after each day’s performance will give the audience an opportunity to engage with the cast, writers, directors and discussions and learn what and where help will be provided for immigrants navigating the new challenges they face with ICE raids.

In addition to Marie, the actors (and the roles they will play) donating their time and talent to these two day charitable performances include:

Eduardo Enrikez – Francisco (Paletero) 
Angelines Santana – Linda (Tamalera) 
Alejandro Cardenas – Andry Hernandez (make-up artist) 
Iran Daniel – Alma (Home Health aid worker) 
Eduardo Enrikez – Marcos (Gardner) 
Constance Marie English performance only – Angeles (Agricultural worker) 
Vivianne Nacif   – Mariana (Jazmin’s mom) 
Alex Peña – Antonio (Daca Recepient-uber driver) 
Maria Jimena Gastelum -Sofia (US citizen College Student) 

All proceeds from the performances will benefit Mar Vista Voice and West Los Angeles Rapid Response Network, grassroots groups working on the front lines to provide legal aid, emergency response alerts, and community support for families impacted by ICE detentions.

The evening brings together actors who will portray the voices of individuals whose lives have been directly affected by immigration enforcement. Rather than statistics or headlines, the monologues present deeply personal narratives that reveal the human impact of policy.

“These monologues are based on are real people,” said Marie. “They’re not numbers or talking points. Many of them have lived in this country for decades and contributed enormously to the communities they live in.”

Marie will perform during the English-language performance on March 10, portraying an agricultural worker whose story reflects the experiences of many essential laborers. The Spanish-language performance will take place March 11, bringing the stories to Spanish-speaking audiences.

Among the characters represented are long-time residents, workers, and even a DACA recipient studying law whose life was disrupted by detention.

Art as Action

For Marie, whose decades-long career includes iconic roles in films like Mi Familia and Selena and starring as Angie Lopez on George Lopez (2002–2007) and Regina Vasquez on Switched at Birth (2011–2017) and most currently in TV showrunner Gloria Calderon Kellett’s With Love, working on Malice reflects her belief that storytelling can play a role in social awareness and community engagement.

“The antidote to despair is action,” Marie said. “People can protest, they can donate, they can post online — and this performance is another way to take action. Creative resistance is important right now.”

Audience members are encouraged to attend, bring friends, and engage with the community through the event and enjoy an evening is meant to be both moving and empowering.

For Marie, being part of this creative fundraiser is more than doing a monolough of another persons’ real life experineces with ICE — it is personal. “The hardest part for me is being in a country where I am a citizen but because the color of my skin i’m asked for my papers. I’m indigenous but because i’m brown I have to worry about the racial profiling that’s happening.”

Malice: Stories of Injustice performances will take place at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles with two performances:

• March 10 — English-language performance (featuring Constance Marie)
• March 11 — Spanish-language performance
• Time: 8:00 PM

Tickets and donation information can be accessed through Constance Marie’s Instagram, @GoConstance, where a link and QR code are available for purchasing tickets or contributing to the cause, or at The Odyssey Theater website. Donations can also be made online at the Odyssey Theater Support Page, However, make sure to to indicate your donation is restricted funds to be used only for Malice charities.

Marie leaves us with an ecnouraging thought, “Right now many people feel overwhelmed. But community is the answer. Remembering our humanity and our shared stories are essential.”

The post Constance Marie On The Power of Creative Resistance Thru The Arts ‘Malice: Stories of Injustice’ first appeared on .

It made big news when it premiered in August and is coming back with more of the irreverent comedy that audiences loved.  This Fool, the Hulu Original comedy series, produced by ABC Signature has been renewed for ten more episodes of creator and star Chris Estrada’s comedy series.

Season one of This Fool premiered this year on August 12 streaming on Hulu with 10 episodes. You can still watch it if you have not seen it and want to get up to speed for season two.  The series is written and executive produced by Chris Estrada, Pat Bishop (Corporate), Jake Weisman (Corporate) and Matt Ingebretson (Corporate). Jonathan Groff (Black-ish) and Fred Armisen (Los Espookys) also serve as executive producers on the series. 

This Fool is a half-hour comedy about a working class ordinary (very ordinary) “Joe”.  Julio Lopez is a 30 year-old man who still lives at home, a prim and proper, self-righteous man with an on-and-off girlfriend who, the worse she treats him the more he pursues her.  She is his high school sweetheart…who is not very sweet to him.  Julio works at a non-profit gang rehabilitation where he takes his cousin, recently released from jail, in hopes of rehabilitating him.  Which is easier said than done.  

At Hugs Not Thugs, the non-profit works for, Julio takes his job of reforming his ex-gang member cousin seriously, but it proves to be harder than he imagined.

The supporting cast is stellar.  In addition to Estrada who plays the lead, Frankie Quiñones who plays Julio’s cousin,  Laura Patalano plays his mom Esperanza; Michelle Ortiz plays his girlfriend Maggie, veteran actress Julia Vera plays Maria his grandmother and Michael Imerioli plays Minister Payne.  

This cast of characters quickly endeared themselves to a ready audience who have been waiting for season two!

Chris Estrada is repped by United Talent Agency

Cowboys Movies Back in The Saddle Again

Not sure how much Kevin Costner’s western series Yellowstone has had a hand in raising the profile of the western genre, but Indie filmmaker Mario Van Peebles (Power Book III: Raising Kanan) just wrapped production on a new western called Outlaws which he directed and stars in.   His cast includes Whoopie Goldberg (Till), Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood) and Edward James Olmos (Mayans M.C.) 

Van Peebles plays a renegade cowboy who assembles a team of multicultural friends to help him retrieve gold from an abandoned mine. It sounds like the feature Oceans 11, western style!  We are glad they included Olmos as one of the main characters because how can you make a movie about cowboys without them, when Mexicans invented the iconic cowboy genre.  Words like Buckaroo is an Anglicized form of the word in Spanish “vaquero” and “la reata” became lariat.  

Westerns are making a comeback and stories of Mexican “Vaqueros” are currently in development.  More on that in next week’s Hollywood Talks!

Edward James Olmos is repped by Ben Dey of Creative Artists Agency

Get Ready for Anna Garcia

You may not know Anna Garcia (Hacks) but soon you will.  She is a graduated of  the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Film and moved to L.A. in 2017..  She was a stand out in the 2022 CBS Comedy Showcase and after making appearances on TV shows like Hacks, Superstore and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, she is now ready for her film close up.

Garcia landed a much sought-after role in what will be her feature film debut in Project Artemis where she will work alongside Jim Rash (Harely Quinn), Ray Romano (Parenthood), Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: End Game) and Channing Tatum (The Lost City). 

The film, whose plot line is listed on IMDB as “under wraps” is rumoured to be a 1960s space race film.  It is being directed by Greg Berlanti for Apple Studios and produced by Johansson, Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn of These Pictures.  Rose Gilroy and Sarah Schechter wrote the script.

Anna is repped by Valerie Champeau at Paradigm Talent Agency 

The post ‘This Fool’ is Back for Season 2; Cowboys Ride Again; Here Comes Anna Garcia first appeared on .

By Bel Hernandez Castillo

David Damian Figueroa is an artist, storyteller, and activist at heart.  He is also a producer and an author whose second book “El Oz”, a new children’s book loosely based on “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is top on the Fiction Bestseller list at publisher Lulu.com.

Four years ago David Damian moved from Los Angeles to La Quinta in the Coachella Valley, a two-hour drive East of L.A.  Since then he has written two books, produced a TV talk show pilot, three independent films, poetry, and digital art exhibited in museums. He is currently also working on developing two reality television shows.  The move definitely suited him.

We wonder how he finds the time to do all this when he is also working full-time as the Director of Development with the non-profit organization Farmworker Justice whose work helps to improve farmworker’s living and working conditions.

His mother’s untimely early death left a void in his heart, a need to live more fully.  “When she passed away it left this longing in me,” Figueroa explained.  “Life is to be enjoyed, life is to be experienced. Whatever amount of time we have we need to say, ‘I can do this. I can be that…why can’t I have that?’”

Loosely based on “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum, “El Oz” tells the story of a young girl from El Pueblito de Los Milagros, Dolores, and her Chihuahua, Pepito.  They live on a ranchito with Tia Tonia and Tios Ozvaldo, Wilfredo, Pablo, and Leonardo. Dolores’ simple life is filled with dancing, chores of feeding the farm animals, laundry, and cooking meals for the family. Her Tia and Tios struggle to make ends meet and pay the rent to Señora Vicenta the landlady.  When a sudden rainstorm hits Dolores and Pepito take cover falling asleep under a large tree. When they awake, they find themselves in a strange land. A place where flowers with faces sing and her dog, Pepito, can now speak. 

El Oz is Figueroa’s personal tribute to one of his heroes, civil rights activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Dolores Huerta, as well as his farmworker family back in Yuma, Arizona.  “They have taught me the value of hard work and never giving up on one’s dreams.”

In the book, a hummingbird guides Dolores (named after his hero Huerta) to the guardian Necaxa, who gives her a red heart-shaped necklace for protection and instructs Dolores to follow her own heart, down a Talavera-tiled path to Ozlandia to meet El Oz. Only he can help her to return home. Along the way, Dolores and Pepito meet Necaxa, Los Chiquitos, El Empresario, and befriend Welo, Hierro, and El Leon. They help protect Dolores from the evil and wicked La Chaquetza and Los Malalas.

David Damian is executive producer of  “Pepe Serna Life is Art,” a documentary about the amazing life and career of veteran actor Pepe Serna. The film was an official selection of The Palm Springs Film Festival. David Damian also produced Abuelo, a short film starring Serna which was accepted into the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Market Section. He is also an executive producer on Food Chains, a documentary about the plight of U.S. farmworkers that premiered at Berlinale – The Berlin International Film Festival.

David was recently interviewed on Latin Heat’s Hollywood Talks by Bel Hernandez.

El Oz is available at all retailers including lulu.com, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Amazon, Google Books and Apple Books

Product Details:
ISBN-13: 9781678011451
Publisher: Lulu.com
Publication Date: 02/22/2022
Pages: 118
Dimensions: 6 X 9

The post Producer/Activist David Damian Figueroa’s New Book ‘El Oz’, A Journey of Discovery first appeared on .

Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion revolves around a U.S. Latino family.  It’s about superheroes, family with they their beautiful culture at the centerpiece.  The cast is headed by Scarlett Estevez (Bunk’s Lucifer) who plays Violet Rodriguez AKA  Ultra Violet and her Uncle Black Scorpion played by J.R. Villareal (United We Fall).

After reading the first script of the show, Leyva’s mind raced back to the 90s films he grew up watching. “I automatically thought of the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, 1989 Batman,” he explained.  “All movies that I idolized, all with a specific look.”   

Leyva went in for his first interview with Disney with his ideas on how he would shoot the show.  “I turn words into pictures. I told them that this was something that had to be stylized, single-camera as much as possible.”  

After shooting UltraViolet, he was off to Atlanta to shoot a project for the multi-hyphenate, entertainment disrupter, Tyler Perry.  Although Leyva has shot several movies of the week and several TV shows including Crackle’s The Oath and Deadly Affair, working with the Disney Channel and now with Perry could prove to be the breakthrough Leyva has been waiting for.  Shooting another project for Perry, in the works could be the clue.

“I just returned from Atlanta where I shot something for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Tyler Perry that was really incredible.” Leyva said but when asked about it, he had to explain, “I signed an NDA so I can’t talk about it.”

However, he did share the news that he felt that he had “passed the test” because he was asked to collaborate on a second feature film with Perry, which is in the works, and this one he could talk about.  “We’re up for a feature film for Netflix.  It’s a big one, a suspense thriller,” Leyva recounted excitedly.  “I am already in talks with the studio.”

Leyva’s is after all the ASC’s American Rising Star.

CAST:  Marianna Burelli as Nina, Violet’s mother; Juan Alfonso as Juan Carlos, Violet’s father, Brandon Rossel as Santiago, Violet’s brother; Zelia Ankrum as Maya Miller-Martinez, Violet’s best friend; Bryan Blanco as Luis León, Violet’s goody-two-shoes classmate

The post Thru the Lens of Rafael Leyva, ‘Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion’ first appeared on .

By Bel Hernandez

Ariana DeBose is no longer a star in the making…she is a star!

The breakout star of the very large and talented cast of Steven Speilberg’s re-imaging of West Side Story. DeBose has already amassed 56 nominations for her supporting role as Anita in WSS and of those has won a Golden Globe and a Hollywood Critics Association Award.  And just this past weekend she became the first Latina to ever win a Screen Actors Guild Award. Add these to 16 other awards she has also received for this role.

I would venture to say DeBose is going all the way to an Oscar win. But even if she does not get it, she has already proven her talent will carry her to superstardom.  It would be sweet for her to take home that Oscar and be the 2nd Latina in cinematic history to win for the same role that gave Rita Moreno her first and only Oscar.  

But her career is on a fast track. This week Sony Pictures announced that DeBose will be starring alongside Russel Crowe and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the new Marvel movie Kraven The Hunter in the role of Calypso.  The film which will be directed by J.C. Chandor is already in pre-production with a release date slated for January 13, 2023.

Meanwhile her latest film on track for release in 2022 is the Apple Films spy-thriller Argylle in which she stars alongside Henry Cavill with Samuel L Jackson, Dua Lipa, and Bryan Cranston. Also, coming is her work in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s space thriller I.S.S. where she worked with Chris Messina and Pilou Asbaek. 

For DeBose the most important thing is to be seen and represented, as this L.A. Times article points out:

“In her first audition for the role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” Ariana DeBose stressed the importance of having her identity represented. “If you aren’t interested in reflecting that in the context of your script,” she told the acclaimed director, “I don’t think that you should hire me.”

L.A. Times

DeBose is the first Afro Latina and queer woman of color to be nominated for an acting Oscar.  

She paid her dues on Broadway where she appeared in a multitude of shows including Hamilton, Bring it On: The Musical, and Disco Donna, as the teen version of Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.  But it was her performance in West Side Story that got Saturday Night Live calling.  Her talent got their attention and she made a multitude of new fans when she nailed her appearance on SNL.   

LATINOS SHINE IN ANIMATION AND OSCAR KNOWS IT

Raya and the Last Dragon is one of three Disney films nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category and Carlos Lopez Estrada is one of them!

Born in Mexico, Carlos is a music video director, commercial director, theater director and actor. He moved to the United States when he was 12 and later enrolled at Chapman University [lots of wonderful talent comes from that college!] In 2018 he made his feature film directorial debut with crime/comedy Blindspotting.

Also nominated in this category are Lin-Manuel Miranda with his second Academy Award nomination in the Best Original song “Ormiguitas”.  Should he win, that would catapult Miranda into the EGOT status.  That would be for winning an Emmy (Hamilton TV), a Grammy (Hamilton ) and a Tony (In The Heights Best Original Score ) he just needs that “O” for an Oscar. 

This year Miranda has a chance of completing the EGOT with a Oscar for his song  “Ormiguitas”. 

That would make him only the 3rd Latino to be in the EGOT stature (Rita Moreno and songwriter Robert Lopez are the two Latinos who have that honor now.  All total there are only 14 other individuals that hold that honor:  Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Whoopi Goldberg, Scott Rudin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, John Legend and Alan Menken.

Animated Ladies

And of course how can we forget the Three Latinas from Disney’s Encanto.  Writer Charise Castro Smith, producer Yvett Merino  and Composer Germaine Franco.  They continue to bask in the glory and honor of their Oscar nominated work in the amazing film Encanto.

And Presenting at the Oscars

Rosie Perez (Birds of Prey) who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 for her role in Fearless will be presenting at the 2022 Oscars.  In an interview with Variety in 2021 she revealed that she had not been invited to the Oscars since her nomination. “Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing — and I’m a member. I love the Academy Awards, she said.  “I cheer on my peers, but it hurts.” Well it is about time the Oscars correct their misstep but should not stop at just Perez.  She joins Kevin Costner, Zoë Kravitz, Lady Gaga, Chris Rock and Yuh-Jung Youn as a presenter.

On March 27 be watching the Academy Awards to see how many of the 14 Latino nominees will go home with the Golden Man in their hands!

Latino Oscar Trivia:  

We all know that Hilary Swank has two Oscars for Best Actress, one for  Boys Don’t Cry (2000) and one for Million Dollar Baby (2005), but did you know that her  maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Clough (née Dominguez), was born in El Centro, California, and was of Spanish and Native American descent?

And speaking of Oscars, who caught Oscar Isaac’s performance on SNL.  A must see for his sword fighting scenes!

CASTING NEWS!

Kevin Alejandro Cast In CBS’S Cal Fire

Actor Kevin Alejandro (Lucilfer, True Blood) is a talent that always works because he is that dang good!!

Last week it was announced that Alejandro was cast as one of the leads alongside Max Thieriot in CBS’ drama pilot Cal Fire, a Jerry Bruckheimer Television and CBS Studios series.  Alejandro plays Manny, a proud father and the fire captain in charge of prison inmates when they are on the fire line.  

For six seasons, Alejandro starred as Dan Espinoza in the hit series Lucifer, which ran on Fox and Netflix. His major series credits also include True Blood and Southland.

Alejandro is also a filmmaker, in this clip he talks to TheTrendTalk Show about the movie he directed and produced with his wife.  

Alejandro is repped by Gersh Agency, Main Title Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.

The post It’s All about the Oscars and Latino Nominees – and About Time! first appeared on .

I have built my career in journalism highlighting the triumphs of our Latino community collective through our publication, now online www.latinheat.com. Believe me when I say that we are finally being given opportunities in all aspects of the entertainment industry. The days of slim pickings are behind us. There is still work to be done to reach parity, but we have made progress. However, there is also much more to do and more competition. Talent is key for the continued growth of the presence of Latinos in Hollywood and beyond; with that comes the raising of the bar and the need for everyone to up their game!

It’s an exciting time and we will record the milestones in this column, by following the “Latino surge” in the industry as well as spotlighting the issues that pertain to Latino/as. As an opinion piece, it will represent my voice and not necessarily the position of Latin Heat, a news platform that strives to be impartial.
It will be a fun ride and I hope you will want to chime by leaving a comment to enrich the discussion.

So let the Talks begin.

First off we cannot let the month of January pass without acknowledging major firsts in Hollywood.

HISTORIC THREE GOLDEN GLOBE WINSThis year in their non-televised and no-celebrity awards show, the Golden Globes upped their past record of one Latina award winner. This year three Latinas took home the GG. Rachel Zegler became the first Latina in GG history to win the Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical award, Ariana DeBose took the Supporting Actress prize, both for their work in Steven Spielberg’s re-dux of West Side Story. On the television side, MJ Rodriguez won for her role on the FX show Pose. Encanto and its producers, among them Yvette Merino, writer Charise Castro Smith, and composer Germaine Franco, all noted for their work on the animated feature that took the top prize of Animated Film.

What other mainstream awards shows have this track record?

I have always had a special connection to the Golden Globes as I have observed the inclusion of more Latinos at these high-profile awards than any other mainstream awards show. The GG were the first to nominate and bring attention to Latina and Latino talent before other awards shows. (full disclosure, last year I was appointed to the Credentialing Committee for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who produce the Golden Globes. My feelings towards the inclusion of the GG were formed prior to the recent snafu that they are currently facing.

The list of Latinos who have won a GG is impressive. Latinos honored include: Benicio del Toro, Guillermo del Toro, Gina Rodriguez, America Ferrera, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Andy Garcia, Jimmy Smits, and Rita Moreno, among others. It put them on the map. Both del Toros and Iñarritu were the only ones that went on to win an Oscar for the same projects they received their GG for. But the careers of Rodriguez and Ferrera literally took off with their GG wins.

ANOTHER WIN FOR THE POWER OF LATINA LEADS

The film Scream, released earlier this month, has proven once again that Latinos will support Latino/a leads in a film franchise – especially if it’s a horror flick.

Melissa Barrera(In The Heights, Vida) and Jenna Ortega (Yes Day, Jane the Virgin) play sisters in the latest Scream franchise film. On its opening weekend it beat every other film at the boxoffice with a resounding $30M and to date has made $85.6 million internationally.
That box office could be due to the fact that Latinos LOVE horror flix…so maybe in this case Latinos did go support the film which had Latinas in the lead? We will take that.

‘PROMISED LAND’ AND LATINO WINEMAKERS

There is a new ABC TV series, Promised Land, that just premiered Jan. 24. It’s a Dallas-like TV show set in California’s wine country, Sonoma Valley, where Mexican-American families have gone from working in the fields picking grapes to becoming vintners and, ultimately, to owning the winery. Two of those families include Maria and Reynaldo Robledo who founded the Robledo Family Winery in Sonoma, the first winery established by Mexican Americans. In 1988 The Ceja winery was founded by Amelia, Pedro, Armando and Martha Ceja.

Promised Land is patterned after these families who are also multi-generational. That may be the only resemblance between real life and the television family. The TV show has the telenovela style of intrigue, power, jealousy and money. It follows more along the lines of past successful primetime shows like CBS’ Dallas, ABC’s Dynasty (1981) and CBS’ Falcon Crest which ran from 1981 to 1990 and did have some Latino regulars in the cast (Ana Alicia and Lorenzo Llamas). ABC describes the Promised Land as, “An epic, generation-spanning drama about a Latinx family vying for wealth and power.”

In 2006 CBS premiered Cane with the patriarch played by Jimmy Smits (In The Heights, How to Get Away With Murder). It was a generational series, however, this time about the Cuban-American Vega family and their sugarcane business. Seasoned and well known Latino actors lead the cast, Hector Elizondo (Last Man Standing), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Nestor Carbonell (The Morning Show), Oscar Torre (7th & Union). However, it was cut short in its first season when the great writers’ strike of 2007 forced it off the air temporarily. It was forgotten after the strike, never to be seen or heard of again.

Here’s to a better fate for Promised Land which, pardon the pun, looks “promising.” John Ortiz leads a very talented cast which includes many fresh new faces.

ANOTHER HONOR FOR LEGENDARY EGOT

Rita Moreno has been selected to receive the 2022 Stanley Kramer Award at the 33rd annual Producers Guild Awards on March 19. That is another honor to add to more than 30 film, TV and music awards by the Puerto Rican star. She is among a selected group of artists who have won the four major American entertainment awards, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony–hence EGOT. Moreno is also among a distinguished roster of performers who have accomplished what is known as the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony prizes for acting. Furthermore, she has received several lifetime achievement awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Kennedy Center Honor a Peabody Award.

LOOK OUT FOR JENNA ORTEGA

In 2022 Jenna Ortega started the year with a lead role in Scream and will next star in The Fallout, which premiered Jan. 27 on HBO Max. The film follows two teenage classmates navigating grief after surviving a school shooting. AND…many are anxiously awaiting to see her in the title role of Tom Burton’s Netflix’s live action film Wednesday, an offshoot of The Addams Family. She is one of the youngest and brightest stars in Hollywood. Ortega was seen last year in director Miguel Arteta’s Yes Day, starring alongside Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Actress Maria Canals-Barrera is a recent cast addition to NBC’s Kenan. Catch her work TONIGHT in the final episode on January 31, on NBC 8/7c.

Until next time.

The post HOLLYWOOD TALKS: Latina Award Winners, ‘Promised Land’ and More first appeared on .