00:01You know, if the character is of Cuban origin, I love to work with the writers and offer
00:08up little details, you know, for instance.
00:13And they're so open to it.
00:14They're amazing.
00:15The writers are extraordinary, Charlotte as well as Carriere, and at the beginning of
00:19a season, you know, we may talk about what her plans for the character are, and if I
00:24throw a suggestion, you know, she'll take it in, and sometimes she'll use it, and even
00:28on the day.
00:29So, if we're shooting a scene, for instance, I was shooting a scene, I think I was talking
00:32about my mother's cooking, and I said, you know, maybe, can I make it more specific?
00:37Instead of, can I say my mother's cooking, can I say my mother's picadillo, or my mother's
00:42ropa vieja?
00:43You know, you choose, either one, you know.
00:45And she loves those details, and so they're very open to, you know, massaging scripts and
00:51for my input on, you know, in every regard, including all things Cuban.
00:56I'm always amazed that there's so many stories, and the Hispanic experience is so diverse.
01:01You know, there's so many different cultures.
01:03You know, I would, you know, I can't paint, you know, Hispanics with one brush because we're
01:09so different and varied, but I think one of the things we do, we share a number of things,
01:12all of us do.
01:13So, diligence, hard work, gratitude, a lot of gratitude, which is a beautiful thing to
01:19see.
01:22And, you know, pride and what we do in our principles and what we stand for, you know,
01:27in family, faith, education.
01:30You know, those are pillars of our collective communities, I believe, you know, that really
01:35cross over in every, you know, for every Hispanic, I believe.
01:39So, you know, if there's a message, I'm so proud to be proud of the community.
01:45That's my message.
01:46I still go to every job with the opportunity to learn something and grow.
01:52You know, what my father has done is extraordinary.
01:54He came to this country, to the U.S., with what he had in his pockets.
01:57He had lost everything in Cuba.
02:00And what he did have was a law degree.
02:03Mind you, in Cuba, it was civil law versus common law.
02:08So, but he was able to apply it and get a master's in international law.
02:13So, he used it for that and able to practice when he started his career.
02:17And then slowly he worked his way up through corporate America.
02:20So, I have so much respect, deep respect for what my father did.
02:23And I thought at one point, well, maybe I'll do that.
02:25I just, I took one class in college.
02:29And I took a Meisner course in college.
02:32And I said, well, I think I want to study this.
02:34And, you know, that was the end of that.
