“However, I think the thing that has always helped me with this is looking back at history and seeing that there have always been periods like this before. Before the DEI boom of the last 10 years there were basically no roles for us, what the icons of our communities (like our inspiring EP Luis Guzman) have shown us is that the only way to get to the other side is to refuse to let anyone suppress your voice. Write about what is being sparked in you, what is moving you, what is making you happy, what is upsetting you!”
“That is a big reason why we made A West Side Story Story. I wasn’t getting auditions for roles that looked at me/Latinos in a non-stereotypical lens, and I was sick of it. I wanted work that represented all our realities, not just the ones the media determines for us. As a Latina, I am watching my brothers and sisters being taken off the streets, and vanish. There is nothing anyone can say to tell me that is ok. It’s not. It’s important to tell stories about the harsh truth of what’s happening, but I also want to tell stories about our dreams, our love, our joy, and our mistakes. Making work about the multi-layered humans we are, because the truth is the people that are being hunted are just that — people.”
A West Side Story Story is co-written and directed by Aditya Joshi, co-written, produced, and starring Ana Luz Zambrana, produced by Cemí Guzmán and Adrian Alea, and executive produced by Luis Guzmán. The film is about a Puerto Rican theater director struggling to hold together her “culturally authentic” version of West Side Story.
Check here to follow along with Ana’s work and A West Side Story Story.
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