I remember the day I realized my body was not seen as “human” by some people. I was a theater major close to graduating when one of my favorite professors gave me the best career advice he could give. He told me as a “dark skinned” curvy Latina I would have to work a lot harder to play the “Juliets” of the world. That I was a “character” actress, and I should look to actors like Phillip Seymor Hoffman who played many “character” roles. He said unfortunately this is how the acting industry is and beauty standards are eurocentric. 

I left his office in tears, my dreams of becoming a leading actress dashed. This was the day I realized, I was not always given the benefit of being a person. After I graduated I continued to act, and ran into some of the problems my professor warned me about. I also worked ardently as an actor and playwright to change that narrative.

This is when I started to do pop-culture writing. I wrote my first article for the HOWLROUND Theater Commons in 2016 after attending a protest for the Laquan McDonald shooting. The title of that article was “Why It’s Important to Have Black and Brown Bodies Onstage Outside of Stereotypical Black and Brown Roles“. Through my own lived experience and that of my Black and brown peers, I saw how the dehumanization of our bodies is what leads to racism and prejudice.

I also realized the narrative of how a body like mine is seen is being changed by writers creating diverse stories. However, unless those stories see the light of day. Unless those stories are reported on, I would continue to see the same narrative.

That was when I made it my goal to use my talents as a storyteller to report on pop-culture. To place diversity and diverse reporting at the head of my storytelling. I started writing about comic conventions, music festivals, movies, television, books, all with the lens of ensuring I capture the diversity of the people working on the project and why it matters. As people we understand the world through storytelling, it’s how we remember our lives. But if we humanize and only tell one type of story, we as humans will never truly understand each other. I am here to uplift our diverse stories in popular culture, geek culture and fandoms. I want people to feel seen and to say “hey, that’s me in that story.” Will you come with me on this journey as I dig deep and bring to you the best stories in popular culture?