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10 Latino Content Creators to Watch

From choreographing ‘Encanto’ to starring in a Jordan Peele sci-fi feature, these Latino content creators offer a vibrant array of entertainment.

  • Bizarrap

    DJ, Producer

    Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Gonzalo Julián Conde — better known as DJ-producer Bizarrap — can trace the trajectory of his career to soundtracks of his youth.

    “My dad would play Radiohead, PJ Harvey. I started to listen to a lot of electronic music like Daft Punk and David Guetta. I noticed the voices had been edited with Autotune. By 14, I had started my own productions — purely out of hobby,” he says.

    The approach has remained the same ever since. His BZRAP music sessions on YouTube have a combined view count well over the millions thanks to one formula — combining his own backing track with guest vocals from budding Latin rap stars. The producer’s DIY home studio serves as the video’s backdrop while a couple of cameras record a visual treatment. 

    “I started in this same room with my speakers and FL Studio software. I want people to identify with the space,” he says.

    His latest BZRP Music Sessions #52, featuring Spain’s Quevedo, currently boasts 341 million views on YouTube and was both artists’ first No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200. Bizarrap was nominated for four Latin Grammys in 2021: producer of the year, best new artist, as well as nominations for Session #36 with Nathy Peluso in best urban/fusion performance and Session #39 with Snow Tha Product in best rap/hip-hop song. 

    “I’m bringing to people what I’d like to find myself – an artist who releases a new song every month, based on his own taste and criteria.”

    Influences: Skrillex, Daft Punk, David Guetta

    — Thania Garcia

  • Aimee Carrero

    Actor, “The Menu”

    Carrero’s name is making waves in Hollywood following her breakout feature performance as Felicity in director Mark Mylod’s upcoming thriller “The Menu,” which won her an award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

    “I waited a really long time to get into the realm of ‘The Menu’ — to the caliber of work that I know Searchlight does,” Carrero says. “It took a long time, and I kind of had to start over.”

    The Florida native moved to Los Angeles at 20 to pursue her dream of becoming an actor and made her start on Disney shows like “Hannah Montana,” playing characters far younger than her actual age.

    It was Carrero’s casting in Netflix’s “Maid” that opened up doors to working on bigger-budget projects in more serious roles. In addition to landing a part in “The Menu” alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Carrero recently finished shooting the holiday film “Spirited” with comic actors Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.

    Carrero was also set to appear in a recurring role on Prime Video’s upcoming spin-off series of “The Boys,” but instead opted to work on “The Consultant,” a Prime Video show starring Academy Award-winning actor Christoph Waltz.

    Simultaneous to shooting the thriller’s pilot season, Carrero starred in the four-act play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” last spring at the Geffen Playhouse, which she described as her “proudest performance.”

    “I just never thought that as a Latina woman I’d get to play a character whose part of the seminal American canon of theater plays,” Carrero says. “They just weren’t written for us at that time, with very few exceptions.”

    Influences: “Dungeons & Dragons” community, Oscar Isaac, Cate Blanchett, Billie Eilish, “The Lord of the Rings” franchise

    — Katie Reul

  • Fernando Carsa

    Actor, “Acapulco”

    Carsa grew up in Colima, Mexico, with big dreams of performing —at age three he wanted to be a pop star.

    His passion paid off; in middle school, he was such a fan of Britney Spears he began translating her lyrics and ultimately learned English. “When I moved to the U.S. when I was 15, I was able to communicate because I had learned so much lingo and slang and proper grammar through her music,” he notes. “I like to believe she’s my English teacher and I’m able to do this career because of her.”

    That career includes a scene-stealing role as the eternally optimistic Memo on “Acapulco,” the Apple TV+ series that serves as both prequel and sequel to the 2017 Eugenio Derbez hit “How to Be a Latin Lover,” now airing its second season.

    Memo is the lovable best friend to Maximo, played by Enrique Arrizon in flashbacks set in the 1980s, where they work at an upscale resort in the titular city. It marks Carsa’s first television job, booked just six months after graduating from UCLA’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.

    Memo is the lovable best friend to Maximo, played by Enrique Arrizon in flashbacks set in the 1980s. It marks Carsa’s first television job, booked just six months after graduating from UCLA’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.

    Carsa was stunned by the scripts. “As Latinos, we’ve been so overshadowed in media. I couldn’t believe a company like Apple was taking the risk of doing a bilingual show about Mexicans,” he says. “Add on top of that, the character is written to be plus-size but he’s not the butt of every joke. He has no confidence issues, no issues with his body or food.”

    Carsa is busy auditioning, writing music and hoping to do his own cabaret show while he awaits word on a third season of “Acapulco.” And he looks forward to whatever is next.

    “I didn’t grow up watching people that look like me on screen,” he says. “What I hope to bring with my craft and characters I play is more kids who look like me finally get to say, ‘I can do that, too.’”

    Influences: Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Tatiana in “La Reina de Los Niños”

    — Jenelle Riley

  • K.D. Davila

    Writer, Director

    Dávila made her directorial debut with the live-action short film “Please Hold,” which earned her her first Oscar nomination.

    “I wanted to do something that was about an issue facing my community and Los Angeles. It’s very specifically set in L.A. in the future, and that’s all we set out to do: make a good movie that was about an issue that we cared about,” says Davila while confessing that she never thought it would be nominated for an Oscar. “It doesn’t fit the type of movie that often gets nominated. Then obviously, we were just shocked every single step of the way.”

    Her feature film “Emergency” premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where she won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. dramatic section. The film was distributed by Amazon Studios and released on Amazon Prime in May.

    Dávila grew up in a Mexican-American household in Los Angeles. She recalls her love for films and television at a young age and describes Hollywood as a “walled castle” that she had to learn to get to alone. 

    “It’s a castle with a giant moat around it, and how do you swim across the moat? How do you get across, and then how do you climb the wall? Even though it’s right there — you can see it,” she says, while recognizing the lack of people of her ethnicity within the industry. “For me, a lot of it was just the lack of understanding of the network and the fact that there aren’t enough of us. There needs to be more of us, considering we’re all in L.A.”

    Influences: Jordan Peele, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Guillermo del Toro

    — Cata Balzano

  • Chris Estrada

    TV series creator, “This Fool”

    The multi-talented Estrada co-created, writes, stars in and serves as an executive producer of the new, critically acclaimed Hulu series “This Fool,” which is based on his life in South Central Los Angeles, and is very relevant to the Latino community. His trademark as a comedian is weaving in humor with moments of dramatic reality and levity, while looking at the complex world around us in order to find humor in everyday situations.

    “Both creatively and personally, the show has allowed me to believe that I can continue having a career as a creator and stand-up comedian. It’s validated that, creatively, I can tell stories that are specific, have hard comedy, and be a bit off-beat and surreal.”

    “This Fool” tells the story of Julio Lopez (Estrada), who has a true heart of gold and goes out of his way to help everyone he encounters. It explores Julio’s attempts to better his community, overcome his codependency issues with his family, and navigate working-class life in a vibrant corner of L.A. “I want to continue creating, developing, and writing shows and films so people can distract themselves from the heartbreak, horror, and mundanity of life.”

    Estrada has been named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Showrunners to Watch,” as well as voted “one of LA’s comedians to watch in 2018,” by Time Out LA. He was also an “Up Next” performer at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest in 2019. His other credits include Comedy Central’s “Corporate,” and the comedy special “Entre Nos” for HBO.

    Influences: Charlie Kaufman, Jaime Hernandez, Gilbert Hernandez, Maria Bamford, Bill Burr

    — Nick Clement

  • Kai Martinez

    Choreographer, “Encanto”

    Martínez was the associate choreographer and animation consultant for Disney’s “Encanto,” which marked a before-and-after for her on a personal and professional note.

    “A lot of these spaces for me have been new,” says Martínez, who was also part of the “Encanto” performance at the Academy Awards. “You know, I went to my first world premiere. I did my first press junket … it’s been such a blessing.”

    Martínez, who is Colombian American and was raised in New York, worked under lead choreographer Jamal Sims, who relied on her to bring her knowledge and influence concerning Colombian culture to the film, underlining the authenticity that they were seeking for the film.

    “Growing up, I didn’t really see stories of Latin American experiences. So to be part of something like ‘Encanto,’ I don’t think I’ve cried so many times for any other project I’ve ever done,” she says.

    Martínez has also worked on “Encanto” for Disney on Ice as well as “Encanto” at the Hollywood Bowl, which she is currently choreographing. Martínez is also lead choreographer for the animated film “Spellbound,” which releases next year.

    Influences: Fatima Robinson, Jamal Sims, Hi-Hat, Rita Moreno, Lauryn Hill

    — C.B.

  • Brandon Perea

    Actor, “Nope”

    Perea made his big-screen debut with Jordan Peele’s sci-fi film “Nope.” He stars as Angel Torres, alongside Barbie Ferreira, Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya, for whom he has expressed his admiration.

    “To be working with someone like Jordan Peele is crazy, and that’s an Oscar-winner … It’s a miracle job,” says Perea. “Jordan saw my audition tape, loved it, and then he rewrote the entire script to base it around the character that I brought to the table.”

    Chicago native Perea got his start in entertainment off the camera and on the ramps, as a 15-year-old skater touring the country. He recalled being a great admirer of Tony Hawk, but also of Leonardo DiCaprio. At 16 he moved to Hollywood to pursue acting. Being “Filorican” (half Filipino and half Puerto Rican as he referenced), one of Perea’s challenges was landing roles that didn’t tokenize him.

    Being able to play a character based on qualities besides his race and ethnicity gave him a bigger sense of self. “I’m like, ‘alright, this opportunity is far bigger than me, and I need to move with purpose throughout my journey.’”

    Influences: Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar Isaac, Daniel Kaluuya

    — C.B.

  • Elena Rose

    Songwriter

    In 2022, Miami-born Elena Rose reigned as one of Latin music’s most prevalent songwriters. She has written songs for the likes of Bad Bunny, Rosalía, Selena Gomez, Natti Natasha and Becky G. Her vulnerable lyricism explores themes of self-esteem, self-love, sensuality and sexuality. The trick to getting these artists to open up? Compassion.

    “I pray a lot before starting a session so I’m able to connect, to be in that person’s shoes for the time that we’re gonna be working together,” says Rose.

    In the toughest moments, when words don’t do the feelings justice, Rose coaches her collaborators with the simple, yet effective, reminder to “take a break, some

    times life goes so fast that we just need to put the song down.”

    The Venezuelan American singer has had her fair share of success as a solo artist, with features on several of her collaborators’ projects and her own anthemic singles including “La Ducha.”

    “Being a songwriter is also a service,” she says. “You don’t have to take it personal if you don’t connect on levels you have with others in the past — there’s always something valuable that you can bring to a session.”

    Influences: Celia Cruz, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Lopez

    — T.G.

  • Felipe Vargas

    Director

    Born in Colombia and raised on his grandmother’s vivid campfire tales, Vargas’ work is often inspired by Latin American mythologies and magical realism. At 24, he’s attached to direct a horror-thriller feature for Paramount and Vertigo Entertainment based on a Hispanic folktale.

    A horror cinema fan since the beginning, Vargas started with homemade movie magic by flooding his parents’ bathtub with fake blood and filming it with a camcorder, and by tying homemade prosthetics to his dog, which became his first movie monster.

    More recently, he directed a children’s fantasy proof-of-concept trailer for Disney Channel about a Salvadorian family and a music video for acclaimed electronic artist San Holo. “I love waking, going to my desk right across my room, and spending the day dreaming of monsters in the jungle, of Aztec curses, and magic and mayhem.”

    Vargas’ work has garnered over 12 million YouTube views, and has been featured in over 100 film festivals, including Oscar-qualifying festivals HollyShorts, Bogo Shorts, and Sitges.  He’s a pilot writer and Co-EP on a fantasy-adventure series based on Mexico’s beloved “Loteria” card game with Norman Lear’s Act III Productions, Sony Pictures Television, and Amazon Freevee, and is currently writing an original, Brazil-set, horror-fantasy comic book series for Aftershock Media.

    When it comes to the future, his enthusiasm is unbridled. “My dreams are to create a movie monster that people can dress up as on Halloween, to adapt an “unadaptable” Gabriel Garcia Marquez story, and to shoot a film in Colombia.”

    Influences: Guillermo del Toro, Terrence Malick, magical realist literature and Weird Tales pulp magazines

    — N.C.

  • Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

    Author

    Cornejo’s book The Undocumented Americans was released in 2020, inciting an overflow of intimate conversations in the media, regarding the experiences of those who cross the border into the United States and are now living with undocumented status. The Undocumented Americans was a finalist at the National Book Awards in 2020. 

    “It was 2016, and Trump won on a grotesquely xenophobic and anti-indigenous platform,” says Cornejo, when asked what pushed her to write the book. “So I decided to write The Undocumented Americans, a snapshot in time of what felt to me like the start of an ethnic cleansing.”

    Besides the story she tells in the book, the Ecuadorian native, who arrived to the United States in 1995, advises other undocumented immigrants to “do whatever you need to do to stay alive, look for answers and help wherever you can, develop a runway walk for when you leave your room, and stay out of jail.” She also shares a message for United States citizens who might lack empathy for the United States-Mexico border crises and the people affected by it: “Try picturing the shell-shocked brown kids from the border singing ‘Imagine’ and being blonde.”

    The author has a new book set to be released late next year. “Catalina: A Novel” comes out next August by One World Publications. 

    Influences: Bob the Drag Queen, Selena Gomez, Cardi B, Tricky-Woo, Natasha Allegri

    – C.B.

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