Actress and singer Jackie Cruz, best known for her role as Marisol "Flaca" Gonzales on Netflix's “Orange Is the New Black,” made her first visit to the Yakima Valley last week.
Cruz spoke to students and community members about resilience, representation and overcoming adversity during a Hispanic Heritage Month event at Heritage University in Toppenish.
"I've failed. I've fallen. I've been broken. I've had to be reborn a few times, and I made it," Cruz said. "I'm still trying to live up to these big dreams I have in my head, now that I'm a mother."
Cruz was born in Queens, New York, to a Dominican mother. She described a childhood growing up between cultures.
Cruz said family and community support was key to achieving her dreams.
"My mother was a doctor in the Dominican Republic and became no one in America so I could live my dream," she said. "To me, it's really important to inspire Latinos."
Her dream led her to become a breakout star on “Orange Is the New Black," but it didn't come without challenges. She talked about the many challenges she overcame, including living in homelessness and surviving a car accident that nearly paralyzed her.
"I woke up right from the coma, but I had a tube down my throat, and my face was paralyzed. I couldn't smile, and I needed to learn how to walk again," Cruz said about the accident. "I was in three hospitals, two nursing homes, completely knocked. They gave me a chance of ever living, ever walking again."
Early in her career, Cruz said she got roles based on stereotypes about Latinas. However, she said things have been changing little by little.
"My first role was the gangster's girlfriend. The second one was the gangster's girlfriend. The third one was a prisoner. The fourth one was a prostitute," she said. "Now, I'm the best friend, the leader, a community fighter."
But Cruz said there is still work to do to represent Latinas on-screen genuinely.
Speaking in Spanish, Cruz highlighted the rich diversity within Latino communities, a nuance she said people don’t often see in mainstream media.
"There are different cultures and different foods, and everything is different," she said. "They are beginning to understand that we are all different."
Cruz said many actresses, including her, are paving the way to help people understand the multicultural nature of Latino communities, and it takes a lot of work.
She talked about Rita Moreno, the Puerto Rican actress who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in the 1961 film “West Side Story,” and Zoe Saldana, who has Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage, who won an Oscar this year for her role as Rita Moro Castro in “Emilia Perez.”
"You have to do it yourself," Cruz said. "You have to teach your own vision, or Hollywood won't see it. With time and persistence things change slowly."
Cruz encourages young Latinos and community members to be proud of their heritage.
"We made a big stamp in America, and we deserve to be proud of where we're from, but also proud of being American," she said.
Cruz said it’s important to take control of their narrative and pursue their dreams.
"You could be your own writer, your own director. It's your story you're telling. Don't wait for permission. Just do it," she said.
The event was part of a larger initiative celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, organized by different universities and organizations. Cruz also spoke in Ellensburg and Yakima during her visit.
