SER ANZOATEGUI AND MISHEL PRADA, STARS OF QUEER LATINX SERIES, VIDA, CHAT MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES, NORMALISING QUEER STORIES ONSCREEN AND GIVING DOMINANT CULTURE THE MIDDLE FINGER

WORDS DANIELLE MUSTARDE, PHOTOS STARZ ENTERTAINMENT LLC

SER ANZOATEGUI – EDDY “I thought to myself, ‘We’re doing a brown, queer show – maybe reviewers won’t get it’”, Ser Anzoategui tells me. “The plot, those important character journeys… maybe they’d be lost on white, male critics? So it was even more exciting when we found just how positive they were. The response from the press alone was like, ‘Pinch me! Is this for real?!’”

It’s true that since this series about a largely queer female and nonbinary focused Latinx community in Eastside Los Angeles was released, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, scoring a whopping 100% on ratings website Rotten Tomatoes. “Yes ok, I know how important this show is, but when a larger audience that includes non-Latinx people and non-brown people are so excited by it, I think, ‘What? Wait a minute!’”

DIVA: Tell us about your character.

SER ANZOATEGUI: Eddy is the heart of the show. She’s so full of love and grieving over what’s happened. Vidalia, Eddy’s wife, has just passed away, but she’s very much going to live out their dreams and their hopes – the ones that they had together – and a big part of that is bringing the family together, which involves Vidalia’s two grown-up daughters, Emma and Lyn.

How did you feel the first time you read the script?

When I first read Eddy’s part, the writing was so visceral that I immediately felt what they were going through – it really got to my gut. I knew then that I could go on a journey with this character. On top of that, the script was really respectful of the communities it includes, especially the way that screenwriter Tanya Saracho deals with the gentrification storyline and its activist characters. That was really exciting for me, because I am an activist and, besides acting, that’s my world. Tanya was able to capture something of the real voices of those who are calling-out what’s happening in these neighbourhoods.