On the Chola Set

What a busy week -- we filmed for a very long day and this is a photo of me with Alicia -- two Cholas from back in the day. I love the make-up and the costumes. I am always in my curlers and my pink robe. We are very close to completing Attack of the 30 Ft Chola. I only have one or two more scenes to film.

Kieron Estrada is our director and he does so much and is so knowledgeable. It is my thrill and pleasure to work with him. I am hoping that this film will get into the indie circuit.

It was a hectic week and now I am relaxing. Yay! Glad that the weather is better. I plan on catching up on housework, laundry and eating some good homecooked meals.

I just received an email this morning from a fellow co-star on our commercial. The commercial is for Starbucks and now that it is being aired I can talk about it. It was very exciting to go to the audition. I did a good job and the very next day my agent called me to let me know I was on avail. Then the following day she called me to tell me I booked the job. It is such a great feeling of accomplishment to know that I did something right.

I am reading a book right now about acting and so much is just trial and error. I have had some bad auditions but I learned from them. And I have had some auditions where I booked the job and I don't even know what I did right. And now I am to the point where I know I did well, didn't do well or could have done better. But I am feel that this job has put me into the category of being a professional actor. It's a wonderful feeling. I don't know anyone there, this job was not a favor for a friend. It was auditioning and being professional and doing a good job.

They were so wonderful on the set, I can't even tell you. The staff was professional. The food was good, everything about this job was amazing. And to think that I was very close to quitting at Christmas time. And as low as I felt, I kept thinking to myself that the next job could be the big job and it will go to someone else. So I swallowed those feelings of rejection and negativity and just knew that tomorrow would be a better day.

And here I am with a national commercial, an indie film and a feature film all in one month. Needless to say, my agent is happy with me. And I am thrilled to have her in my corner.

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Happy Birthday to Me!

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Oh my, I thought it was like 11 pm but it just turned midnight which means today is my birthday! It has been an incredible year so far. Truly incredible. It started out a little slow and then things started picking up and it has been a whirlwind of activity since mid January.

This week I had no auditions and that was fine with me. I really rested my bod all week. I caught up with paperwork, did some house work. I haven't really watched any movies but have watched a little television here and there.

I'm filming next week and it is really important to focus and be on my game. So I'm glad that I didn't have any distractions. Friday was the most amazing day. Had a wonderful breakfast and I got some wonderful birthday gifts. My brother called me and we had some chuckles. He always has me laughing. He wants to fly Mom & Dad out west to come see us. I can't wait to see them. I haven't seen them since October and I know they would like to get out of that cold weather.

I was offered a role in a new film and I get the script tomorrow. And, I spoke with a casting director earlier in the week. Things are happening in my career!!! It's so exciting to see some fruits coming from all my labor these past 7 years.

I hope to see my son and my nephew for my birthday too. It's not the same without family around to help you celebrate. I used to hate birthdays but now I love them.

As I get older, I realize what is really important and that is family, friends, work, laughter, spirituality and giving back. I hope to become a better person with each day that I am given, because everyday is a blessing. Everyday is a gift from the creator, this gift of life. And for that, I am truly humbled and grateful.

In Like a Lion

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Happy March 1 -- I like March, I like the saying In like a lion and out like a lamb. My birthday is in March so I've always looked forward to March. However, growing up in northwestern Ohio the weather was always horrible with snow and ice everywhere. How is a kid supposed to have a nice birthday party with snow everywhere? Oh well. There are many famous people born in March such as Liza Minnelli and other famous Pisces are Elizabeth Taylor. I think she was born in February,though.

So March is here and before you know it, it will be June. Trust me that is how quickly time flies by. So in March I will be filming two movies: One is my final scenes for the indie flick, "Attack of the 30 Foot Chola" and the other is a small role in a feature film, "White T". You can look me up on www.imdb.com

I look forward to more auditions in the month of March. I was interviewed yesterday for an online local publication. And I will be doing a radio interview for Disabled Radio on March 23. I am enjoying being a part of the disabled community and I working towards being an advocate for hiring the disabled. My agent has several disabled actors that she represents and that is a wonderful thing. I don't know if I can help anyone but I hope to inspire folks to concentrate on what you can do and not what you can't do. My goodness, if I worried about all the things I can't do, I would never even get out of bed in the morning.

I really enjoy being a writer, sitting at my laptop and conducting telephone interviews. It's great. I can do my research, set up interviews and connect everything for telephone interviews. When I did my personal interview yesterday, I was thrilled to go back to the theater where I had so many beautiful memories. I remember hearing about the building of the theater and what groups would be allowed to perform there. And I knew that I would be performing there someday and I did. Such happy times!

Well, off to start my day on this first day of March. Like a lion, I am ready to roar -- start my day -- and head off into the jungle.

Chola! Chola! Chola!

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Here is a photo of me on the set of the indie film, Attack of the 30 Foot Chola currently filming in East L.A. Also pictured with me are my two daughters Rosie & little Destiny. We had a wonderful time and I was very impressed with the other talented actors. Our director, Kieron Estrada was so good. He knew what he wanted, he was very clear what he wanted from the actors and we could see his passion & vision. I wish all the directors I worked with were like this. I have several more scenes I am doing for the film and should shoot again in awhile. I will keep you all posted. I also got a chance to finally meet actor, David Fernandez. We have been conversing online for many months and now we met. He is every bit as nice as I had thought. So glad we are working together. He is currently working on a film with actor, Andy Garcia. Nice!

Another busy week working as a Production Assistant at Movido TV. And there is a new acting class I am taking for the next month. Do you all remember Dustin Nguyen from the TV show, 21 Jump Street with co-star Johnny Depp? Well, Dustin is our instructor for the next 4 weeks. I have heard his classes are great. He only teaches this class once per year. I missed him last year so I am looking forward to this.

Watching a new film on Friday evening and doing a review for Latino LA magazine. I will let you know and give you my honest opinion of this film, Jonah Hex being released on Friday and stars Josh Brolin.

Well, I missed the Tony Awards last night. Too bad, I look forward to this every year and something always happens and I missed it again. But, I was working on my own film.

Want to see a preview of Attack of the 30 Foot Chola? Watch the teaser on You Tube. Oh, and turn up the volume!

A Little Help from my Friends

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Hi Folks,
It's me again from la la land, Hollywood with actor, Tom Sizemore. I worked with Tom years ago when he had a tv show called Robbery/Homicide. I was just a little background actor but we talked during the scene breaks and he was very nice. Recently, he did a small role on a pilot we shot at our studio and we met again. Tom is a hard working actor and I am a big fan. I was not in the show this time, but worked as a production assistant on the show. He was kind enough to take a photo with me. Thanks, Tom! Sure hope the show gets picked up.

Today is Saturday and I didn't sleep very well. Too bad because I have an audition today and so you know what that means. That's right, time to get out the concealer (a girl's best friend). Good thing I sell Mary Kay cause a girl has to look good at all times. So if you need any products, yo, hit me up!

Tomorrow is filming on Attack of the 30 Foot Chola. I received my script and it sounds hilarious. I get to be loud and obnoxious in a restaurant. Yay! How often have you seen these loud rude people with their kids. Well, that will be me and I even get two little chitlins to be my kids. Can't wait. We are taking over a restaurant in East L.A. I would tell you the name but it is top secret. Sorry!

Let's see what else is going on? I am going to try to ride a bicycle. I say try because my legs are not working so great right now. My daughter has a really nice bike in the garage. I am thinking if I can ride her bike a few days per week and use my pool a few days, I should be able to lose some poundage right? I will let you know how it goes. I'm going to ask my hubby for some help just in case I lose my balance. I don't want to fall down and break anything right before I shoot my scenes. See when you have polio, you have to think of these things in advance, yo!

I am sending my resume out to some major studios in LA. That's right, working it since acting jobs are so few and far between right now. So many shows got cancelled too. So many folks out of work right now.

I'm going to ask for a little help from my friends. Nothing financial or anything like that, just say a little prayer for me. Okay, so sing along with me. The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup, I say a little prayer for you.

The Simple Joys of Life

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Ah, the simple joys of life like working, laughter and spending time with those we love. I was working away at Movido TV located @ Gower Studios in Hollywood, when my best friend Rebecca (pictured here) called to see if I wanted to watch Sex & The City 2 with her. Of course! We saw the first movie and now it is time to see the sequel. I was walking to my car when she called and I drove past the stage where they shoot "Dexter". They start shooting next week so I am looking forward to seeing my friend, David Zayas.

I drove home and we relaxed with a barbeque and a swim in the backyard. Saturday was lovely. We went to a lovely Cuban restaurant, 3 Vino's located in downtown Covina. I recommend their empanadas and a mojito! Afterwards, we went to see actor/writer/director, Rick Najera in his one man show, "Daddy Diaries: Diary of a Dad Man". It was so good, I am recommending it to my readers in an article I have written for Latino LA magazine.

Today will be relaxing with the family and making some homemade enchiladas, jumping in the pool and learning my lines for Attack of the 30 Foot Chola. My portion will be filming next week a week from today to be exact.

I have some wonderful news to share about a television show I did awhile ago. But I can't say anything yet, so stay tuned. It is BIG news and that is all I can say for now. Shhhh....

Attack of the 30 Ft Chola

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I received a message from Kieron Estrada, director of Attack of the 30 Ft Chola. I will be shooting my scenes at the end of this month. I am so excited. I actually auditioned last year for the role of Rosalinda. Rosalinda is the mother of Rosie, an overweight girl who is trying to fit in with the gang of chola girls. They are bad asses and Rosie is a good girl who just wants to be accepted into a bad group.

Kieron just released a teaser of this feature film on You Tube. I will put the link and I hope it works. If not, then enter Attack of the 30 Ft Chola teaser on the search engine of You Tube and you can watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=787TbjZkTxI


Another fun thing to watch is a video report of Joe Chacon who plays the character of Oscar in the film. He filmed a portion of working on the set of Attack. I enjoyed watching it too.

So many times we are working on the set and sometimes we cannot bring cameras to the set. It's nice to be able to document the behind the scenes moments. I worked twice on "Gigantic" for Teen Nickelodeon. It is a new show and premieres in April, 2010. I had a blast and everyone was so easygoing. Wish filming could be like this all the time.

I've been asked to audition lately for some local theater work. But I've done several projects already and I really want to concentrate on furthering my career in television and film. So, I am off to a good start with the pilot film, "Live from Earth; It's Gawd" and "Gigantic" and now "Attack of the 30 Ft Chola". Of course, I am still going out for commercial auditions.

To follow up from the blog yesterday, I did have a full body massage, facial, got a manicure and went out to dinner with family. It was a great day!

Can't wait to shoot my scenes. Be sure to catch the teaser on You Tube and do leave a comment. I will let you folks know more about the project as I know more.

Adios!