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A Zone’s Eye View with Yeni Alvarez

Check out Yeni's Production Diary from the set of "Rogues"!

By Laura Alber and Albert L. Ortega

(All Studio and Film Set Photos By Albert L. Ortega) 

Yeni Alvarez, an actress with great versatility, has developed a successful career in television, film and stage. Born in Cuba, but raised in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents, Yeni studied in the Young Actor's Workshop and at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, and then back to Miami for her Bachelor's of Fine Arts Degree in Theater from Florida International University. Seeking new challenges, Yeni moved to Los Angeles in January 1999 and within one and a half month landed the pilot for "Los Beltran," which aired nationally on the Telemundo Network. After two hugely successful seasons, "Los Beltran" gained national attention for doubling the ratings for the Telemundo Network, as well as receiving numerous prestigious awards including: Golden Eagle Award, Imagen Award, Alma Award, and two consecutive nominations for the GLAAD Awards against shows like "Sex in the City" and "Will and Grace".

Yeni's passion for the art of acting keeps her drawn to independent features as she continues to evolve her career through exciting and challenging roles. Her latest projects include a guest star role on "Resurrection Blvd" for Showtime and leading roles in the films "Prisoner of Fate" and "Brothers and Sisters". Yeni is currently filming a feature project called "Rogues" which you will be hearing more about right here on EZ.

And, now without further ado, please enjoy reading our one on one with the very talented Yeni Alvarez!


Z: Tell us a little about your family background and how you decided on acting as a career. 


YA: Thank God I was lucky enough to have a great childhood! My parents raised me right with great values and morals. I am who I am today because of my family's support.
How I decided on acting as a career,....hmmmm. When I was 7 years old, my mother took me to a puppet theater and the actors called me on stage. I recited a poem I'd learned in school for mother's day and did not panic or freeze. When I finished, the applause just caught me by surprise. What a great feeling! After I got off that stage, I felt the emptiest feeling in the world. I wanted to be back on that stage! I went back the next day but they picked someone else. At the time, I didn't know I could actually do that for a living. Not until years later, in high school, when my teacher Bernie Rachelle told me I could do that for a living. He told me I was good enough. And I believed him.

Z: Was your Cuban family in real life anything like the one portrayed in the sitcom "Los Beltran"?


YA: My Cuban parents are very similar in customs to my TV family. We have high family values and support one another, but most important of all, we have love.


Z: How did you feel after just moving to Los Angeles and landing the role in "Los Beltran"?


YA: It was a dream come true for me. "Los Beltran" was my very first audition in Hollywood. Can you believe it? I arrived in January, got an agent in February and the first thing he sent me out on was "Los Beltran." A true Hollywood story. I am very grateful.


Z: It must have been exciting to be at the GLADD Awards with your sitcom, "Los Beltran", running against the likes of "Sex in the City" and "Will and Grace", two of the biggest shows on TV! 


YA: Wow! It was very exciting! Those are amazing shows and I feel lucky to be in the same category! Plus, the GLAAD Awards ceremony is FABULOUS!

Z: You have also starred in a film called "Freedom" (aka "Libertad"), about a young Cuban artist who encounters many obstacles in realizing his ultimate dream to escape communist Cuba and regain his freedom. All based on true events. Is this a subject you felt especially passionate about? What particular aspect drew you to the film?


YA: It was my first film ever and I am very proud of it. I had the chance to work with great people and it is a subject very close to my heart. I really liked the strength of my character "Alina." A young Cuban girl facing amazing odds. Her courage to risk her life at sea in search of a better way of life really hit home.


Z: You've also done a lot of Theater. Do you have a preference between Theater, TV or Film? 


YA: I started in theater, it was my first love and I think I will always do theater. Television has been very good to me and I appreciate all the fans of the show immensely. It is thanks to them that "Los Beltran" was such a hit. Film, I will conquer soon! :)


Z: I've heard rumors about two other possible movies coming up, "Brothers and Sisters" and "In Hot Pursuit." Any word on the status of those? And what are they about? 


YA: "Brothers and Sisters" is a coming of age film about a group of college buddies and the different paths their lives take. It will be in the festival circuit this fall. "In Hot Pursuit" is an awesome romantic comedy where I play the lead character "Lupita" who loves cops, and eventually the one she likes turns out to be her childhood rival. It premieres at the DGA in September 2002 and I can't wait to see it!


Z: You also told me about your latest experience with two pretty famous...people..?? Kermit and Miss Piggy! How was that experience?


YA: The Denny's campaign has been the most fun I've ever had shooting a commercial! The puppets came to life after a while and I actually caught myself talking directly to them a few times! The puppeteers were great! It was everything I thought it would be! and I am a Muppet fan! In Cuba, they were translated into Spanish!


Z: Your list of skills reads more like a stunt-woman's! (Singing, Dancing-Salsa, Merengue, Mambo, Karate, Stage Combat, Stunts, Firearms, Swords-Rapier and Dagger, Broad Sword, Swimming, Sports, Weight Training, Aerobics, Horseback Riding, Billiards, Jetski) How did you manage to learn all these skills, and why did you choose these particular talents?


YA: I love to dance, and it came very easy to me as a latina. The stage combat stuff I really enjoy. I like CIA/Mission Impossible-type action films and would love to do them.


Z: What's in the future for Yeni? Any projects you can discuss? Any particular thing you would like to do should the opportunity present itself?


YA: I am working on a few projects right now and they involve action and stage combat! I want to be the first latina action hero!


Z: Do you have any memorable experiences from working on Los Beltran?


YA: Yes, many. But the best one is feeling like I had a family in LA. The writers, producers and cast took me in with open arms, and the crew supported and loved us all the way through. They all have a special place in my heart.


Z: If you had the opportunity to work with any star/director who would it be and why?


YA: Actors: Tom Hanks and Robin Williams - because they make laugh from the bottom of your stomach and when they cry, I cry from the bottom of my heart.

Director: Steven Spielberg - because he makes movies that make people dream.


Z: Can you name any childhood and current heroes you may have?


YA: My heroes are my parents for having the courage to come to an unknown land in search for a better life. (And superman, because he's so darn sexy!)


Z: What is something about you that we would never guess? 


YA: I am Trekkie and I loooove sci-fi. AAaaaahhh!! Shhhh, Don't tell! 


Z: Can you name a "guilty pleasure"?


YA: Besides chocolate? oooh, vanilla ice cream with my mother's flan! YUM!


Z: If you had one wish what would it be?


YA: hmmmm, a certain academy award.....


Z: What is the last good movie you saw and why.


YA: OOOOH, tough choice. "Frailty" Not very well known, but it blew me away! If you missed, rent it!


Z: Favorite midnite snack. 


YA: Cereal with milk.


Z: With or without butter.... 


YA: With!


Z: Do you think it is harder for a Latin/Hispanic actor or actress to find work and why if so?


YA: Yes. Definitely. I'd say 80% of the work out there goes to anglo male actors, then from the remaining %, split it into anglo women (mostly), african-americans and the last little percent is for actual latinas. Pretty bad odds, but I don't let that stop me!


Z: Ever get so frustrated you want to pack it in?


YA: Yes. But then always something amazing happens and I'm back in the game!


Z: Are actors spoiled or overpaid?


YA: Only the lucky ones.


Z: Do you think America is through with the Latin craze?


YA: I hope not. Ready or not......!

Z: Being in Los Angeles does it make you angry when society clumps everyone that speaks Spanish as "Mexicans."


YA: I think they need to be educated as to all the different cultures included in that clump. How we come in different colors, not just brown. How some don't even cook with spices. How different all the customs, races, colors, accents, foods, beliefs, and cultures are. I think Steven Spielberg should tell them, and maybe them they'll listen.