PS: You grew up between Mexico and the US. How does being Mexican American — de aquí y de allá — inform your work as an actor?
DC: From the basics of it, it's my language. The way that I enunciate, the way that I talk: it's very Spanish, Mexican, you know? So, for example, most of the times when I grab a script, I have to translate everything into Spanish to know exactly what I'm saying, because I was raised in a Spanish household. And what that does is, it slows me down when I speak. You know, when you're living in a Spanish home, you tend to speak really fast and loud, and you tend to cut words off halfway through the sentence, and you get the information across. And, when you translate that to English, it sounds like you're just speaking gibberish. [laughs]
"It's like salt-of-the-earth type in our culture, where we're not just representing us, or me as an individual: we're representing an entire bloodline."
So, physically, that's one thing. In terms of how it bleeds into my work, another thing is — there's this really cool thought that I always had when I was going to college 'cause, it's very earthy. It's like salt-of-the-earth type in our culture, where we're not just representing us, or me as an individual: we're representing an entire bloodline. So if I'm on the screen, if I'm late to a meeting, if I'm interacting with certain groups of people: it's not just me interacting with this person. It's not just me doing the work for this scene. It is my mother, my father, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, and then there's this huge cloud of — or, this huge culture that's kind of implemented in myself that, it gives a lot of depth, I think. Especially when [I'm] doing a character that allows me to access it more; especially the more I know about my culture and my family.
![PS: You grew up between Mexico and the US. How does being Mexican American — de aquí y de allá — inform your work as an actor?
DC: From the basics of it, it's my language. The way that I enunciate, the way that I talk: it's very Spanish, Mexican, you know? So, for example, most of the times when I grab a script, I have to translate everything into Spanish to know exactly what I'm saying, because I was raised in a Spanish household. And what that does is, it slows me down when I speak. You know, when you're living in a Spanish home, you tend to speak really fast and loud, and you tend to cut words off halfway through the sentence, and you get the information across. And, when you translate that to English, it sounds like you're just speaking gibberish. [laughs]
"It's like salt-of-the-earth type in our culture, where we're not just representing us, or me as an individual: we're representing an entire bloodline."
So, physically, that's one thing. In terms of how it bleeds into my work, another thing is — there's this really cool thought that I always had when I was going to college 'cause, it's very earthy. It's like salt-of-the-earth type in our culture, where we're not just representing us, or me as an individual: we're representing an entire bloodline. So if I'm on the screen, if I'm late to a meeting, if I'm interacting with certain groups of people: it's not just me interacting with this person. It's not just me doing the work for this scene. It is my mother, my father, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, and then there's this huge cloud of — or, this huge culture that's kind of implemented in myself that, it gives a lot of depth, I think. Especially when [I'm] doing a character that allows me to access it more; especially the more I know about my culture and my family.](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/LsLJ4J3S6EyvjgKsh-n_dAe-Gx4/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2020/09/13/015/n/37139775/ab4bd6fbe1e4659c_TUA_201_Unit_03409RC/i/PS-You-grew-up-between-Mexico-US.jpg "PS: You grew up between Mexico and the US. How does being Mexican American — de aquí y de allá — inform your work as an actor?
DC: From the basics of it, it's my language. The way that I enunciate, the way that I talk: it's very Spanish, Mexican, you know? So, for example, most of the times when I grab a script, I have to translate everything into Spanish to know exactly what I'm saying, because I was raised in a Spanish household. And what that does is, it slows me down when I speak. You know, when you're living in a Spanish home, you tend to speak really fast and loud, and you tend to cut words off halfway through the sentence, and you get the information across. And, when you translate that to English, it sounds like you're just speaking gibberish. [laughs]
\"It's like salt-of-the-earth type in our culture, where we're not just representing us, or me as an individual: we're representing an entire bloodline.\"
So, physically, that's one thing. In terms of how it bleeds into my work, another thing is — there's this really cool thought that I always had when I was going to college 'cause, it's very earthy. It's like salt-of-the-earth type in our culture, where we're not just representing us, or me as an individual: we're representing an entire bloodline. So if I'm on the screen, if I'm late to a meeting, if I'm interacting with certain groups of people: it's not just me interacting with this person. It's not just me doing the work for this scene. It is my mother, my father, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, and then there's this huge cloud of — or, this huge culture that's kind of implemented in myself that, it gives a lot of depth, I think. Especially when [I'm] doing a character that allows me to access it more; especially the more I know about my culture and my family.")
