LATIN TIMES MAGAZINE - 2019 Summer Edition | Page 41

Latina Lideres Awards
actress and comedian
Aniria Medrano-Turney
2019 Latina Mover N Shaker
by: Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla
My most recent project was that I had a small role in Hu-
lu’s The Act. Soon I will be filming a short film that I am so
excited about because it is a comedy about a Puerto Rican
family and I get to play the Grandma...a character that we
all know, and I get to embody her!
LTM: What part of Florida do you live in – are you from Florida?
If not – what brought you to Florida?
Aniria: I live in Valrico, FL. I was born in El Salvador to a Sal-
vadoran father and a Puerto Rican grandmother. I was born
in San Salvador, El Salvador, and my parents moved to Florida
when I was 6. They came to Gainesville to pursue their Master’s
and PhD’s at the University of Florida.
LTM: Tell me about what you do for a living.
Aniria: I am a stand-up comedian and an actress. I love my
job because not only do I get to play different characters, but I
also have the opportunity to play other cultures. For example, I
played a Syrian mother on Chicago Med, and on stage, I played
a Guatemalan nanny.
LTM: Tell us about the biggest highlights of your career.
Aniria: It was when I booked my first big acting gig. It was my
first union (SAG-AFTRA) project, and I got to work with some-
one I have admired for years, Marlon Wayans. It was not only an
honor to work with him, but becoming a union actor changed
the way I looked at my acting career.
LTM: As a Latina leader in the community, business, or other…
what has been your biggest challenge, and how have you been
able to overcome it?
Aniria: I faced my biggest challenges as a stand-up comedian.
When I started, there were not a lot of women in comedy here
in Tampa. Florida is a southern state, so seeing a Latina talking
about her truth on stage was not popular. At times it was looked
at as inappropriate. My comedy is very adult plus I was a Latina
talking about being Latina in the US, among other things so it
was hard to find an audience but more importantly to find the
confidence to keep sharing my stories and opinions. I overcame
it by not giving up, practicing, practicing, and practicing, build-
ing a tough outer cover and believing in myself and believing
that my stories mattered. I learned not to take the rejection
personally. I kept writing and performing to the point where
people just couldn't ignore me. Throughout the years that have
been more women entering this field, so it has gotten a bit eas-
ier. As a matter of fact, I think women in comedy is on the rise.
LTM: How important is being a Latina to you?
Aniria: It's my culture so very important! I think that what I do
L atin T imes M agazine
gives other Latinas/Latinos a voice in how we think and what
your experiences are like. Our point of view exists.
LTM: What is your favorite type of musica, and what is your fa-
vorite song?
Aniria: I love music, so it's hard to pinpoint just one. My all-
time favorite bands are Heart and Janes Addiction, but I do en-
joy music like folksy music like John Mayer, soulful/jazzy music
like Amy Winehouse! I indulge in old school Salsa too, like El
Gran Combo and Celia Cruz. My favorite song….uuff….that’s
hard…I’ll have to go with Dog and Butterfly by Heart because
when my kids were born, I didn’t know any lullabies so I would
sing them that song to help them sleep.
LTM: IF you can go back to let’s say 18-21, what are some of the
pivotal decisions that you have made that you would do differ-
ently?
Aniria: I would have taken a chance on my dreams. I did not
pursue my dreams until I was in my 30's. I would have gone to
college as I did, but I would have worked on stand up at the same
time.
LTM: What can we expect to see from you in the future
Aniria: Hopefully, a feature film or a tv show. Also, I will be do-
ing my first comedy festival: The Burbank Comedy Festival. I
have been auditioning for some pretty exciting big projects as
well so let’s see if I am lucky enough to book one!
LTM: What famous person do you most identify with and why
Aniria: John Leguizamo. He is my inspiration for comedy be-
cause the first time I saw his one-man show "Spicorama" I felt
he knew my story. That made me realize I had something to say,
too!
LTM: What did I miss? Tell me something you want us to know!
Aniria: I did my first big play last year. It was called Casa Ajena. It
was the bilingual version of the Lisa Loomer’s iconic play Living
Out. I got to perform with some famous Latino TV stars such
as Khotan Fernandez, Rosalinda Rodriguez, Christian Millan,
and Gabriela Vergara. This was my first time doing a bilingual
project and working with such celebrities.
Read more at: www.LatinTimesMedia.com
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A braza el calor de tu cultura !
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