HOLLYWOOD’ S MOST POWERFUL LATINA PUBLICISTS: JASMINE ESPADA AND BRENDA HERRERA
HOLLYWOOD’ S MOST POWERFUL LATINA PUBLICISTS: JASMINE ESPADA AND BRENDA HERRERA
Latin Times Magazine: What inspired you to be a major Publicist for Hollywood’ s most famous Latinos?
Jasmin Espada: Working with actors such as Esai Morales and Ivonne Coll for as long as I have, more than inspiration is constant growth, a constant learning experience. But we also laugh a lot. You have to be able to find humor in what we do.
Brenda Herrera: It wasn’ t something I planned, it was just something I fell into after years of experience working in entertainment, the opportunity to do publicity came to me through a publicist friend who offered me a position at the agency she worked for and I didn’ t think twice about taking it and I’ m glad I did because I truly love what I do and I’ m inspired everyday by securing new clients, working on new projects and the opportunities to expand our business.
Latin Times Magazine: How does it feel to be named two of the industry’ s leading publicists and Hollywood’ s most powerful Latinas?
Jasmin Espada: The Los Angeles Times recognition was very humbling. I see it as an opportunity as a Latina publicist working in Hollywood to hopefully inspire young people and lead by example. It is time we end the long running lip service from the studios about Latinos and really give our talent the roles they deserve. Our talent is ready.
Brenda Herrera: It’ s an honor to be included in the LA Times Diverse 100 among so many talented individuals. As publicists, it’ s our job to make our clients shine and we are just quietly in the background pulling the strings to make that happen. It’ s a thankless job and one that many don’ t recognize the value in what we do, so to be recognized for all our hard work is an incredible feeling!
Latin Times Magazine: Tell us one of the funniest moments you have experienced with an Actor?
Jasmin Espada: I’ ve had many funny moments in my career. However, this one happened many years before I became a
14
publicist. While a college student I did an internship at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston during the Robert Maplethorpe exhibit. We were told Paul Newman was going to be visiting that day with his wife Joanne Woodward. I was young and clueless and completely missed them getting in. So there I was minding my own business when all of a sudden Paul Newman comes to me and says“ Honey, do you have a Kleenex?” It was a surreal experience. From all the people there he went directly to me. It is almost like he knew I was going to be a Hollywood publicist somehow when I didn’ t even know it myself.
Brenda Herrera: I was with Esai Morales in an elevator, and a middle-eastern man walked in. Esai knew a little Farsi that he decided to use at that moment. He said something to the man in Farsi which I did not understand and the man gave him a crazy look and ran out of the elevator. I asked Esai what he said to the man and he said he told him the first thing that came to mind and that was,“ what are you looking at”? He didn’ t mean to be rude, but that was the only phrase in Farsi that he could think of at that moment. When he realized that the man probably got offended, he felt terrible and tried going after him to explain and apologize but the man was already gone. So for the next half an hour, Esai made me drive around looking for the man so he could apologize to him. It was one of those times you wish you had a video camera.
Latin Times Magazine: What is your favorite Latin food and do you love Cuban Sandwiches? Jasmin Espada: At the risk of getting my interview cut short I am a vegetarian trying very hard to become vegan, however when I did eat meat, Cuban sandwiches were a favorite.
Brenda Herrera: I love all Latin food but if I had to choose a favorite, I would have to say my mom’ s chicken mole. I do love Cuban sandwiches especially the Cuban sandwich from Portos Cuban Bakery.
Latin Times Magazine: What Advice can you give young Latino Publicists and actors:
Jasmin Espada: If you love the art of communication I suggest you read two books. One is
Effective Public Relations by Cutlip & Center( First edition) and the other is How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Those two books summarize in beautiful precision what public relations is. If you are really passionate about becoming a publicist do an internship at Espada Herrera & Associates. You will learn a lot. I started working with Communications since I was at UMASS Boston. My first on campus job was Assistant to the Student Trustee. That gave me( and a group of selected friends) access to a lot of private receptions with the top brass of the University. It also taught me a lot about the world of public relations. Celebrities and VIPs alike trusted me. It was like a domino effect. Celebrities are a very specific public which requires special handling. I have always respected and honored their talent so they recognized I was there to help bring their talent to the attention of the media. I started working with Latino talent and it was a natural progression.
Brenda Herrera: I would say, just follow your heart. Don’ t do anything for any other reason but for the love of it. If you‘ re an actor, you should do it for the art of it not because you want to be a celebrity. We see it all the time, real actors stay out of the spotlight and work everyday at honing their craft, but wanna-be actors don’ t want to do the work to be a great actor, they just want to be photographed on the red carpet because all they really care about is being famous.
If you’ re a publicist starting out, ask yourself, what are you passionate about? If your answer is Publicity, then you’ re on the right track. It may look like a fun job( which it can be), but the truth is it’ s a lot of hard work, long hours and at times, very stressful. So you really have to have thick skin and really love what you do, otherwise, you will not be successful.
Latin Times Magazine www. latintimesmedia. com Abraza el calor de tu cultura! Latin Times Magazine www. Latin-Times. com Abraza el calor de tu cultura!