I have to say that in order for me to be a part of such an amazing event a lot of Latinas came before me and made it possible. While Josefa Salinas made my participation possible my mom made my endurance of this industry and its journey possible by mere example.
Mercedes Cortazar Ferguson raised seven kids as a single mother until I the youngest was twelve. It was then, much to my dismay back then, that she married my step dad. Since I was the youngest I absorbed everything like a sponge. It was not until I started my own indie production company that was able to somewhat understand and grasp what my mom must have gone through. She was in a country that was not her country of origin trying as best as she could to make sure all of us where fed, clothed, and received an education all while she ran her own business. A flower shop appropriately titled Mercedes Creative Designs. I take my hat off to her because I have no children I need to feed and I face a lot of challenges. Quite honestly sometimes I can't believe what I have to endure but knowing what she had to endure really puts things in perspective. I am blessed to be the daughter of a warrior who by mere example passed it on to me.
Here I am with my mom after some sort of production. I can tell by the hair and make up. ;-)
Here I am with my mom and a three of my six siblings celebrating Mercedes' birthday. I can see why the called me Dumbo. Yes that's me on the far right.
She is one of my many inspirations. While the distance only allows her to see most of my accomplishments by internet I have no doubt she is proud. At Christmas she read all the Italian Magazines I had been in due to being chosen as the image for Paulo Coelho's The Experimental Witch and told me how proud she was of all I had been able to accomplish and of my faith. She has seen firsthand what I've had to endure to live that moment and while as a mom she wished she could have helped me skip some of the lessons it brought, I at the end of the day I'm glad and grateful for everything I've gone through.
While I am not defined by labels anyone tries to put on me to try and justify what they believe I should be based on stereotypes society has created to help us understand things that sometimes aren't meant to be understood, I am still very proud to be LATINA because while it is part of what I am it is not entirely WHO I am. Who I am goes beyond anything that any label could try and explain. I am above all a child of God who believes life is too short to believe you can't do things because you are considered a minority. That is simply not what I see when I look in the mirror and I hope you don't either. Most of all when you see me I hope you see yourself in me and in the process realize that anything is possible! After all I am just a girl from Mexico and Texas who refuses to believe that anything is impossible when you follow your passion and do the hard work.
I read this quote and it spoke directly to me and what I believe. “Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly.” Epictetus - I know who I am. I know I define me therefore I know that I can be smart, accomplished, and girlie for I was born a woman and I will not deny myself the fun that comes with that simply because others want me to believe this is a man's world. In my view of the world, this is OUR world! Man, woman, child, teenager, baby- it belongs to all of us and no one is superior to anyone! We can all together be of service to eachother by being a teacher or a student depending on the lesson but most of all by simply BEING who we are. When you know who you are what anyone else tries to make you with their words and labels has no effect on you. Dare to be you! You were born to do just that! Thank you everyone at HOPE and Latina History Day for allowing me to share my story!
Below is the video of my speech. Sadly it got cut off as I was finishing so below the video is the actual speech. Follow your heart and passion and expect the unexpected and I guarantee you you'll be pleasantly suprised as to where the road will lead you as long as you endure its challenges.
Latina History Day Speech
In 2006 after being in Los Angeles for ten years as a working actor I realized my struggles with the industry had led me to open my eyes to what it was I truly wanted out of my career and life. Those years made me realize how much the stereotypes in my industry went against what I truly wanted to put out into the world. The more I opened my eyes to the reality Hollywood had created the more I realized I could create my own and so I did.
In 2006 I opened my independent production company under my name, Adriana Garza Productions. I never knew what was to come and I’m glad I didn’t or I wouldn’t be standing here before you today. It has been an extremely challenging road whose challenges seem small in comparison to its rewards. I have grown in every trait I always desired from faith to courage but most of all I have given voice to the dreams in my heart. Dreams others including people in my industry often tried to discourage me from pursuing. However I knew and trusted I could make them come true if I listened to what my inner voice was telling me and allowed it to guide me.
My gut knew I didn’t want to spend my life working or auditioning for roles that would end up contributing to the Hollywood stereo type of what it means to be a Latina Woman. I decided to define what it entails to be a Latina woman on my own terms. So that same year I conceived, produced, directed, and performed in The Art of Being. The Art of Being was a play about humanity and all it entails to be human and the diversity of the human race. I went on to be the first Latina to win the 2006 Toyota Moving Forward Award presented by GLAMOUR magazine for being the driving force behind the play. I won from over 2,500 women nationwide. It was then that I realized I was right in following my heart and I continued down the path this new door had put before me.
I went on to tour with the play and donated its proceeds to a different art related non-profit organization in each city because I wanted to give back after all I had been given. Did I mention my award came with a car? This new beautiful reality God and life had bestowed upon me after guiding me to follow my heart made may want to give back and continue to move forward. My next project, a short film, was for Paulo Coelho’s, author of The Alchemist, International Film Competition based on his novel The Witch of Portobello. My film went on to win Paulo Coelho’s The Experimental Witch International Film Competition from over 6000 International entries. By doing so it became a part of the final film, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival this past October. The premiere allowed me to walk the red carpet for the first time in my life not only for work I had produced but also next to an author whose work I had admired for over ten years. All this prompted Latin Star Magazine to name me the Latin Star to watch in late 2009.
That same year I was also cast in the UNICEF Tap Project Desperate commercial, which you saw. It went on to be a one of ten finalist from over 4000 International entries at the Cannes Lion Awards in Cannes in 2009 and has gone on to win several awards for helping raise awareness of the Global Water Crisis. After the beauty both projects brought into my life in 2009 I decided to come back behind the scenes for the 2010 UNICEF Tap Project campaign by producing the benefit concert. It is taking place March 24th at the Roxy on Sunset. It has been an extremely challenging road for the past six months with everything from last minute venue changes to loss of donations due to date change. There has not been one day when this production hasn’t required that I face the day with all the passion I hold in my heart for equality. Water is a basic human right which 900 million people don’t have everyday and because of this 24,000 children die everyday from preventable causes, which means a child every 20 seconds. Simply hearing those words uttered makes me realize I was right in taking on this challenge which some thought me crazy for doing since I donated my producing services as a volunteer.
But through my eyes and view of the world I see how blessed we all are and feel that it is our responsibility as human beings on this planet to not only take care of it but of each other. Taking on that responsibility is a choice I make simply because I can not stand on the sidelines and watch someone be denied a basic human right. I am honored to be here today to share my story with you and I am grateful for your listening ears. If you take anything away from what I have said I hope it is the knowledge that with a lot of passion and hard work nothing is impossible and that the only thing we should fear is fear itself. Thank you for your time.
Kudos, Adri, Kudos!!!
ReplyDelete