HOW IT ALL STARTED
With the responses, retweets and comments something became very clear. We need support. We need to feel seen, heard and uplifted. We need each other. We need connection. So Angelique followed up that tweet with another tweet that became a thread of Latines from all over the world sharing their art.
In August of 2022, Angelique Rivera like many other Latines in the industry noticed a devastating trend that Latine shows and movies seemed, well, dispensable. With the cancellation of the well reviewed Gordita Chronicles and The Batgirl deletion, you could feel this sense of disappointment and frustration within our community. In response, Angelique decided to write an encouraging tweet to her followers, a lot of them being Latine & Hispanic entertainment professionals, which got some traction.
Enter Rob Alicea! Thanks to the magic of the algorithm, Rob saw this thread and replied. He was inspired and felt like Angelique and himself should take this further and start meeting on Zoom with other artists from the thread.
This is how L.I.F.E. was born
WHERE WE ARE NOW
The L.I.F.E community meets once a month on Zoom with the purpose of getting to know one another. It’s also a safe space for creatives of all levels to seek help, support and advice from other members. What makes our community unique is that our members are located all over the country and are descendants from all corners of Latin America & Spain so everyone has a unique perspective which really showcases the diversity of the Latin & Hispanic community as a whole while giving space for all voices to be heard. We also have an open door policy so anyone who believes in our mission can join our community regardless if you are an ally, creative outside of the entertainment industry, volunteer, business partner, or a fan: we welcome you to join us to make a difference boosting Latin & Hispanic talent in Hollywood, and around the world.
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One of the first L.I.F.E initiatives was to create a database of every member's contact information which was made available to all members to promote collaboration and provide accessibility within the L.I.F.E community. A version of that database is now available for the public on this website under the community tab. This is an effort to make us more visible so there aren't any more excuses that “they” couldn’t find Latine talent to hire for above or below the line positions.
This is just the beginning. We are excited to keep expanding the community and initiate more opportunities for us to be connected in a real, substantial way and grow together in our craft and business as creatives and entertainment professionals.