The Family Dynamics of the Latino Culture – Jeremy Ray Valdez as a Gay Son in La Mission
by bill biss
Exploring the relationship between a father and his son has been created countless times in the history of cinema. Yet, when that son is both Latino and gay, it’s an experience that hasn’t been told as a feature film until now.La Mission stars Benjamin Bratt as the father and Jeremy Ray Valdez as his teenage son. When Bratt’s character realizes his son is gay the reverberations hit hard for both of them and their community of family and friends in San Francisco’s diverse Mission district.
With poignant and realistic direction by Peter Bratt, who also wrote the screenplay, La Mission is a groundbreaking journey of family and a culture that quite frankly for the most part, is not accepting of homosexuality. Jeremy Ray Valdez spoke with The Rage Monthly about the impact of making the film, working and becoming great friends with both Peter and Benjamin Bratt and his approach to portraying his character of Jess Rivera.
The Rage Monthly: From a cultural aspect as a Latino, why do you think it was important to do this film?
Jeremy Ray Valdez: This kind of film has never been approached from the Latin point of view or Hispanic point of view. But, you know…I don’t view this film as a purely Latino film. It kind of resonates with white people, brown people, black people etc. I think it kind of goes beyond that…it’s not a classic coming out story but the angle has never been done from a Latino side.
Rage: The guts of the film are the relationship between your character and his father. The heritage is where I was coming from and that it’s not okay to be gay in many Latino families.
JRV: I think the way I view the Latin community and I think a lot of people view it is there’s a very hyper-macho sensibility about it. For somebody to come out in the Latino community is a pretty big deal because of the hyper-macho feelings within the community, not only Latino cultures but in a lot of other cultures.
Our way to put another male down is to feminize him, to call him a “bitch” or anything that would take away his masculinity. In the Latino culture, it’s very much that way.
Rage: It was nice that in the film you had the option to stay with your uncle when your father (Benjamin Bratt) turned you away. That showed a more progressive way of thinking within the community as well.
JRV: Absolutely. That character played by Jesse Borrego, he makes mention of building a low rider but putting in a bio-diesel engine in the car. He’s got a much more progressive way of thinking than Benjamin Bratt’s character.
Rage: Right. How did you discover a passion for acting?
JRV: I’ve always wanted to do it since I was really young. I was one of those guys who picked up everything I owned…which was not very much and moved out to Hollywood with a dream.
Rage: You’ve been quite successful since you were 21, landing roles in numerous television series and such.
JRV: I’ve been really fortunate. There are very few actors who get to make their living acting and I’m one of them. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face knowing that I’m living my dream.
Rage: Belated congratulations on becoming a newlywed.
JRV: Oh. Thank you very much. I have my one-year anniversary coming up on April 18. I better remember that one.
Rage: I would think because of the well-written script and the people who you were working with that you wouldn’t have any concerns about playing a young gay man.JRV: No, not at all. I knew that the minute I went in. I mean, there were 150 people who auditioned for my part, whether in Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York. They read a lot of people for it. When the script hit Hollywood, every actor wanted to do this movie.
Not just Latino actors but every actor wanted to be a part of this. When I walked in to do the reading for Peter [Bratt] and Benjamin, I instantly felt that this is their passion project and I would not feel uncomfortable doing this. They are not going to put me in any situation that I feel uncomfortable being in. I had all the respect and trust in the world for those guys.
Rage: What did you gain from the experience of working with Peter and Benjamin in La Mission?
JRV: Those guys are like family to me now. They really treat the people they work with like family. Benjamin has been like a mentor to me and has really looked after me. He’s pointed me in the right direction as far as advice goes. If I have questions or concerns about my career or other things, I can go to him. He’s just a real guy. He’s not a movie star in the sense where he’s too high and mighty or too big to talk to anybody.
He’s a family man. I had gotten engaged at the tail end of when we were shooting. Just seeing him being around his wife and kids really inspired me and the same thing with Peter, the director. That was one of the biggest things I took away from both those guys was just the sense of family and what’s most important in life. Acting is important and doing what you love is important but family first. They are just great guys. I love them and can’t wait to do another project with them.
Rage: That’s a great thing to take away as a lot of times that doesn’t happen.
JRV: Definitely. Ben is a very generous actor. When the camera is not on him, he gives you just as much, sometimes even more than when the camera is on him. He wants you to be good. He wants you to bring the best performance you can. There are not a lot of people who are like that. I was really fortunate in that sense to learn a lot from him and watch him work.
He did a movie not too terribly long ago called Piñero. That was one of the films that inspired me to be an actor. He just did such an over-the-top good job in that movie. I was like, “Man! I want to do that. I want to be that free in my acting.
Rage: Is this your first leading role in a motion picture?
JRV: I did a movie for HBO and I’ve done some smaller movies but this film is the one that I’m most proud of.
Rage: Was there any one scene in the film that was harder to process for you?
JRV: In my process of acting, I really have to go there in my head. I really have to feel these emotions and really go through the situation. I’m very much a method actor in that sense. I hope people take that away in my performance. I hope people don’t look at me and go, “Oh wow. He’s acting.”
Rage: Your performance is very real. One that is filled with tension, sadness and remorse…it comes across very realistic.
JRV: Thank you very much. One of the things I found hard is because of the way I processed the character is that every scene in this film is a very emotional kind of rollercoaster scene. So, it’s exhausting. I did my preparation and had to go through that but it was worth it to me.
Rage: La Mission opens in L.A. on April 9 [San Diego date to be determined]. How has the response been at the various film festivals where it has screened?
JRV: It’s been over-the-top! I couldn’t have asked for a better response. We’ve gotten standing ovations at almost every screening. We opened at OutFest in L.A. and got a standing ovation. To me, for my performance and my character…I felt like OutFest was my most important film festival. I know Sundance, New York…they are all important to me but for the gay community to embrace my performance and embrace this film…I was holding my breath.
They could have walked out of there thinking, “That was a crock of shit.” But the people really, really loved it. I had young and older gay men coming up to me in tears and thanking me for the performance and thanking me for doing this character justice and for having the story out there.
I’ve had so many messages from people contacting me on Facebook saying, “This is my story” or “I have a cousin or nephew or son or brother who’s gone through this exact same thing that your character went through and thank you for telling it. It’s going to help out the community.” I was like, “Wow. I didn’t expect that.” I was really pleased with the positive emotions toward the film.
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Category: INTERVIEWS, SPOTLIGHTS
We were so proud to have this film as our closing weekend as part of our annual Cine Gay Showcase at San Diego Latino Film Festival. Though Jeremy wasn’t able to participate we had Peter and Benjamin Bratt in attendance. The audience was so into the movie. It was thrilling and I can’t wait for its return to San Diego! Don’t miss it.
I love Jeremy! When I first saw him in this movie I said "he has to be mine."
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I think I fell in love <3333
#1 fan! aha.