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JEZABEL MONTERO USES HUMOR IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA
BY EBBY MAGAZINE
11 SEPTEMBER 2020
Jezabel Montero has been a professional bilingual actor since childhood. Born and raised in New York City to Cuban immigrant parents, Jezabel is a bilingual artist in all mediums, from radio to theatre to film and T.V.
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE, LAUGHING REALLY HARD AND LONG, WHERE YOUR EYES TEAR UP AND YOUR BELLY HURTS
When it comes to acting, Jezabel Montero is grateful for all her accomplishments within the Latino theatre community. Montero, who was born and raised in New York City to immigrant Cuban parents, has worked as a bilingual actor for over three decades. She is known for playing roles such as Mariela Aragon in Telemundo’s “Relaciones Peligrosas,” as Officer Garcia in the feature film, “Unlawful Justice,” and as a mob arms dealer, Mouse, in the film, “Wise Gals.”
She is a Cum Laude graduate from U.C.L.A., receiving her B.A. in Theatre. Although she has performed on many New York City stages (over forty plays), some of her proudest accomplishments are those within the Latino theatre community; having worked in theatres such as the pioneering Spanish Repertory Theatre. The groundbreaking Latino-American I.N.T.A.R. Theatre, and the prestigious Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, run by Miriam Colon.
When she is not acting, Jezabel works behind the scenes as a writer, director, and theater producer and film producer. She works as a script doctor to help others' tell their stories in their voice. As a director, Jezabel has directed everything from corporate videos, to shorts, to docs and is working on her directorial debut with The Duke and Duchess of Queens. An autobiographical dark comedy piece about two ethnic kids who fall in love and grow apart, through drug addiction and sexual abuse, in the gritty, urban center of the 1970s. In 2007, when she realized that her own experiences were chronically underrepresented (Latino, L.G.B.T.Q., women), she started her own film production company, Fuacata Films, to independently choose the stories she wanted to tell.
Credits with her film company include: Blondes Are Latin Too, a short documentary (writer/director/producer), The Basement, a short dark comedy thriller (writer/director/ producer), Lies & Oblivion: Sessions' Vocal Unit (writer/director/producer) Cassanova Was A Woman, feature film romantic comedy (writer/producer/actor), Re-Evolution: The Cuban Dream, a four-part docu-series (producer), The So-So You Don't Know – Episode 3 (producer) and Death of a Fool – feature film supernatural drama (producer – 2020). Her projects have won "Best of" categories and have gone on to distribution. All projects have diverse themes with the mission of inclusion – both in front of and behind the camera.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO FEED YOUR SOUL? WHAT'S YOUR SELF-LUXURY?
I travel. I need to get away from home and work (I work from home, so sometimes that's tough). It gets all wrapped up in one place and I have to get away and out of the house. During COVID times, it's been tough. But my partner and I just get in the car and start driving, where we end up, we don't know. So we google parks in the area and end up discovering a beautiful new park every time we take a long drive. We walk the park and take in nature. But before COVID, we liked to travel a lot. Day trips around the country and once a year, a vacation abroad somewhere. But it's definitely a self-luxury to travel and get out in nature. It's replenishing for my brain and soul.
HOW DO YOU NOURISH YOUR MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT? I take long walks, I get massages and I get acupuncture. I eat VERY healthy and I talk to family and friends. Laughing is what I love most and I write and work in comedy and laughter is the best medicine, right?? That REALLY nourishes me – a GOOD laugh. Laughing really hard and long, where your eyes tear up and your belly hurts. I LOVE that. My partner and I laugh every day and a lot each day.
HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PURPOSE? Yes. My purpose is to share my stories and my art with the world. My purpose is to make people feel good about themselves, move them and touch them on a visceral level, and do that through my art. I thrive on making people laugh or smile. These are tough times and if I can make people laugh or smile, even if just for a minute, then I've done my job. Part of my purpose is to educate people about women, L.G.B.T. and Latinx issues, immigrant and working-class issues, through my storytelling. There aren't enough stories out there about people like me, with my background and my struggles. But my struggle is everyone's struggles, so my themes are universal, yet my story is very personal—my professional spills over into my persona. My purpose in my personal life is to love with kindness. Always think of how you want to be treated and treat people with that same level of respect and consideration. Help your neighbor. Be kind to strangers. Never assume you know someone's else's pain. Ask questions. Be humble. Be generous with your time and your heart. Don't be cynical. Be optimistic and hopeful. No matter how bad it gets, it WILL and MUST get better. I always feel very fortunate because there is ALWAYS someone worse off than me, no matter how bad it gets, and that keeps me grateful to be alive and able to love and live the way I desire and need. I never compare myself to those who have it better off, but I compare myself to those who have it worse and THAT is what keeps me so appreciative of every single thing I have.
HOW DO YOU NOURISH YOUR MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT? I take long walks, I get massages and I get acupuncture. I eat VERY healthy and I talk to family and friends. Laughing is what I love most and I write and work in comedy and laughter is the best medicine, right?? That REALLY nourishes me – a GOOD laugh. Laughing really hard and long, where your eyes tear up and your belly hurts. I LOVE that. My partner and I laugh every day and a lot each day.
HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PURPOSE? Yes. My purpose is to share my stories and my art with the world. My purpose is to make people feel good about themselves, move them and touch them on a visceral level, and do that through my art. I thrive on making people laugh or smile. These are tough times and if I can make people laugh or smile, even if just for a minute, then I've done my job. Part of my purpose is to educate people about women, L.G.B.T. and Latinx issues, immigrant and working-class issues, through my storytelling. There aren't enough stories out there about people like me, with my background and my struggles. But my struggle is everyone's struggles, so my themes are universal, yet my story is very personal—my professional spills over into my persona. My purpose in my personal life is to love with kindness. Always think of how you want to be treated and treat people with that same level of respect and consideration. Help your neighbor. Be kind to strangers. Never assume you know someone's else's pain. Ask questions. Be humble. Be generous with your time and your heart. Don't be cynical. Be optimistic and hopeful. No matter how bad it gets, it WILL and MUST get better. I always feel very fortunate because there is ALWAYS someone worse off than me, no matter how bad it gets, and that keeps me grateful to be alive and able to love and live the way I desire and need. I never compare myself to those who have it better off, but I compare myself to those who have it worse and THAT is what keeps me so appreciative of every single thing I have.
