Check Out Elena Ramos’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Ramos.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in Hermosillo, Sonora Mexico. Ever since I can remember, I knew I wanted to be a performer. As a young girl I would put on my mother’s makeup, over-draw my lips, and add crazy eye shadow colors. I would sneak into my abuela’s fancy gown stash; the ones with the sparkles that were in the back of our closet saved for special occasions. I would dust them off and wear them as part of my act. Then I would wrangle my friends or my older brother to be part of my acts and I would give them different roles, depending on the day. I would then assemble my audience, usually my family members and friendly neighbors, in the living room where I would perform as a villain inspired from the novelas (Soap Operas) I grew up watching. My performances were usually comedic which I attribute to wearing my grandmother’s oversize gowns and trying to walk on my mother’s high heels; or they just thought we were hilarious.

I like to think they loved my acts since the audience was always clapping and cheering me on. Of course as a child it’s all fun and games, but truthfully, I have always loved the performing arts. So, as an adult I decided to follow the path that would allow me to do what I love. But the reality is, that it’s much harder than just “following your dreams”.

I am an immigrant. I came to the United States in 2014, arriving in San Antonio, Texas. That’s when everything changed for me. Overcoming the culture shock combined with the challenge of learning a new language was hard, but I was determined to learn and adapt to this amazing opportunity. To my surprise, shortly after moving to San Antonio my mother and step dad announced that we were moving to Japan due to his career in the military.

In 2015 I was on my way to Yokosuka, Japan. I lived on the military base with my parents and younger brother. At this point the idea of pursuing acting was a distant dream. As an immigrant I feel like I have this huge responsibility to do “something” with my life. That meant to pursue a stable career to provide for my family and make their investment worth it. For a couple of years I was in college studying psychology but as time went on there was always something in the back of my mind that made me restless.

One day I saw an ad on the community wall of the base grocery store. It said “Scouting Models”, it sounded fun and I was bored, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I saved the date and asked my mother to join me, just to be safe. I ended up getting hired by a modeling agency in Tokyo. I worked with them doing mostly commercials for different companies like Microsoft, RICOH, Kirin, and even the New Zealand Rugby team who were playing in Osaka.

During this time of going to college, doing auditions and working is when it finally hit me. I realized I truly wanted to pursue my dreams. So in 2018 , after three years of living in Japan, I made the decision to move to Los Angeles, to “follow my dreams”.

But here’s when the real challenge started. The cruel reality of what it takes to follow your dreams in a city that will eat you alive. The countless disappointments are what makes each booking, each gig, each role that much more exhilarating. Since moving to Los Angeles I have worked on many projects that have given me great experiences alongside beautiful people who I now call my friends. I traveled to Philadelphia for the Latino Film Festival with “Bajo La Tierra” Director Pablo Guillen and to Sitges, Spain with “Efflorescence” Director Sofia Garza-Barba. I played “Pastora” in my first theatrical play “Torera” by Monet Hurst-Mendoza at the Los Angeles OutsideIn Theatre. Being an artist is a continuous search for growth within both experiences and failures. As I reflect on some of my accomplishments, another part of me feels so distant from where I want to be. I like to tell myself as long as you keep going, and don’t give up on yourself great things will come, it’s just a matter of time.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The path to becoming a working actor is already a struggle on its own. You are constantly met with adversity and there’s not really a straight path to navigating this industry as a career. It takes years and many failures to start finding a way, and even then it’s unclear. I will say working in Los Angeles as an immigrant Mexican actress I have come to notice a pattern with the years of auditioning. Not only are the auditions and opportunities scarce, but add in the fact that I’m an immigrant, it’s difficult. I was constantly told by my managers and agents to “work on your accent”.

For reference, I came to the United States later in my life, so naturally I have a slight accent. It comes and goes at times in conversation but you can definitely tell it’s there. I have paid for tutors and trained at acting studios to polish my craft, perfect the language and tone down my accent.
I would like to think that the Los Angeles film industry is inclusive and yet, I can’t seem to find a place for me. Then I see the history of latino underrepresentation in hollywood, and I realize that it’s not just me.

Even though there are amazing latino success stories, we remain significantly underrepresented in leading roles despite “making up a large percentage of the U.S. demographic. Advocacy continues for better representation in front of and behind the camera, recognizing the significant economic potential of inclusive storytelling,” So then I think to myself, what are my chances of breaking into an industry where I am disadvantaged from the start? But I have faith. Conversations like this, making noise, there’s so many of us that take part in important story telling, and the reality is, what makes a movie beautiful is that anyone can be cast independent of age, social status, color or gender.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I remember my first gig, it was when I was living in Japan. I was hired to work on a commercial for an electronics company to promote their new printer. It was a BIG deal for me. I always wanted to be part of something creative, so I was really excited to be on set for the first time. Seeing the lights and everyone going over their roles in this commercial is what sparked my interest to really pursue it fearlessly. I quickly realized I wanted to do something more meaningful than commercials, so I moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for films. Like many actors ,I was a waitress working part time while taking background gigs from Central Casting. That’s when I really saw how big movie productions operated.

Then I booked my first film role, it was for the thesis film “A Mas No Poder” directed by Ruben Fuentes. It was a truly magical and eye opening experience. I experienced what it was like to be a working actor and fell in love with the craft even more. Today I am continuing to pursue my dreams. The young Susana who looked out the little window from her bedroom into the sky that wished to be in Hollywood acting would be so incredibly proud of me, and yet I feel like I have a long way to go. I appreciate interviews like this that stoke my fire and I hope I can remind others to take a beat, and celebrate your accomplishments, wherever you are today. Sometimes we focus so much on where we want to be that we forget to celebrate the little victories that come on the path of accomplishing your goals. I’m letting this be that moment for me and I would like to share it with you.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I am hoping that in the next 5 to 10 years we see a positive change towards more opportunities and representation for all. I also hope we don’t lose the essence of what makes films and movies so beautiful and limit Artificial Intelligence. As the years go by, the world moves forward, fast. But people will always crave connection and to be able to relate to something human with their hearts. So I hope we enter an era where we start finding ourselves in impactful films that teach us about our complex and diverse existence as humans.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11458248/?ref_=nmawd_ov_i
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanaaaelenaaa/

Image Credits
Paul Smith
Paula Crichton De Alba
Carla Lopez
Peter McCollough