Mexican-American actor Tonatiuh Elizarraraz transforms his career in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’, starring Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna, which allowed him to reconcile with his femininity and heal wounds after years of adapting to Hollywood, according to an interview with EFE.
“I had to forgive myself for the parts of me that I lost to fit in,” says the 30-year-old artist in Miami, known simply as Tonatiuh, the name of the fifth sun of the Aztecs, and who has grabbed the attention of the new film, in which he plays the character of Luis Molina.
“I lost a lot of my femininity to survive as an actor in Hollywood. But to be reunited with the totality of my being and to be able to gift that to Molina was an act of self-love and resilience,” added the actor, known for TV series such as ‘Life’ (2018-2020), ‘Hidden Canyons’ (2021) and ‘Promised Land’ (2022).
The artist, who identifies as queer and was born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, stars in this new installment of the story written by Manuel Puig, under the production of Lopez and Artists Equity, the company of her ex-husband Ben Affleck and his best friend Matt Damon.
Tonatiuh is Molina, a homosexual prisoner locked up during the Argentine dictatorship in 1975 who survives by telling imaginary movies to his cellmate, Valentín, played by Luna, in which he transforms himself into his alter ego Kendall Nesbit and the protagonist of these fantasies is López.
The actor highlights the relevance of the film at a time when the Latino and LGTBI communities “are being demonized at the moment”.
“We live in a time of negative ‘PR’ (public relations) like never before and that’s bullshit,” she explains in reference to political attacks on Latinos and trans people.
“Being Latino is beautiful. Being Latino is powerful. This film is a love letter not only to our community, but also to the LGBTQ+ and queer community, which is being demonized. It’s crazy to think that we are being called terrorists,” he adds.
In the film, the horror of political prisoners is told with a harsh, gray dose of reality combined with colorful escapism and a musical adventure.
What Tonatiuh Elizarraraz did for his new movie
To become Molina, he lost 20 kilos in less than two months, “the old-fashioned way, closing his mouth,” he says with a laugh.
“I wanted to ensure two things: to live the circumstances of a dictatorship and for the body to reflect that reality. But also that Molina had a female figure, a genderless energy,” she explains.
“In my last musical number I have an incredibly feminine moment. I wanted that whole human experience to be reflected on screen,” she says.
When talking about his experience with López and Luna, Tonatiuh reveals that “the most unexpected thing was how funny they are”.
“You know the mythology of Diego and Jennifer, but meeting their children, their families and laughing between takes, we became family. That was the greatest gift,” he says.
Her performance not only requires drama, but also includes singing and dancing, as do Lopez and Luna.
“My mom and I would always drive to and from work listening to concerts on the radio. We would sing Rocío Dúrcal, Juan Gabriel… That’s where my love for music and drama was born,” she shares.
And he confesses that he feels “as if he is living a dream”.
“I never imagined, although I am an actor, that one day I would be in a musical. Let alone have a single… let alone a duet with Jennifer Lopez,” he says.
The actor also tells that he refused to change his name of Mexican indigenous origin, even when it earned him blows at school, because his “identity is not a nuisance”. “Sharing my culture is a beautiful thing,” he says.
Today he has infinite patience with those who have difficulty pronouncing it.
“The only problem is when someone doesn’t want to learn it or hear where I come from. But learning the names of other cultures is beautiful and I’m happy to teach them about mine,” he finishes, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
