BRYAN, Texas — Seth Arroyo and Lizzete Velez have been acting for years, and neither of them have played a Hispanic character until now.
But for the first time, they’re getting to connect with their heritage with their first performance at the Clara B. Mounce Public Library’s special story time event in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
"It’s been a little bit interesting because i personally have never in tune or touch with my heritage. Being in a generally Hispanic play, it’s nice to kind of get more in touch with that," Arroyo said.
Arroyo and Velez play, Miguel and Carmela, respectively, in the Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe’s play based off the children’s book, "Carmela: Full of Wishes."
They both can relate to their characters, which is why they feel representation is important and why the library chose to read the book to families.
"It’s important to have books that represent and also show a diverse community,” Jenny Stadler, the youth services librarian, said.
The storytelling gave parents and children an opportunity to sing songs, practice counting and reciting the alphabet in English and Spanish before Arroyo, Velez and their co-stars acted out three scenes from their play.
Stadler says it’s a fun way to introduce the community to Hispanic culture.
“It’s a fun story of a sister and brother bond and it’s a really good story that hits close to home and really informative,” Stadler said.
Before landing the role, Arroyo didn’t know much Spanish or much about his culture, and now, he’s singing traditional folk songs and even talking to his parents in Spanish almost every day to get into character.
He hopes to learn more about his heritage.
"I really like it. I feel like i would like to dive into my own culture a little bit more," he said.
But for actresses like Velez, playing a Hispanic character for the first-time hits close to home.
She’s Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish at home, has had unique experiences and even has a brother named Miguel like her character.
“We have such a big Hispanic community that I’m sure that has experiences with having to go back home to try to get their things fixed,” Velez said.
“I’m sure that’ll hit home for a lot of people and it will make people not feel so alone.”
Now, she’s determined to spread more information about her heritage to the community during each performance.
“Sometimes it feels like there’s only a small amount of us, but really, it’s so many of us, so it’s cool to finally be able to spread that story,” she said.
The group will perform the play from Oct. 5-7 at 6 p.m. at the Student Center Theatre at Blinn College.