Meet Yerania Del Orbe | Actress, Writer, Director, Producer, Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yerania Del Orbe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yerania, how do you think about risk?
No risk, no reward! I am a thrill seeking risk taker by nature, I am a US Army Combat Veteran, deployed to Mosul, Iraq from 2007-2008, Air assault, which means I got to repel from Helicopters and buildings, a weapons expert,
When I left the military to chase a dream, that was risky, by that time I was a divorce single mom and college student getting my bachelors at The New School, NYC. Studying film and studying people for characters became my new big risks. Years later after meeting my future husband, starting a new family became the new risks I took. I mean, I had tried the marriage thing before and that didn’t turn out so well, health wise, I was older so there was that and after years of living in NYC and Long Island, acting on several films, plays, tv series and web series, acting has always been a love for me, as well as writing several films and episodes for various series, I took the risk of sharing my creative in the form of writing and instantly fell in love with it. In 2019, we moved back to my husband’s home town of Somerville, MA The birthplace of Latina Made Media LLC. It is here where I began focusing on making the first Latina Made Media film, La Santera while attending Vermont College of Fine Arts, class of April 2021, for my Masters in Film. While there I wrote three other Feature films, Sergeant Vasquez’s Playlist, Failure to Adapt, and Santeras.
I’m a filmmaker how much more riskier creatively does it get?!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Latina Made Media™, the company as a whole was established on the principles of family, women leading the charge and diversity. With a different perspective we tell the realities of Latino culture with more diversity behind and in front of the camera. This allows us to create more multidimensional characters and visual aspects for each project we take on.

It was “risky” but art takes risks. Having audiences accept your creative vision, even being able to make art, that I s a miracle.
When we made the last film, La Santera, that was a challenge and not, it was magical, mystical and the feeling that we were on to something and we have to do it right. The inspiration behind the film was personal so it came with a sense of healing for myself and hope to others to tell their stories and to seek out help, look for signs and changes in their children or people giving too much attention. Don’t mess with powers you don’t fully understand. The main character Graciela, played by Yuliana Sleme, misuses her mother’s belief in Santeria to protect her younger sister from a predator. She messes with a religion she doesn’t understand, 21 Divisions, a religion create to hide the use of the 7 African powers in the Christian Dominican Republic. The religious practices include praying, giving offerings to 21 different catholic saints the use of drums, music, chants and dancing, I grew up in a very Dominican household in The South Bronx, 7 people in a 2 1/2 bedroom apartment did not leave much room for focusing on creative expression, but it did start a life of work, odd jobs, various skills and an infinite amount of life experiences. Lots of lessons learned and of those most recent was the full production and the success of La Santera. I was in the Army, I never thought I’d make films. It was the lack of diverse stories in film and television gave me the drive to create more characters like me and those around me that reflect a different side of life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When I have company, the requests I normally get are for my home cooking. I make several specialty dishes of Dominican, Ecuadorian, American, Italian and Mexican cuisines. Here in Somerville and with Boston and Cambridge there is everything from all over the world. I love the wings at The Pub in Ball Square, for some good Dominican food Alex’s Chimi in Jamaica Plains for the best chicharron and the best mangu, Yeli’s also in Jamaica Plains. The Encore Casino is another great spot to hang out for the day and grab a bite, maybe win some cash. A visit to Lego Land, Regina’s pizza and JP licks ice cream so many more to mention the markets here have wonderful treasures to eat.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are soooo many people to thank along the way. Family first because their support is paramount. They also feed my creative regularly! My humble yet rich up bringing thank you Mami and Papi, and Papito for those experiences. The New School, Media studies that’s where I first fell in love with Film, under Melissa Friedling I created my first films on a Bolex, what fun! with one roll of film, lighting, sound, and editing by me. Fall of my Youth and Dinner for 2. At Vermont College of Fine Arts, film program I got the opportunity to work with and learn from various other visiting filmmakers and faculty like Risa Mickenberg, Lucrecia Martel, Marya Cohn, Annie J. Howell awesome women filmmakers that continue to support and inspire me and my work. They have influenced my entire filmmaking process, progress and beginnings of my company Latina Made Media ™, a family style production company where each department truly adds their own twist to the project, “Media Made with a Latina Twist” ™ Thank you to the cast and crew of La Santera.

Website: https://latinamademedia.net

Instagram: LatinaMadeMedia

Linkedin: Yerania Del Orbe

Facebook: LatinaMadeMedia