Meet Carmen Deleon | Actor & Cook

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carmen Deleon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carmen, how do you think about risk?
Without risk there’s no reward, right?

Ever since moving to LA over ten years ago, every step in my life thus far has involved some sort of risk. Making the move to a big city from a small town, where I didn’t know anyone was a big risk all in itself.

I believe the “low key” fear of knowing that I have no Plan B keeps me motivated to always push forward and keep trying. There’s nothing to lose and as they say, “you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take,” so why not shoot your shot? Why not try the thing? Why not push your limits? That relentless, and sometimes maybe stubborn, lol, will to “try” has definitely got me to where I am today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m an actress and cook who lives happily between the worlds of food and entertainment.

I run a food pop up and dinner party experience called Capicu that celebrates Puerto Rican cuisine, which is where my family is from.

Capicu originally started as a dinner party series under the name Noche Borinqueña, where I got to cohost a collaborative dinner party with local artist friends at their art studio and would curate a coursed dining experience complete with drink pairings, and the featured artist would make custom art for each guest in attendance.

I wanted to make all the Puerto Rican dishes I made more accessible to the masses so I decided to TAKE IT TO THE STREETS! Haha! And Capicu the pop up was born! I’ve been extremely lucky to have popped up at GotYourBack in Long Beach as well as LA Homefarm in Glassell Park. Last year, I’ve also ventured into the world of catering, having catered a 150 person wedding in the Coachella Valley!

When I’m not cooking, you can find me self taping, hustling for those auditions, or, catch me in a Wayfair commercial or two! Slowly working to make our dreams come true. We out here trying to be the next Jessica Day in New Girl! (Favorite show of all time!)

This new year, along with moving forward in my acting career, I’m wanting to continue to grow Capicu and pop up at other fun locations as well as host other collab dinner parties featuring local artists, small business vendors, and musicians. I love the idea of throwing a big ol’ party with your friends to help bring each other up, sharing and celebrating each others’ creative strengths, which in turn, nourishes your own creative soul.

So if you’re an artist who wants to collab, or someone who has never tried Puerto Rican food before and is curious, or you have a space that is looking for a lil cook to pop up at, or if you’re a Casting Director who is in search of a curly haired Latina, hit up ya girl!

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?
Oh man, what a great question!

I think there’s three main guidelines that I would follow, whether I’m the one vacationing or someone is visiting: good food, checking out small businesses for shopping, and exploring less popular parts of the city!

Number one is of course the food, the main component of a good vacation, in my opinion. I would spend half the time showing my friend around to some of my favorite restaurants that, most importantly, also highlight different types of cuisine, for example, do a Bang Bang and hit up some early dinner with sherry and snacks at Barra Santos in Cyprus Park and then after grab some boss Taiwanese comfort food at Pine & Crane in Sliverlake. The other half of the time I’d have a cook-at-home day and we can go shop for ingredients at a fun Provisions shop, like fresh fish at Fish King in Glendale, or some funky cheese for a cheese plate from Milkfarm in Eagle Rock, or produce and a bottle of wine from LA Homefarm in Glassell Park OR depending on the day, a local farmers market! That’d be fun!

Throughout the week I’d love to show my friend around to cute shops that highlight LA local artists; fun vintage stores and stationary stores are always entertaining and you can always find something unique. Depending on the timing of my friends visit, we could even hit up a flea market, like the Melrose Trading Post, or the very famous Rose Bowl flea.

Finally, it’s really easy to stay in your hub while living in LA, and for folks who are visiting from out of town, they tend to gravitate toward the more trendy, touristy, popular parts of town, like Hollywood and Santa Monica or Venice. And although there’s a bunch of fun things to do in those parts of town, I think it’s great to visit lesser known parts of the city. A day at the Huntington Library in San Marino, or a leisure hike followed by a picnic at Elysian Park near the Dodger Stadium are fun and different things to do.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh man, there’s quite a few folks who, without their love, sometimes tough love, lol, support, and guidance, I wouldn’t be here to share my story with y’all.

Specifically I’d like to shoutout a couple folks from my little community of fam/friends:

My sister, Anabel, who just so happens to also be my roommate, who has always been there for me since DAY 1, whether it be to just talk, to listen, to knock some sense into me, to put me in my place, to support me in any situation; she is my safe haven and my forever best friend.

My bestie, Kayleigh, who used to be my roommate and my old coworker, has been a massive support and source of wisdom. We have experienced a lot of life together over the last few years and have changed so much and she is still someone who has my back through thick and thin. As someone who has also started her own business, called BANANA PRESS DESIGN CO. (Shout out Kayleigh!) Kayleigh’s work ethic and determination is motivation for me to keep going with pursuing my dreams.

Website: https://CarmenDeLeon.com

Instagram: @cmdeleon23 @tnsaofficial

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@carmendeleontnsa

Image Credits
Kayleigh Eilenberger, Anabel DeLeon, Meg Miller, Maha Aekalu