Welcome to New York City, where everyone wants to visit and, other than Hollywood, where filmmakers, creatives etc bring their masterpieces to showcase. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting well-known comedian, actress, producer KiKi Melendez through my Prima Julia. Many will recognize her from the hit Hot Tamales Live, KiKi Mobile and of course the comedic circuits from the 90s and still going! Last Thursday she sat on a panel with other well known Dominican filmmakers and actresses, such as Laura Gomez (Blanca in Orange is the New Black), to discuss Dominican Women in film.

Being a woman in any industry can be difficult, but I do believe that being a female of any other decent than white is even more difficult. I loved hearing the ways these women navigated rocky waters and the panel just made me respect them even more.

Now being a RE agent in a room full of celebs isn’t easy, trust me. I salivate at the massive business potential, but for some reason being in that room, I wasn’t focused on business, but more so I was eager to learn. I wanted to learn these ladies’ stories and how the got to where they are today. I see many parallels in my business to theirs. Here’s why:

• We wake up every morning making sure we look the part we’re “playing.”
• We put on our faces to be more pleasing to the eyes.
• We have to smile at jokes even when they’re not funny and/or offensive.
• We’re always on call.
• Our hours are never the same day-to-day.
• We promote the shit out of our completed projects.

Need I say more? The list can go on and on, but I’m rambling again, so instead of rambling enjoy these photos. LOL