Look out for Melissa Barrera. The actress and singer launched her career with a telenovela before landing the lead role in Starz's "Vida" (series finale airs May 31). Next up, she sings and dances as Vanessa, a Washington Heights hairstylist who dreams of becoming a downtown fashion designer, in the highly anticipated film version of In the Heights, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda In between watching Goop Labs and reading novels by Latinx authors (one novel she wants to make into a movie), Barrera spoke with Marie Claire about shattering stereotypes on screen and learning to love the place she calls home.

Marie Claire: Both Vanessa and your character in "Vida" are eager to leave their hometown to pursue their dreams. Can you relate?

Melissa Barrera: Of course. I left my hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, right after high school to study musical theater at New York University. I left my hometown and decided never to return. That was my honest feeling when I was 18 years old. But I can relate to the feeling of missing home. Sometimes I feel the need to go back and recharge my batteries. My hometown, the people, my family, everything made me who I am. In my late teens, I feel like I know everything. But as I grow older, I realize that every part of my life matters. Even though I wanted to escape, I really wanted to broaden my horizons, meet new people, and have new experiences. When you do that, you quickly realize that you value the place you grew up in and the people in it.

There is magic in growing up in a small place, in a tight-knit community. In In the Heights, that is true. The characters are all a chosen family, helping each other in a way that blood ties never could. The beauty of being part of a tight-knit community is that you don't have to be a blood family to support each other.

MC: You studied musical theater in college and danced and sang in the film. Did you feel the same way?

MB: No, I just feel a little less self-conscious doing it live. I feel much more at home on stage than in front of the camera.

I don't consider myself a particularly talented dancer. I took dance lessons when I was younger, and I took dance lessons in college, so I know how to memorize choreography, and I'm coordinated enough to memorize steps. I'm also good at pretending; it took me seven or eight weeks to learn the choreography for a salsa number out of about 10 weeks of rehearsals. I was once asked if that was me. It was definitely me, but it was hard work.

MC: The film is set in Washington Heights, New York. What was it like filming there?

MB: Filming was magical. It was amazing from start to finish. We actually took over a real bodega for the film. While we were filming, customers from the neighborhood would come in to shop. When we told them we were filming, they said, 'Oh, can you get us a little something? ' Once they got used to us being there, they would bring their lawn chairs and sit on the sidewalk and watch us. Many of the extras were people from the community. It was wonderful.

Some came out with their own food and offered it to us. Lynn still lives in Washington Heights with her family and has never left Washington Heights. All of our lunch plates were from local restaurants. This is (their) film, too. We are trying to tell (their) story and we wanted to honor them as much as we could. I think we accomplished that.

MC: Your role often shatters Latino stereotypes. Is that what you are looking for?

MB: I try to stay away from stereotypes. I don't want to feed the stereotype. I know a lot of people who need work. I don't want to play the daughter of a cartel boss. Those programs are good, but they glorify a group that is harmful to the community. The Latino community is so much more than that.

Luckily, the two big projects I've been on, "In the Heights" and "Vida," are shows that both celebrate community and expand the types of people we see on the screen. That's what people need right now. It's refreshing to see real people, not stereotypes, with real stories, real problems, real ambitions, real heartbreak, real pain. For a long time, I feel like the Latino community has been told things like, "Oh, they're Latino and that's all they are." So in society, minorities are still seen as [race and ethnicity first]. Oh, they are Mexican. [We want to change that. Our lives matter, our stories matter. Our journeys matter. And we are more alike than you think.

MC: What do you think about Vida ending?

MB: It's sad because this program was important to so many people. It started a movement in brown and Latino content, queer representation, and representation of women of color. It was groundbreaking and still is. When I posted (on social media) that it was the final season, someone commented that it was "the best kept secret on the internet." I was very hurt by that comment. I wished the whole world knew and watched our show. I hope that just because our show is over doesn't mean there will be no more shows like ours.

Watch "Vida" on Starz (opens in new tab)

A version of this article originally appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Marie Claire. Due to the pandemic, the release of "In the Heights" has been postponed to 2021.

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