Today we’d like to introduce you to Elisanett Martinez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elisanett. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It all started when I was about seven. I lied to my mother and told her I was doing a project but really I was at my friend’s Ballet class. I fell in love immediately and asked the teacher if I could participate and she said yes. I took my first ballet class in jeans and an afro. My mother was livid when she showed up at the dance studio! But being the amazing mother she is, she let me finish before scolding me. Not going to lie though, I could feel her stare burning right through me the whole time! After that, she signed me up and the next thing I knew I was performing Classical Ballet and Dominican Folk Dance every weekend.
I started acting when I was 14 years old. I was chosen to attend an acting boot camp assembled by a “Hollywood casting director.” That venture led to performing a monologue at Radio City Music Hall. Till this day I can’t remember the name of the director, the camp or even the monologue I performed. My family moved to Florida a few years after that and I never found the paperwork again… being that I am a first generation Dominican American, the weight of this opportunity was lost on both my parents and myself and didn’t feel the need to archive this opportunity… man, that would be nice to add to my acting resume!
The next year, I attended Boston Arts Academy as a dance major, where I trained with Boston’s best and was featured in pieces by Sean Curran, Marlise Yearby, and Fernandina Chan. I continued my dance training with Dana Hash Campbell, of the Alvin Alley American Dance Theater at Long Island University, before giving up my dance career due to a knee injury. After I stopped dancing, I started searching for a new outlet that would allow me to express myself the way dance did. For the most part, I wrote and actually got pretty good at it and was eventually published.
But my artistry really took off when I moved back to Boston and reconnected with my high school friend Paloma Valenzuela. She told me about an amazing project she was creating called The Pineapple Diaries, a mini web series that followed four Afro-Latinx women in their everyday lives in Jamaica Plain. She asked me to play the role of Reggie and then everything changed. Through this amazing project, I was allowed to write, act, and be a production assistant. By the second season, we were featured in countless film festivals, Latina Magazine and WeAreMitu.com. This project opened so many doors for me! Since then I have been offered countless modeling and acting opportunities.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Everything but smooth. Without getting too personal I will say this, every person on this planet is fighting a personal battle. We all experience struggle, pain, and most of all fear. But fear is the one that paralyzes you. Fear will keep you from the love of your life, from success; from self-fulfillment… what’s to our advantage is that the battle is in our minds. Once you can acknowledge that, you can move past it, you can overcome it. If there is any advice I can give a young woman it’s this… get out your head sis! You can think of every possibility, every reason why you shouldn’t go after it but the truth is everything you have ever thought of is only theory. Participate in life. God wants you to win; you just have to put some action behind it.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
I am an actor, writer and plus size model. I think I am most known for playing the role of Reggie Montez in The Pineapple Diaries. I think for the most part I have been a vessel for other people’s projects. I am currently working on creating a platform for myself, in which I can share my own ideas.
My greatest accomplishment would have to be having a monologue that I wrote with Paloma Valenzuela be featured on WeAreMitu.com. My culture and heritage are very important to me. I am very aware of the sacrifices my grandfather made to bring my mother to this country. Growing up in a Dominican household but not seeing myself portrayed in any media was very difficult. It was a challenge to not become too Americanized. That’s why having my work featured on a major website that celebrates Latin American Culture means everything to me.
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
Absolutely. And his name is Julio Cesar Morel. My grandfather came to this country to make an honest living; he left many relatives behind to give his children a better life. My grandfather worked for many years and raised 6 children alongside my grandmother Melba Morel, only to pass in the projects. I grew up watching my grandparents work with their hands, and mother, uncles, and aunt gets an education. I feel a personal responsibility to carry on what he started and do the very best I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: elisanett.com
- Email: info@elisanett.com
- Instagram: @IamElisanett
- Facebook: Facebook.com/IamElisanett
Image Credit:
G.Ortiz Photography, Paloma Valenzuela
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