Selena: The Series Star Gabriel Chavarria: Why My Success as a Latino Actor Is 'Bigger Than Me'
Todd Williamson/JanuaryImages/Shutterstock
Gabriel Chavarria currently stars in Netflix's Selena: The Series, which follows the Mexican-American pop star's rise to fame and tragic death when she was murdered at 23 by her fan club president. Chavarria, 32, plays the icon's older brother, A.B. Quintanilla. Previously, the Honduran-American actor notably starred in East Los High, a Hulu series about Latino teens at their East Los Angeles high school. When he's not in front of the camera, Chavarria's focus is on strongly advocating for Latino representation in the entertainment industry in order to help the next generation. Chavarria also finds inspiration in his personal life: He met his girlfriend, Arena Moreno, on the Selena set, and the two are expecting their first child. Below, Chavarria shares why it's important for him to use his voice for change, as told to PEOPLE.
What inspires me to use my voice for change is definitely my culture, my people and the struggles that we've gone through. My parents are immigrants, they crossed the border. Family is the most important thing. Family doesn't necessarily mean blood. You can create your own family as well. People you call family empower each other, push each other, are there for each other — that's how my family is.
I hope that one day, I get to spark a little something in a Latino child who would want to pursue the entertainment industry and take it by storm. Hopefully that can ignite something in them, whether to be an actor or director, writer, creator. That's where it starts: The more we are in leading positions can have an effect, and I think that it's a matter of time before we see more and more Latinx in leading roles.
I never really got to see many Latino leading men in the TV shows and films I grew up watching. When I started auditioning, I don't think my race held me back — in fact, I think I might have gotten roles because I was Latino. But at first, the roles were just very limited and very stereotypical, and that sucked. I knew the moment I got the opportunity to be a series regular, I could deliver and be great at it.
When I finally got the opportunity on East Los High to play not only a series regular but one of the leads of the show, it was huge. It was huge for me as an actor, it was huge for our culture and it taught me so many things. It gave me confidence.
I try to tell people, family, friends that I'm grateful for the success that I have, but it's bigger than me. It's important for the next generation of our culture, for them to get to see themselves in the shows.
RELATED: Read More Empowering Stories from PEOPLE's Voices for Change
I relate to Selena, because she always knew what she wanted to do, and despite the struggles, she made it to the top. At times, you know, it was challenging — she was young and she was just trying to do the right thing, but ultimately she always knew what she really wanted when it came to her music.
These days, its more power to the artists — some of these guys, they're making albums or hit songs in their closet or in their garage because you're able to do that these days. And a lot of artists in hip hop, for example, cross over with a hot reggaeton artist, and it's great music.
It's awesome to see those worlds collide and come together to create great music; the sky's the limit. I feel like with music there's no boundaries, there's no walls. It's just, get in there, show your passion, do you what you love — and Selena is an example of that.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock Gabriel Chavarria
I met my girlfriend on the set of Selena, and now we're expecting a baby girl very soon. It's a big step for me and I'm super excited, super stoked. One of the things that I realized pretty quickly is that we're not just having a baby — ultimately what's really happening is we're creating a human. What kind of human are you creating? What kind of human do you want to raise?
At the end of the day, I want to make sure that my daughter is raised the right way and that she's here to also make an impact on the world. I want to hopefully change the world as much as I can, so that way, I'm bringing her into a world where I know that I've made my effort.
No one who made it to the highest level of their field ever had it easy. It's always a challenge. Even when you're at the top, it's hard — you have to stay there. I just want to teach my daughter that she's capable of doing anything that she wants in this world, as long as you put your mind, heart and soul into it and accept early that nothing is easy.
As told to Mary S. Park
