One face, many voices. When fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine walk up the street, they walk away disappointed

For someone who has spent a bachelorette party at Disneyland and who openly admits that he belongs to the group of adult Disney enthusiasts, being in the movie of the fairy-tale giant is a dream come true. Or so says Stephanie Beatriz, who played Mirabel in the hit “Our Magic Encanto”. – Mirabel has no helper in this story. Sometimes she is a therapist and helper for the whole family – explains the actress, who so far the viewers know best from the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” sitcom, explains in the “New York Times”.

“My identity is based on not belonging”

Beatriz became interested in the microphone as a toddler, when, together with her younger sister, she recorded radio broadcasts that she had invented on the spot on a toy tape recorder. Not long before that, Stephanie’s parents – Colombian and Bolivian – moved the entire family from Argentina to the United States. They settled in Texas where the children grew up surrounded by a cultural mix. Latin American elements met, among others with ubiquitous country music. – What I identify most with in the case of Mirabel [z “Encanto” – przyp. red.]it’s her sense of not belonging. This reflects my American identity, says Beatriz.

She began to think more seriously about acting in high school – then she went to classes that allowed her to join the school theater. She played a male villain in her first play and she felt that this was it. “I thought that was the only thing I was good at.” Nothing was as good as stepping into someone else’s shoes – recalls the actress. When Beatriz graduated in art in 2002, she made the decision to move to New York to continue her development in the theater. She earned her first money playing in a traveling children’s theater. – Nine of us drove the van and played plays every morning. Children are the harshest critics. If they don’t like something, they’ll tell you right away, ‘says Beatriz.

After eight years, the actress changed New York to Los Angeles, where she decided to look for film happiness. She had to wait a while for the first roles – in 2012, she appeared in the TV movie “The Smart One”, and a little later – in the independent film “Short Term 12” with Brie Larson in the lead role. She also got a cameo role in the series “Contemporary Family” as the sister of the character played by Sofia Vergara. It was the comedy series that attracted her the most – she especially dreamed of playing in a production similar to, for example, Parks and Recreation. Fate smiled at her – she quickly landed on the casting for a police sitcom by the creators of “P&R”.

“It’s impossible for them to cast two Latinas in one series.”

When thinking about “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, today it is hard to imagine Stephanie Beatriz in a role other than the tough, insightful and intimidating detective Rosa Diaz. And yet, initially, the actress was invited to try her strength as Amy Santiago. She is a polite, somewhat smart policewoman who is passionate about librarianship and solving crosswords. – I come to the test shoot and I hear: “You’re going to improvise with Andy Samberg in a moment”. I could not believe that. I’m a huge fan of him, I think he’s one of the best comedians in the world. Stress ate me then, I don’t think it went well – Beatriz said a few years ago.

Even before the test shoot, the actress got an offer to also approach the character of Megan, who later became Rosa. In the case of this heroine, Beatriz felt much more comfortable. Melissa Fumero, who plays Amy, had landed on the show a few days before her – when Beatriz found out about it, she burst into tears and agreed to fail. – I was happy about her success, and at the same time thought that it was impossible for two Latinas in one series. Usually there is one so that there is not. And then my agent called and it turned out that I was wrong – the actress laughs.

Almost everyone who watches Brooklyn Nine-Nine and reaches for interviews with the cast gets a slight shock when they hear what Stephanie Beatriz really sounds like. Her Rosa Diaz has a distinctive, deep voice that can summon her colleagues from the police station to order in half a second. Meanwhile, off-screen Beatriz speaks sonorously, girly, downright sweet – that’s such a significant difference that people are simply disappointed when they approach the Rosa impersonator in the street, hoping she will grunt on them. In one episode of “B99” Rosa goes undercover to a barber to catch a criminal in the act – and this is the only time in the series that Beatriz speaks more or less like she would do in a day-to-day. Listen for yourself:

“Family and friends are the basis of our lives”

Speaking with different voices is one thing, singing is another. In 2021, we met Stephanie Beatriz from the next page, when she appeared in the adaptation of the musical “In the Heights”. It is a story created by Lin-Manuel Miranda that takes place over a few days in Washington Heights, one of the districts of New York, inhabited mostly by people of Dominican origin. “I want viewers to feel as if they are seeing themselves, even if they don’t come from anywhere the characters come from,” said the actress of “In the Heights.” – Life is made of family, bonds and community. No matter what else each of us might add, no matter what dreams and ideas we have, family and friends are the foundation of our entire life.

Although Beatriz played a small role in the film, she made a significant contribution to one of the main goals – to present a fraction of Latin American life and culture through the eyes of those who create it. And to show that our reality is much more diverse than that of the images created by most media. In the film version of “In the Heights” by Carla, the heroine played by Beatriz is not only a business partner, but also the life partner of Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), the owner of a local hairdressing salon. – It’s very exciting that we can make the viewer say during the screening: “Oh, of course. Why not? What was I thinking? Sure, there is something like this on this planet.” It is a great privilege to contribute to such ventures -.

A few months later, in an interview with the “New York Times” about the movie “Our Magic Encanto”, Beatriz confessed that one of the first Latin American actors she saw on the screen as a young girl was John Leguizamo (in “Encanto” he portrayed the mysterious Bruno Madrigala). – I saw him in the movie version of his show “Freak”. John tells there, among others about the first time he saw Diana Morales in “A Chorus Line”. And so I listen to this Latin actor talk about seeing another Latin on screen and at this point he realizes that he wants to be an artist too. For me, that moment came when I was just watching him.

In search of unconditional love

“Our magical Encanto” is a lively, wonderful town somewhere far away in the mountains of Colombia. The magic that surrounds the area has bestowed supernatural gifts on all the children of the Madrigal family, from superhuman strength to the ability to heal disease. All of them – except Mirabel, who tries to prove to her loved ones at every step that she is not so bad at all. Even so, when it turns out that Encanto’s wizarding powers are in danger, Mirabel concludes that she, the only ordinary child of the Madrigals, is the last hope of her extraordinary family.

In the original language version of “Encanto” the teenager was voiced by Beatriz. – At first I thought Mirabel should sound younger and I was going into higher tones. Thanks to the directors, however, I turned to a more mature color. We talked about how often she had to take care of herself because there are so many stars in her family. Only she can take care of her own needs, and this requires a certain level of maturity, the actress tells “NYT”. The fact that she herself wore glasses during her adolescence and had a storm of curls, which is why it was all the more special for her to enter the role of Mirabel. “She looks like me when I was 14,” emphasizes Beatriz.

The film with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music received much praise, incl. for showing varied, difficult family relationships that seem normal on the surface. Many viewers appreciated, for example, the figure of Luisa, a muscular older sister, carrying on her shoulders (and literally) the problems of the whole family. – Mirabel’s relationship with my grandmother reminded me of my relationship with my mother. You sincerely want acceptance and unconditional love from someone who is only able to give you these things under some condition, says Stephanie Beatriz. – And you don’t know how to get to a place where you feel loved.

How do I summarize the message of “Encanto”? Beatriz does it in a few convincing sentences: – If our film comes to a person who doubts himself, his skills, whether he is worthwhile, I hope he will hear clearly from us: “You are extraordinary, even if you think, that you are ordinary. You simply are. Just because you are alive and on the planet, you are unusual. ” And already.