Justina Machado visits GDLA

She's an icon, from her iconic roles in One Day at a Time and Six Feet Under, actress Justina Machado has captured audiences with her incredible depth, warmth, timing and charisma. And now she's bringing that vibrant energy live to the stage for an unforgettable evening right here in our backyard in LA. It's a time, it's a moment, go live and dream, go like this, go play, I know this play is gonna be the bomb dot com. Can you feel the beat within my heart, can't you see my love shine through the dark, can't you see that you must be a part of that beat in my heart, yeah, who's that, let's go, okay. If your shoulders weren't jam popping, then you weren't listening. This is going to be a special one night only event. I am so excited that you are here. Yes, thank you. I'm so excited to be here. First, we have to just dive into the genre that is freestyle. So many people don't even know that it is its own. Genre, look at it, right there- Yeah, and freestyle, there you go. A love story, freestyle, a love story. When you said Lisa Lisa, I'm like, my gosh, of course. Lisa Lisa, Sweet Sensation, TKA, Stevie B, George Lamond, we can go on and on. This was like music. Of our of our generation of also like our people. It was like Latino music mixed with hip hop, mixed with everything. So it was kind of like the soundtrack of our lives. The soundtrack of our lives, a nostalgic nod to the 80s and 90s. So, I mean, listen, good music stands the test. Always. What do you think it is about this music that just honestly gives us endorphins? Well, first of all, the beats are so great. The lyrics are so intoxicating. There were things that we were going through where we were growing up. And for us, they were artists that look like us, artists that sounded like us. And we didn't get a lot of that growing up. We don't have a lot of that now. So it was just something that we held on to and that beat just got us. I don't know how to say it. It's like the way salsa gets you, merengue gets you, the beat gets you. It just gets you, it grabs you and it doesn't let you go. Exactly, girl. So fun just hearing about it because we have music, culture, and love all tied into one. Tell me about this lovely Latino love story. Well, these two meet each other one night. They're going to a club and they go to the club by themselves and they end up meeting each other and they have this love affair and the music is kind of the soundtrack of their lives together. The ups, the downs, the joy, the trials. And no matter what, they always have this music that they come back to, that they fell in love with that music. And yeah, it was the soundtrack to their love story. To their love and their life. And it'll be you and James Martinez? Yes, who's played. My husband on One Day at a Time. My gosh, reunion on the stage. I know, I did Queen of the South with him too. He's a fabulous actor, very exciting. Yeah, I love it. Okay, this is a kind of a family affair, you're working with George Valencia. Yes. Filmmaker, visionary, his vision come to life, what is it like working with your friends? It's the best thing, that's what we wanna do. Love, community, joy, we're just creating together. It's the best feeling. It's so much fun. It's not work at all. Really, truly, we're having a great time. I'm also the godmother to their child. I remember that. Hello. George is here in Steuben. George is here. Thank you for being here, thank you for your vision. I co-hosted the celebration this year again for the Critics Choice Association and I truly love you and Judy Reyes's friendship. I think that that's rare in this industry. I felt on stage you had genuine love, support and understanding for each other. That's a sisterhood. Yeah, I mean, yeah. I don't even know how to say it. I'm really lucky to have somebody like her in my life. Look at her. Look how cute she was. She did such an incredible job that day, too. I was so proud of her. She had a beautiful speech. That was a beautiful moment. And she's a wonderful woman. I mean, she's not only a great actress. A mom, a wife, a friend. I mean, and she's an activist. She's an entrepreneur. She's got it all. She's on two shows right now. I mean, get it. She's killing it. She's killing the game. And you both represent something that you mentioned earlier that we need more of, and that is that Latina representation on the big screen, on the small screen, just to be seen. Yes. What is your message right now to Hollywood? Because every time I cover award season, it's bittersweet for me because it's one of my favorite seasons. Yeah. But I'd like to see more of us in the mix. I mean, I don't know what else could be said. So much has been said about it for so many years. Really blessed to be in this business for a long time, but I also know. The obstacles that I've had to deal with because I'm Latina, what else is there to say? Get it right. I don't know. I mean, stop asking us. Start asking the people that are making the decision. Start putting them on the line and asking them, why aren't there more stories? I mean, this has been a never-ending kind of thing. Right. Doesn't go away and it's really sad. It is. It's so and it's so silly. It's played out. It's a girl is tired. It's tired. We're tired of it. That's right. Not only is this a good time, it's for a good cause as well. Tell me how Latinas and soccer is in the mix. We're giving back proceeds. Well, this is raising money to send these incredible Latina athletes LA Watford. That's what they're called. And we're sending them to England to train with the proper Watford team. So this is a big opportunity for them, because just like in acting, there's not a lot of opportunities for Latinas athletes in this world of, he doesn't, George doesn't like to call it soccer. Football. Football. So does Sandra. Sandra's our soccer star here. It's like, football, not soccer. Football, not soccer. But this is an opportunity for them to go out there to train, to learn, to have I have the... The opportunity, yeah, of course. I went off to the world. I was like, capability? Yes, absolutely. The opportunity to experience something like this, to experience a different culture, to experience great training, to experience another country, to just go out there and be the badasses that they are. That's right. Yeah, I love it, this is so exciting, I just want to say I love alliteration, we got George, Judy, Justina, James, all up in the mix, this is great, art, culture, community for one night only, it's the West Coast debut of Freestyle A Love Story at the Evil Theater, Friday, November 6th, tickets available at freestylovestory.com. Come on, give me some music, we got some freestyle music? Where is it? Lisa, Lisa, I don't want to sing anything because you might have to pay for it. Yeah, what's free? Give us what's free. Give us what's free. Give us the free freestyle. Oh, no, no.