'Blue Beetle' star Xolo Mariduea talks East L.A. upbringing, Latinos in film and future projects

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In this week’s episode of “The De Los Podcast,” hosts Fidel Martinez and Suzy Exposito sat down with actor Xolo Maridueña to chat about his East L.A.upbringing, the importance of Latino representation in his career and a litany of projects he has in the works.

Born and raised in El Sereno, Maridueña was exposed to the arts at a very young age through local community arts hubs Casa 0101 and the Boyle Heights Art Conservatory, where his mother, Carmelita Ramírez-Sánchez, now serves as executive director.The 25-year-old actor credited his mom, who also previously worked as a radio DJ for decades in L.A., for encouraging him to explore a creative career.Los Angeles Times journalist Christopher Goffard explores criminal cases that have left a mark on California history.“She was in the music world at a time when that wasn’t really a thing as a Latina woman,” Maridueña said.

“She met so many roadblocks and overcame those that when it came time to for her to eventually raise her own family, she understood the want to try something that was outside of what the education system would deem successful.As a Latina, she also instilled these values of remaining curious, questioning certain traditions and the ways our experiences are affected by some systems that are larger than ourselves.”He also touched on what it was like being the first Latino lead in a live-action superhero film in “Blue Beetle” — and the importance of continued Latino representation in Hollywood.“It was such a wild ride doing something like ‘Blue Beetle,’ that was the first in a lot of categories...

But once the movie came out, it was so heartwarming to see that there were already like 10 other Latino superheroes that were making their debuts on the screen,” Maridueña said.“[Filming the movie] was the first time I had witnessed some much of the crew being Latino, or just being divers...