This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Linedy Genao: Hello, hello everybody. Welcome to Entre Acts, your favorite podcast, Ya Tu Sabe. I'm Linedy Genao and I'm so excited to introduce this week's guest. I have been an admirer and fan and I'm so inspired by this guest. So I'm so, so, so excited to finally have her here in New York City period and on my couch like I can't. Our next guest is a true powerhouse whose career spans from the vibrant world of Mexican telenovelas to some of the biggest global franchises in Hollywood. She first stole our hearts and showed off those incredible vocals as Vanessa in the film adaptation of LeManuel Miranda's In The Heights. Since then, she's become one of the most versatile faces on screen, surviving Ghostface in the Scream franchise, fighting for her life in the Netflix hit Keep Breathing, and delivering a standout performance that I am so grateful I got to see in the cult favorite horror romance, Your Monster.

She's currently having a massive 2026. Not only is she leading the number one Peacock spy thriller, The Copenhagen Test, but she just made her Broadway debut currently starring as Rose eight times a week in Titanic on Broadway. And she's just constantly proving that there's no genre she can't master. Beyond the screen, she's a fierce advocate for change and a voice for community empowerment. And like I said, an inspiration to me may hint that please welcome Melissa.

[1:35] Melissa Barrera: So sweet. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so grateful that you're here.

[1:43] Linedy Genao: So we met. Let's take it back. We met a few years ago. Yeah, through Jaime Lozano. Yes, we were singing. Yes, no big deal. Yeah, we were singing at Lincoln Center. And you were incredible. And I was so nervous because I literally had not like sung in public in years. I don't even know, like probably since, since In the Heights, that I hadn't like been singing. So I was super nervous. But Jaime always, you know, he keeps his people close. And it was really nice to meet not only you, but like other Latinos that are like, doing it in New York that are on Broadway and, you know, hustling and representing. Yeah, so I'm so I'm so grateful. We got to meet since then. And I've been such a huge fan. And as I've written you so many times, and then I got to see you and your monster, you were so kind to invite me to the opening. And I'm just, I'm so grateful for that. So thank you for being here, of course, on your day off.

[2:50] Melissa Barrera: Oh, my gosh, man. If you know, Broadway artists or artists of any kind, people of any kind, your day off is sacred. So I'm very grateful that you're here.

[2:54] Linedy Genao: Of course. Thank you. I'm happy. I'm happy we made it work. So we like to start the show off like un sandwichito. Fun in the beginning, we get into the heartfelt stuff in the middle, we end with something fun. So we're gonna start with a game of dominoes, the entre acts way because to be honest, I don't really know how to play actual dominoes. I feel like there's so many different ways to play.

[3:08] Melissa Barrera: Exactly. I've recently gotten very into with my friends in Austin, a Mexican train dominoes, which I don't know why they call it Mexican train dominoes. But I it's like it starts in the center. There's like a piece. And you each person has their own train. Have you played it?

[3:30] Linedy Genao: No. Okay. Well, that's something we have to learn. Yeah. Okay, so you're gonna pick we're gonna do maybe four or five. Okay, I'm gonna pick one dominoes sum up the number and that'll pertain to a fun icebreaker question. Are you ready?

[3:39] Melissa Barrera: Yeah. Okay. No points calling to me. Oh, my god. Okay.

[3:47] Linedy Genao: Is mild salsa even salsa? Or is it just a cold tomato soup for people who are afraid of flavor?

[3:54] Melissa Barrera: That is? Yeah, that's true. I like my salsas spicy. I love spice. But I also sometimes enjoy like you went to Cuerno. My favorite restaurant in New York because it's a restaurant from my hometown. Oh, it's from northern Mexico. Yeah, it's like northern Mexican cuisine. And I love it in Monterrey. Whenever I'm in Monterrey, I love going. And so when it opened here, I was like, Oh, my God, my life is made every time that I my life was changed last night.

[4:25] Linedy Genao: Yeah, yeah. And they have so they always present you three little salsas. And it goes from like mild to really, really spicy. I didn't try the last two. I was really scared.

[4:37] Melissa Barrera: Oh, you missed that was my first time. I know. I'm gonna be back many, many times. Yeah, no, hopefully with you. Maybe we can. Yeah. And I'll try it. Okay. Okay. All right. Next.

[4:46] Linedy Genao: For number four, is it actually scarier to film a horror movie than it is to watch one?

[4:53] Melissa Barrera: It's not. No, it's not scary at all. No, no, not at all. Like, not at all. Not because you know what's gonna happen. Yeah. Also, it's like, so silly, because you're, you're pretending to be scared over and over and over of a thing that you already know you saw. You saw the stunt guy put the mask on you saw you know what I mean? Like it's so I've always said that horror is kind of the closest thing there is to like when you're a kid and you're playing in your living room and you're pretending to like slay the dragon in the castle, you know, it's that kind of you really have to commit and just go for it because it's not scary at all. I do think though that it is scary and that's why I never do these kinds of movies and I steer clear of them.

Like exorcism all the paranormal stuff. Because I've heard too many stories of like weird things happening on set when you're dealing with like kind of that theme and I grew up Catholic and I just believe in all that stuff and I just don't want to mess with that. I don't want I don't need to open that door and your mom would probably be like, no, no, no, no.

[6:05] Linedy Genao: My family would be like, no, no, no. Yeah. No, thank you. No, thank you. Okay. One more. Six. Number six. Okay, you're playing Rose in Titanic. Now give us the definitive answer. Was there room for Jack on that door? Or was he just in the way?

[6:18] Melissa Barrera: You know, it's funny. I've always said that there is room. But I do think that just because there's room on the door doesn't mean that if they both were on it, it wouldn't sink. You know what I mean? I think I think they could have both been on it. But that means that they would have both been more in the water probably and there was a chance that the door could like flip or whatever. So I think that the reason that Jack didn't want to get on the door is because he was saving her because he knew that that could happen. Yeah. I don't know. That's like my romantic heart justifying that age old question. But I do think that because I've tried it even with my husband in our pool in my house. We get on a floatie together and it flips.

You know what I mean? Yeah, it just flips. So I think that I've done the experiment. And I think that's my my answer. I think there is room, but it's just more precarious. It's like it makes it more dangerous. The chances of like, them both freezing because they're more exposed now. Yeah. So there you have it.

[7:28] Linedy Genao: There you have it. Yeah. Thank you for playing the game of dominoes. They interact the way. So Melissa, as you know, and the acts right between acts, I wanted to create a space where we talk about what we do as artists, as human beings in the in-betweens of our lives. And I felt inspired to do this when I was an in-between moment after Bad Cinderella, kind of reaching the not kind of reaching the apex of my career. And, you know, getting slammed with the bad reviews and just closed early. And then not knowing what comes next. Yeah, putting pressure on myself, feeling that external pressure, what's going to happen next? And also coming out of COVID, having gotten married, just so many transitional periods in my life.

And I didn't know how to navigate through all of that. And as artists, sometimes there's a lot of shame or vulnerability in that in-between space. But from that space comes so much growth. So I wanted to ask you, what does the in-between when life feels intermission and forgets to tell you what's next? What does that space mean to you? And how do you navigate through that?

[8:28] Melissa Barrera: Um, I would love to also hear what it was like for you and how you managed it, because I know that I've always kind of thought that this career is the in-betweens. That's what keeps us there. That's what keeps us in the business. Because if you don't know how to handle the in-betweens, you give up like so many people do. And they just like switch to a plan B, and they're like, I can't do this. It's too hard. So I think the key is knowing what to do in the in-betweens and finding a way to continue to feed your creative soul in those in-between moments. And what I've started to do, what I started to do, like, I don't know, five years ago, six years ago now, is write. I started writing. And that makes me feel productive.

And like, I'm still using my creativity for something that feels like I'm building, you know, I'm still building, I'm still growing, I'm still creating, I'm still using my gifts for some sort of like, advancement. And, and I've, and I found it to be very satisfying.

[9:47] Linedy Genao: I love that.

[9:48] Melissa Barrera: Yeah. And so you're writing, is your writing inspired by where you are in your in-between, professionally, career-wise, or do you pull from different things? Like, walk me through that.

[10:00] Melissa Barrera: It is 100%. It's inspired by hunger. It's inspired by, like, disillusionment in the industry. It's inspired by all the rejection that I've gotten, all the nos, all the roles that I want to play, and they won't even see me for. So I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna create my own opportunities. And I feel like as a Latina, as any, and I hate this word minority, because I feel like that word is used to make us feel less than, because it literally means like, like small, and I, and I just don't like using that word. But for purposes of like, just, you know, what we're talking about, if you're Latino, if you're Asian, if you're, if you're Native American, if you're Black, if you're whatever, minorities, which we are the majority, actually, if we're all together, um, you have to move yourself, you have to be proactive, because the reality is, it's just the fact.

The system is racist. The system as it is, is racist. And it takes someone that is on this side to see it, because I've said this to, you know, white people, and they're like, no, but it really isn't. And I'm like, well, you wouldn't know, because you're not living in this body, you know what I mean? So I think it just is. But that doesn't mean that we don't get opportunities. And that doesn't mean that we can't open a path for ourselves, we can. So I just, I figured it out very early on, when I moved to LA in 2017, that all the dreams that I had, and the things, you know, the things that I wanted to do, were going to be harder than I thought, just because of who I am, that I wasn't going to be able to get in all the rooms or get seen for certain roles, just because of who I am, and there's nothing I can do about it.

So I'm like, all right, well, I'm going to still keep knocking on doors. But then I'm also going to try and like build something parallel, so that I can, so that we can change things in a way that feels like it's actually changing, not in the tricky way that they do like every so often of like, oh, well, we're gonna give them a little bit, we're going to give them a little bit of room. And it's like, it's cycles, where, you know, they give the Asian community, the spotlight, and then all of a sudden you start to see a lot of Asian people leading in like movies and TV, and you're like, oh my god, it's happening. And then all of a sudden, like, gone. Yeah, yeah. Cierra la llave. It's like, it's almost like a, like a trick, they like tease us into complacency, so that we don't complain. But, but we have to, so that things actually change. And it's not just the illusion of change.

[13:14] Linedy Genao: I love that you're creating those doors for, like you said, not only yourself, but all of us. And the fact that you, in 2017, at that level already in Hollywood, just in Hollywood alone, that you already felt that, that you weren't going to be given the opportunity just because of who you were is just, it's heartbreaking, but also a sad reality still in 2026 sometimes that we face. Even in even in Broadway, like, for example, watching you, I saw Titanic last night, for the first time, and watching you.

[13:49] Melissa Barrera: And Connie's that I had seen was Big Gay Jamboree. Yeah, I was one of the guests and that show I was just like, oh my god, it was their comedic genius. Yes. Yes. Yeah. So I knew that I was in for something with Titanic because of those writers. But holy moly, number one, I never saw myself or any Latina playing roles until I saw you and me either. Me either honestly, like when I when because in in the new year, I was like, one of my New Year's resolutions is to sing more because I feel like sometimes I, I love singing, but I, I kind of like forget to take care of my instrument. And all of a sudden, like I'll get an audition. And I'm like, damn, I haven't sang in like eight months and I feel cold and I feel rusty and like why?

So I was like, I don't want that to happen to me. So I'm like, I'm going to I want to sing more. I want to like, you know, work on the muscles. And I want to do theater. Like I really feel like I need to go back to my roots. There's something that like feels like I need to do that. And so I got in touch with Debbie, our mutual agent at IAG. Yeah, we share an agent at IAG. She's incredible. And I was like, I really want to do something. I'd been given opportunities in the past to go into shows, but like as a replacement, and it never felt right. I was like, no, I want to be the original cast of something like I want my Broadway debut to be to have the whole rehearsal process with the company because when you're replacing, you know, you rehearse by yourself.

Yeah. And then you get thrown in and you kind of have to play catch up with the rest of the cast that's already bonded and they you know, the bonding is the biggest thing to me. That's everything. Yes, it's everything. So I really wanted to be part of the of a show from, you know, from its inception. And you know, Titanic has been going on for 10 years, but I mean on Broadway. And she was like, you know, do you know Titanic? And I was like, yes, I love that show because I'd seen it off Broadway. I saw it on Broadway, like maybe two or three years ago. And then when I was shooting Copenhagen Tests in Toronto, they have a Toronto show. And I went I took my cast because I was like, guys, we're gonna have the best night.

We're gonna laugh. We're gonna go to the show. And then we're gonna have dinner and it's gonna be amazing. So I took some of the girls and we had an incredible time. And so she was like, do you know Titanic? And I was like, yeah, I love it. She's like, well, they're auditioning roses, and it's transferring to Broadway. Like, would you be interested in auditioning? And I was like, wait, what? Me as Rose? Wait, a redhead? Can I do that? It's Kate Winslet. She's white. Like, you know, like so many things. And also, I was like, can I sing the Celine Dion songs? Like, maybe not. Let me, let me not make a fool of myself, girl. And, and so I literally told her, I told Debbie, give me tonight to research the songs that the character sings, because I don't want to make a fool of myself if I show up to the audition and I can't sing the songs.

So I like, went online, I like, they don't have a cast album. So I was like, seeing in Wikipedia, what songs Rose sings, looking at all the videos that I could find on YouTube. And then I was like, I think I can do this. Like, I think, yeah. And I, they sent me the materials. They were, they were like, all right, you have a Zoom audition next week. Oh, my God. And I was like, God, Zoom auditions, I hate. Oh, God, it's the worst. For anything, for anything, it's horrible. But like, for, for theater? No, it's just like, no. So I was like, oh, man, a Zoom audition. I don't have a great setup at my house. Like, you know, I don't have lights. It's always horrible. And, and I was like, can I, can, can they fly me to New York?

They were like, no, there's no budget to fly anyone in Zoom. And I was like, and then I, you know, I was practicing. And then literally the day before my audition, I was talking with my team and I was like, you know what, guys, tell them to cancel my Zoom audition. I'm flying to New York. I'm flying myself to New York. I'm going to stay with my sisters because two of my sisters live here. I was like, I'll just use my miles. I'll get on a plane and I want to be in the room with them because I, I feel I really want this and I don't think I'm going to get it if I do it on Zoom. Like I need them to feel my energy. I need to be able to play with them. It's a different thing when you're in the room with people. So I did that. I remember we were DMing because we were like, let's get coffee. We're like, I'm actually flying into New York and I think it was for this. Yeah.

[18:34] Linedy Genao: You also make me feel really good right now because my setup at home for my self-tape auditions is horrendous. So the fact that Melissa Barrera also doesn't have a nice camera action situation, we can make it, mi gente. Anybody can make it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get, I literally just go by the window instead of a phone and I'm like, all right, light. Cause I have no lights. Look at that. Find a window, put your phone, you're set.

[19:03] Linedy Genao: So after you came in for your in-person audition, how many more did you have after that?

[19:07] Melissa Barrera: That was it. That was it. Yeah. It was like a 20, it was like a session, like a work session. So they had sent me three songs, two scenes and I, and I went in and I was so nervous, so nervous. I get, I have really, I have like PTSD of like singing in public because I was in a reality show in Mexico where they kind of crushed my self-confidence because they would always tell me that I wasn't a good singer and that I would, you know, that I didn't have good ear and that I was always like pitchy. And so, and I, and the thing is that when someone tells you something as fact, I was 21 at the time. So I was like also like young and vulnerable and I believed it. I believed what they were telling me.

And so for the longest time, I literally did not want to sing ever again. I was like, I don't, I can't. And, and I would go into a recording studio and that would be fine. But like, if anyone asks me to sing in public, I get like, I'm not in my, it, yeah, it really like messed with me. So every time that I have to sing in public, I get super nervous and I was just literally shaking. They were the nicest, of course they were the nicest people. They're the nicest people. Like immediately Connie and I, it was love at first sight. And I was like, okay, I love this man. And they were like, do you wanna, do you want a second? We'll leave the room. They all left the room, left me with Jeff, our, our musical director.

And we sang through the songs and Jeff was like, girl, you're fine. Yeah. Good. Look at that. Yeah. They were very like reassuring and welcoming and kind of gave me my space to, to practice a little bit before I had to like sing the songs for them. And I think that that really helped me. They were, it's really nice when you go into an audition room and you feel like they're rooting for you. Yes. So that was, that was this.

[21:07] Linedy Genao: That's amazing. And now you get to sing on Broadway.

[21:12] Melissa Barrera: And now I do it. In public, still get nervous, but a little less every day. Yeah. Oh my God. No, everybody go see Titanic because not, but if I didn't say your cheeks are going to hurt, I feel like I needed to do facial exercises before I saw the show because I did not know what to expect, but I was, you know, so many people, so many people leave the show with faces hurting from smiling. Yeah. Literally. So, you know, just do your, your little job massage exercises.

[21:40] Melissa Barrera: So for example, and your monster, right, which is a horror rom-com where you also got to sing.

[21:46] Melissa Barrera: I did, I did get to sing. Oh my gosh. I saw that movie and I'm, I'm obsessed. Your character has to find her voice after her life falls apart. How much of your own in between periods did you channel into her?

[21:56] Melissa Barrera: A lot. Yeah. That was a very cathartic movie for me to, to shoot because it's about an, an aspiring Broadway actress who's literally biggest dream is to be on a Broadway stage. I was like, this is me. This movie is written for me. This is a, a rom-com with horror elements. It's like, I get to fall in love with a monster. I get to do comedy. I get to sing. There's a musical in there. I'm like, did I like God, I've been like praying for a perfect movie for me. It feels like tailor-made, you know, it was, yeah, it was really, really awesome. And it was, you know, because she gets to fulfill her dream, but also gets in touch with her like feminine rage. Yeah. And it was, I feel like we as women in society get told constantly that it's unladylike to be angry, to, you know, to be loud, to be, you know, to dare to speak up.

It's, and so we're, there's so much restraint that we have to play every day and it's like unnatural. Yeah. And I think that's why, like, that's why we get sick and that's why we, our bodies hurt because we're keeping a lot of stuff in that society has like demanded. And that movie is all about like letting it out. The ending. Yeah. If you haven't seen your monster, please see it. Where can we find it? It's, it was on Netflix recently. I literally was just told today that it's going to be on Tubi. It's about to be on Tubi soon, like in a week or so. So yeah, check it out. But the ending, you'll understand what we're talking about. The ending, even watching it was liberating for the audience to finally see her just let go, let loose, release everything that she was holding in. So I'm so glad that you were able to be a part of a movie that checked all of those dream boxes for you and that you could 100% relate to. That's, that's a, that's freaking amazing.

[24:08] Linedy Genao: Yeah. So, okay. I have to ask because watching Titanic yesterday, obviously it's a comedy. How do you not break?

[24:14] Melissa Barrera: Girl, I do. Because the loquera that is happening, loquera means foolishness. Thank you because I was going to say the other. The other F word. Foolishness that is going around, around Melissa when she has to be Rose and like, you know. I just. I'm the straight man. I play like the straight man in with all the clowns around me. So how do you keep it together? Honestly, it's, it's, I'm getting used to it now because in the beginning and obviously during rehearsals, we're constantly cracking up and you know, it's part of the fun. It's also kind of like, like SNL in a way where if we break in certain moments, it's even funnier. Yes. So I, cause I told Ty the director when we got into tech and then we started getting more people in to see the rehearsals and I started hearing more laughter.

It was really hard for me not to break just in hearing like hundreds of people laughing. And so I told Ty, I was like, Ty, I don't know how, I don't know how I'm going to do this. I am going to be breaking every show. Please don't know. And he was like, and Ty was like, Melissa, it's fine. If you do, don't worry about it. It's like, it's not that deep. And that's the beauty of this show that it's like, it's not that deep. It's a show that is fun. That is literally every, every other line is a joke. Correct. You are laughing for two hours straight. So I was given permission to break and I try not to obviously, cause I want to be professional, but sometimes it's hard. So I was telling Linedy, she was like, how do you not break?

And I was like, girl, I am breaking constantly. And she was like, I didn't see you break. I was like, well, whenever you see me turn my head upstage towards the back, it means that I am laughing. So if you see Titanic and you see Melissa turn back. Yeah. My back is to you. I'm laughing.

[26:17] Linedy Genao: Yeah. No, because is it true that that improv section is different every night?

[26:21] Melissa Barrera: Every night. If you know, you know. Okay. If you know, you know, and if not, you have to see Titanic to see that Marla improvs every single night and Melissa and Connie have to be on it and just go with it. She's, she's made us do the stupidest things. She is so funny. I don't know how she comes up with this stuff.

[26:37] Melissa Barrera: Neither do I. And she started incorporating props and, you know, and she's always,

[26:42] Linedy Genao: That wasn't always a part of it.

[26:43] Melissa Barrera: No, no, no. Yeah. It's, um, it, I, I get nervous every time that we get to that part of the show. I'm like, what is she going to do now? What is she going to say? And I kind of have to, we, we have to lip sync to her mouth. So it's, you know, a little bit of catching what she's going to say. Exactly like that. Yeah. I'm horrible at it. I can't even imagine, but it's fun. It's fun. And that keeps, you know, there's people, there's like people that come to, to the show, like every day. It's like a re like a great repeat show. We have a lot of people coming back over and over and over. And I think it's because of the magic of the improvs that every night you get something different. It's fresh. Yeah. And every night Connie is doing stupider things and it just is a show that is fun to rewatch. Also, there's so much going on.

[27:39] Melissa Barrera: My mom came for opening and she saw it in that weekend four times. I mean, if she lived in New York, she'd be at the theater every day.

[27:49] Linedy Genao: Your mom is awesome. She's so supportive. I got to meet her that one time at your movie.

[27:55] Melissa Barrera: I never got to meet your sister, Regina.

[27:58] Linedy Genao: I've never gotten to meet her, but she's raised four beautiful and amazing young women. So props to your mom.

[28:03] Melissa Barrera: I love you, honey.

[28:04] Linedy Genao: We love you.

[28:07] Melissa Barrera: You've moved between countries, languages, genres. When you're in that intermission state between roles or between cities, who is Melissa when she isn't the actor or the artist?

[28:17] Melissa Barrera: I'm lazy. I literally, when I have downtime, and I'm such a routine girl. I love going back home and having my routine of working out, seeing my friends. Basically, that's it. Just being at home with my dogs. I'm such a homebody. I watch a lot of TV, mostly TV more than films. Actually, I love watching TV shows. Even though it's become harder for me, I feel like in the last few years, my attention span has decreased and I find it hard to commit to a TV show. And I've been watching a lot of reality TV.

[29:00] Linedy Genao: What? What are you watching?

[29:01] Melissa Barrera: Because it's brainless. I can have it on and cry with Love is Blind. Or what other show did I watch recently? I'm not a Love Island person, really. But Traders, Love is Blind, Love on the Spectrum. Obsessed.

[29:25] Linedy Genao: Oh, I've heard that.

[29:25] Melissa Barrera: Oh, my God. You have to watch that. It is the most heartwarming, wholesome, hopeful watch you will ever...

[29:36] Linedy Genao: I have to add that to my list.

[29:38] Melissa Barrera: If you could be cast in any reality TV show, what would it be?

[29:42] Melissa Barrera: I would love to do like a competition show. Like a game show kind of like competition, but like physical. I love that stuff.

[29:51] Linedy Genao: But not survivor.

[29:54] Melissa Barrera: No, no, no, no, no. Or Naked and Afraid.

[29:57] Linedy Genao: No, no, no, no, no.

[29:59] Melissa Barrera: You know that you remember Legends of the Hidden Temple? Like that is my like, literally still is my dream.

[30:05] Linedy Genao: Me too, but I would get scared.

[30:07] Melissa Barrera: Like watching, I always got scared.

[30:08] Linedy Genao: Well, because it was scary.

[30:09] Melissa Barrera: It was scary. Going into the...

[30:11] Linedy Genao: And then they would...

[30:13] Melissa Barrera: Wouldn't they like when they went into the final thing where they had to like put things together, they would have to find the rocks and put it. Didn't they have like someone come in and grab them or something like that?

[30:24] Linedy Genao: Yeah, people would go out and scare you.

[30:25] Melissa Barrera: Scary.

[30:26] Linedy Genao: Yeah, scary.

[30:26] Melissa Barrera: But still. Loved.

[30:27] Linedy Genao: Can we please do a Broadway Hidden Temple show?

[30:31] Melissa Barrera: Yeah, please. Like a game show. We don't have to like...

[30:34] Linedy Genao: Yeah.

[30:35] Melissa Barrera: Sing or nothing. We just want to be on the show.

[30:37] Linedy Genao: Yeah. Maybe we can use the Masquerade set.

[30:40] Melissa Barrera: Have you been? Have you seen Masquerade?

[30:41] Linedy Genao: Not yet.

[30:42] Melissa Barrera: Oh my God. I don't have to see it. Oh, it blew my mind.

[30:47] Melissa Barrera: But it's like a whole... it's like, I don't know how many floors, but it's like a whole building. And it's like an immersive Phantom of the Opera. Brilliant.

[30:57] Melissa Barrera: Oh my God. It's so good. So good. I loved it. When you're walking and you're following the story, but it's like a haunted house.

[31:05] Linedy Genao: Oh my God. Maybe we could do there.

[31:08] Melissa Barrera: Please. Please. A little game show when they're done.

[31:10] Linedy Genao: Yeah.

[31:11] Linedy Genao: So Melissa, before we get to the ending sequence of the Sandwichito, I wanted to ask you what advice would you give to young artists or anybody that's going through a transitional period in their life and is navigating through that? Something that I know many people have talked to you about, myself included, just how you've navigated your own personal intermissions with such eloquence, grace. It is so inspiring to watch and emotional. Because same but different, very different, but I got dragged badly through Bad Cinderella. You know, you're talking about a 21 people saying how horribly you sound that somebody tagged me, I think, saying that I sounded like a cockroach or something one time, like really like nasty, nasty things that really...

[32:00] Melissa Barrera: What does a fucking cockroach even sound like? They make no noise. That's so stupid. People are so mean.

[32:07] Linedy Genao: So I, you know, that was really difficult, you know, and it took a mental toll on me and my confidence. And I had almost two years before I would sing again in a show.

[32:18] Melissa Barrera: Yeah.

[32:19] Linedy Genao: So what advice would you have to people going through something like that to ground yourself, to just find yourself again and kind of reduce that noise?

[32:28] Melissa Barrera: I mean, it's hard. It's hard, definitely, to not let things in. I saw this. Where did I see this recently? But it like, it was really beautiful. It said something like the boat doesn't sink because of the water around it. It sinks because of the water that is let in.

[32:52] Linedy Genao: Oh, my God.

[32:53] Melissa Barrera: You know, so it's just, and this is easier said than done, right? You have to value your own voice more than the voices of others, especially if you don't know them and they don't know you, like, you know what I mean? It's like, don't take anything personal from someone who you're not personal with. And that's why I don't, that's why I don't read reviews. Because if I, first of all, like, with all due respect, I don't care what you think. I don't know you. You also can't do what I do. Correct. And you have no idea. So I don't care what you think. I care more what my mom thinks. I care what my husband thinks. I care what my sisters and my friends think. That's who, and I care about how I feel.

And so, I feel like all these people that opine, everyone has the right to say what they want to say and to have an opinion and to, you know, but again, they don't know what it is to do what you do. They can't do what you do. And a lot of times I find that people that are so mean, it's got more to do with like their life and what they're going through really than with you. I, it's, it's still, you know, I think it's a, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of like mental work. It's a lot of emotional work to get to a point where you're like, cool, say whatever you want to say, but it's not going to deter me from continuing to do what I love to do. And I, I'm, I'm getting hired. I'm working, you know, that means that I'm good.

I know that I'm good at what I do. So I think you are proof of that too. I mean, you're booked so they can say whatever you want. And I think it all, it all, everything happens for a reason. You're always meant to learn something from, and sometimes you just have to, I think sometimes what you're meant to learn is like how strong you are.

[35:02] Linedy Genao: I mean, absolutely, absolutely. Oh my gosh. That boat metaphor thing blew my mind truly.

[35:08] Melissa Barrera: Yeah. Because what we allow and then what we allow ourselves to believe will dictate who we may become, how we, you know, go about our day, how we go about our craft or, you know, ourselves. So yeah, that I needed to hear that. So thank you.

[35:24] Melissa Barrera: Thank you so much. I'm Elisa. This has been amazing. We can talk for hours.

[35:28] Linedy Genao: I know. I know ideal.

[35:31] Linedy Genao: So to end our sandwich sequence, we have a series.

[35:34] Melissa Barrera: Oh, wait, I forgot. Marla herself sent some questions.

[35:39] Linedy Genao: Marla.

[35:39] Melissa Barrera: Yes.

[35:40] Linedy Genao: What?

[35:41] Melissa Barrera: Marlita.

[35:43] Melissa Barrera: She, well, two are statements. So the first one is, you know, the answer to every question. Clearly, my people, of course, that you knew everyone's blocking before they knew their own.

[35:55] Linedy Genao: That is a dance captain in training.

[35:58] Melissa Barrera: You could not say that out loud.

[36:01] Linedy Genao: No, there's already a dance captain.

[36:03] Melissa Barrera: No, we have an incredible dance captain. Tess is incredible. Our swing. She's amazing. And she's so good at her job. I don't think I could do I don't think I could ever be a dance captain, but I'm just super I'm like an observer and I and I have a really good memory. So I usually like when when I'm on set, when I'm like shooting something and you're doing a scene over and over and over and they're switching cameras and someone and you're doing this on a line and then you do it in a different position, you're fucking up with the continuity and with the cut. They're going to struggle. So sometimes I'll just be like, you had your hand on your hip and that, you know, like I'll just remind people it is horrible. It's horrible. But I I don't know. Like I you're making their jobs easier.

[36:48] Linedy Genao: Yeah.

[36:48] Melissa Barrera: So there's that. And then Marla is asking because she doesn't know and wants to know, how did you get your nickname from Connie, which is chancla?

[37:02] Melissa Barrera: Chancla mi gente is short for chancleta, which is a flip flop, which is which could be an assault weapon in the Latin culture. The very the very intimidating chancla. Basically, Connie is a fool and he always speaks Spanish. He always tries to speak Spanish to me, but he knows no Spanish. So he knows literally like five words. And that's and chancla is one of them for some reason. Don't ask. I don't think I've ever asked him why. But so he knows he basically calls me chancla, camarones chancla, because those are the words that he knows.

[37:40] Linedy Genao: Yeah.

[37:40] Melissa Barrera: So I'm like a shrimp flip flop.

[37:42] Linedy Genao: A shrimp flip flop.

[37:44] Melissa Barrera: Yeah, that's that. I don't know. Yeah, he's he's an idiot.

[37:48] Linedy Genao: That's a short series in it of itself. You and Connie him trying to speak to you in Spanish and just.

[37:53] Melissa Barrera: Yes.

[37:54] Linedy Genao: The bullets that come from that.

[37:56] Melissa Barrera: Oh, my gosh.

[37:57] Linedy Genao: So let me see. What is your perreo song? What is the song you're shaking your ass to like to hype you up before the show or in life?

[38:05] Melissa Barrera: I'm not. I'm usually listening to Frankie's fucking boombox above me because he's blasting Celine Dion songs.

[38:16] Linedy Genao: No, he's not.

[38:17] Melissa Barrera: Yes, I swear. He is the biggest Celine Dion stan. Oh, and I literally he's a floor above me, literally in my same dressing room, one floor above. And I just hear his loud ass music the entire time.

[38:33] Linedy Genao: Oh my God.

[38:34] Melissa Barrera: So I don't need music of my own.

[38:35] Linedy Genao: You don't need music of your own.

[38:36] Melissa Barrera: Yeah, yeah. Because you are perreando to Frankie.

[38:39] Linedy Genao: Yeah, yeah.

[38:41] Melissa Barrera: Boombox.

[38:41] Linedy Genao: Thank you. I love you, Frankie.

[38:42] Melissa Barrera: Yeah.

[38:43] Linedy Genao: What is your most used emoji?

[38:45] Melissa Barrera: Probably the heart eyes.

[38:48] Melissa Barrera: Yeah, me too. I use that one a lot. Wait, or the poop. Wait, that's another word. You gotta teach Connie.

[38:54] Melissa Barrera: Yeah, Caquita.

[38:55] Linedy Genao: Yeah.

[38:56] Melissa Barrera: I'm sure he also calls me caca.

[38:58] Linedy Genao: Wait, what's my.

[39:01] Melissa Barrera: Then he'll call you a shrimp.

[39:01] Linedy Genao: Shrimp poop flip flop.

[39:02] Melissa Barrera: Yeah, I need to see what's my. Yeah, look. Well, the heart emoji.

[39:07] Melissa Barrera: The heart emoji.

[39:08] Linedy Genao: Yeah, the heart eyes. That's the one that I use the most.

[39:12] Linedy Genao: OK, we love that. We love that.

[39:13] Linedy Genao: OK, what's a rule you hated from?

[39:16] Linedy Genao: OK, we were both raised Catholic and Latina. Was your mom strict about just like parenting wise?

[39:24] Melissa Barrera: I wouldn't say that. No, I feel like she was strict in school. She was strict in us having to do well in school. She always had very high expectations of us being like straight A students, but the rest. No life. No, I was like I was like, you know, I disappear from my house and then come back at night. Yeah, like my dad. Chill, chill. She was super chill.

[39:40] Linedy Genao: I was going to ask what's a rule you hated from your parents that you now fully support if they were strict or any other rule she had?

[39:57] Melissa Barrera: Well, you know, she was very she always would rather me have sleepovers at my house than me go and sleep over at someone else's house. And I and at the time it was I hated it because I literally just wanted to go sleep at my friend's houses. But I understand why.

[40:17] Linedy Genao: Same.

[40:17] Melissa Barrera: I totally understand why. And I feel like if I had daughters, I would not let them go sleep in a house where there's any men. Sorry.

[40:27] Linedy Genao: Sorry. Not sorry.

[40:28] Melissa Barrera: Sorry. Not sorry.

[40:30] Linedy Genao: Melissa, thank you so much.

[40:34] Melissa Barrera: Thank you.

[40:34] Linedy Genao: I'm so grateful you're here. If you wouldn't mind ending the segment with us with our tagline.

[40:40] Melissa Barrera: Because life doesn't pause. It just moves. Entre AXE.

[40:43] Linedy Genao: Melissa Barrera, everybody.

[40:48] Linedy Genao: Entre AXE is created, hosted, and executive produced by yours truly, Lina Dijonal. Produced in partnership with Alan Seals and the Broadway Podcast Network. Carlos E. Hernandez of Ihigai Management and Media serves as our lead executive producer. Original music by Johan Beltré and Pedro F. Fortunato. And special thanks to welcometotimesquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for the day. Don't forget to subscribe and follow Entre AXE so you never miss an episode. ¡Nos vemos!