Today we take you inside the Afro-Latino Actors Studio with Carlos Carrasco: actor, filmmaker, and director of the Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles. Mr. Carrasco will take the lead on stage, then give us the VIP tour backstage, behind the curtains, where we glimpse into what it is like to be an immigrant Afro-Latino in acting in the United States, and how this experience has impacted his identity and drove him to also dedicate his time to social impact causes for Latin actors, theatre, and film.

Born in Panamá City, Panamá, Carlos Carrasco has appeared as an actor on Broadway and Off Broadway in New York City, as well as appearing at many of the country’s regional theaters. He appeared on Broadway in the Circle-In-The-Square’s production of “The National Health” and has appeared at The Hartford Stage Co., Shakespeare & Co., Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, The Arizona Theatre Co., The Folger Theatre and The American Shakespeare Theatre. Off- Broadway he appeared with The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, INTAR, Theatre for a New Audience and The New York Shakespeare Festival.

Mr. Carrasco has co-starred in such feature films as “Speed,” “Blood In…Blood Out,” “Turnover,” “Parker,” ”One Man’s Hero,” “The Burning Season” and “The Fisher King.” On television he has been a guest on many prime time series, including “Insecure,” “CSI,” “Star Trek: Deep Space 9,” ” ER,” “Seaquest,” “Hunter,” “The Equalizer” and the made for television movies “As Good As Dead” and “Have You Seen My Son?”.

Mr. Carrasco has been active in the non-profit sector, serving for six years as Executive Director of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors, serving for three years on the Theatre panel for the New York State Council on the Arts and currently producing a Latin American film festival, The Panamanian International Film Festival, now entering its seventh season.

As filmmaker, Mr. Carrasco has produced and directed five short films, from the documentary “Art Galleries and Back Alleys,” celebrating the East Los Angeles Artists Collaborative Self-Help Graphics to the more recent “One” and “Disarm” tackling the difficult issues of police and school shootings.

I had the honor of speaking with Carlos Carrasco on the 16th of August, 2020. This is the first part of our two-part conversation.

But before we jump into the conversation with Mr. Carrasco, Aïcha Martine Thiam and I would like to introduce you to The Nasiona BIPOC Music Series. We will begin most podcast episodes this year by showcasing a BIPOC musical artist from our series, which you can explore at TheNasiona.com. On April 26th, we had the honor of featuring the world premiere of Tre. Charles’s debut single and music video for “Stressin.” which you can listen to and watch on our website. Today, we’ll showcase “Stressin.” for you, in case you missed it. “Stressin.” embodies personal and social struggles that Tre. Charles has experienced throughout his life as a young black man in America. This timely track and its visuals are sure to capture the isolation that many have felt through this pandemic.

Want to be considered for our BIPOC Music Series? Go here to learn more.