Diandra Reviews It All- Interviews Michelle Ramirez: Dominican-Yorker

People are people: no matter what culture. Of course, your culture may influence how you react to life and even how you can live it, but, in the end, there is a core essence to humanity and the human experience that can’t be denied, even by culture or prejudice. For Michelle Ramirez, DominicanYork was her opportunity to explore and display the humanity of being Dominican-American; a generation of crossed between two cultures that don’t always understand each other. Yet, we all understand dreams, falling in love, and the highs and lows of trying to figure out what is making it? On July 27, she will be apart of the Latin Film Market; an opportunity for Latin filmmakers to show their films and, potentially, get distributors. In our interview, she talks about what makes her,creation, DominicanYork, so special to her and, hopefully, special to you.

Diandra: What do you hope Dominican York displays about Dominican culture and pride?

Michelle: We hope DominicanYork displays all of the different ways that Dominican culture can be represented and celebrated. The stories are about Dominicans having regular, human experiences that anyone from any culture can relate to. It was created in such a way, that no matter what your background is, we welcome you and will walk you through the Dominican experience.
Ep 1 – Dique Buscando Un Trabajo | DominicanYork

Diandra: Being Dominican American can feel like you are apart of two worlds. What are the differences, you feel, between being Dominican and being Dominican- American?

Michelle: There’s no one way to be Dominican. Oftentimes, especially in Dominican culture, there’s a two- dimensional view of Dominican- Americans. Ni de aquí, ni de allá. While we embrace and relate to many of the stereotypes, they often leave out some very important narratives of the Dominican- American upbringing. It was important for us, through DominicanYork, to blend the two.

Diandra: What do you see is the essence of being Dominican- American?

Michelle: I can’t speak for all Dominican- Americans, but in my opinion, I feel that the essence comes from the love of our culture, our food, our music, our people…and just being proud of who you are …its definition is unique to the individual. Being Dominican -American is only one facet, we’re so much more than our heritage. DominicanYork is less about being Dominican- American and more about looking at life through a Dominican- American lens.

Diandra: Any favorite Dominican slang?

Michelle: It’s not so much a slang, but more of a saying. Probando es que se guisa LOL! This is my life’s motto. You can only learn by doing; a sequence of trial and error. You have to allow yourself permission to fail and just keep it moving.

Diandra: What has been the most frustrating part about producing and finding distribution for the

series?

Michelle: It’s actually been a pretty smooth ride. For that, I take my hat off to our amazing Executive Producer, Yesenia Ramirez. I can’t rave about her enough; she just gets things done no matter what. Her relentless spirit, can- do attitude, and invaluable knowledge were pivotal to the success of this production. She’s the mastermind behind aligning DominicanYork with the right people, both on and off camera> .

Diandra: Of the series, who are the characters you most identify with and why?

Michelle: The character I identify with the most would have to be my character, Mia. Playing her has helped me embrace my own idiosyncrasies. No matter how awkward she may be, she’s always confident about her decisions, even when they backfire…which is almost always LOL. Oftentimes on set, the running joke amongst the cast is that they can’t tell the difference between myself and my character.

Another character I identify with is Stacey (played by the multi- talented Yesenia Ramirez). Stacey is resourceful and passionate about becoming a successful entrepreneur no matter what. Those two very important qualities are shared throughout our entire team, and have helped us lay the foundation for what became DominicanYork Series.

Diandra: What is an episode, from season 1, that most spoke to your experiences?

Michelle: It would have to be the beginning of episode 2. My character is on her laptop and her mom rushes into her room to tell her how she’s never going to find a husband; because all she does is sit in front of her laptop, all day, instead of helping around the house. This particular episode has gotten comments like “my mom is the same way!” and “this is so accurate”. It helped me understand that these experiences weren’t mine alone . They were shared by so many other people, even non-Dominicans . Nothing makes us happier than to know our audience feels accurately represented.

Diandra: What is a story, about yourself, that you hope to see in season 2?

Michelle: One of the beauties of being the director and the writer for this series is having the power to choose which direction the story will take, while at the same time trying to write stories that resonate with our audience and our culture. Which is why I like the blueprint we’ve created for DominicanYork; writing about our actual experiences, while sprinkling it with some humor and fantasy for good measure.

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