In “Zoë Saldaña: A Star with a Hollywood Star,” José Hernández (ESENDOM) reviews Zoe Saldaña’s trajectory, emphasizing her latest project—her own company, Cinestar. Find the full article and video at ESENDOM.

You may have heard about Zoë Saldaña, especially if you are a fan of science fiction (sci-fi) movies like Avengers (2012) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), or perhaps Star Trek (2009). Maybe, like me, your first encounter with Saldaña was in the Avatar (2009) movie or perhaps it was in the action-packed Colombiana (2011). Whichever film it was, seeing Saldaña in Colombiana shaped my view of her as having Colombian ancestry—that is, until the moment I learned—maybe two or three years ago—that she actually carries sangre dominicana that she inherited from her father as well as Puerto Rican blood from her mother. Not only that, but she is proud of her background!

I felt compelled to follow Saldaña’s story because it was great to see an actress with whom I fell in love at first sight, someone who shares my ethnic background, on TV receiving a well-deserved Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on May 3. [. . .] During her inspiring ceremony, Saldaña shared an emotional and inspiring life story.

During the ceremony, her smooth American English accent seamlessly transitioned into a familiar Spanish one as she named actors she saw twenty years ago on the Walk of Fame—a place on which she never thought she would get to see her name. Her “mil gracias” sounded as authentic as her “ay que linda!” to her abuelita—and no doubt, the same goes for her strong recognition of her Dominican heritage. Saldaña’s message of encouragement is a testament of her hard work. As a Latina, she broke barriers maintaining her own identity. [. . .]

Although her roles in sci-fi movies allow her to move into a realm where she plays out-of-the-box strong personality roles like Neytiri in Avatar, she has started her own company, Cinestar. In a YouTube video from Cinestar’s channel, Zoë shares that it is all about sharing “stories” and “create content where you feel celebrated, you feel seen, you feel educated, you are entertained!” In this video, Zoë is joined by her two sisters, who also say how this project is meant to bring awareness about women like them, since “we want the everyday women to be portrayed like the type of things we want to see out there” says Mariel Saldaña. After all, they are their own bosses and drive the content—unlike in Hollywood. [. . .]

For full article, see https://esendom.com/cine/2018/5/30/zo-saldaa-a-star-with-a-hollywood-star