Get to Know the Two Afro Latinas Behind SXSW ‘Chuchi and Adaliz’

A Mexican and Afro-Puerto Rican native of El Paso, Texas, a former high school teacher in Mississippi, and a writer committed to uplifting communities of color, Ashley’ Soto Paniagua and Dani Adaliz a biracial Afro-Latina actress, comedian, writer, and director got together to write and star the web series that premiered on SXSW.

How did your interest in storytelling begin?

A: I was born and raised in El Paso, TX, which borders Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MX, where my mom is from. El Paso/Juárez is primarily Mexican/Mexican-American, and the only reason my family was “different” was because my dad is Afro-Puerto Rican from the island. Having been raised in what was essentially an ethnic enclave of a city, going to college in small town Massachusetts was a huge culture shift, and it was there that I began thinking about how to uplift and create agency in communities of color. I went on to teach high school in Mississippi with a mission to prepare students for collegiate-level studies, but I learned quickly that I was spread really thin as one person serving hundreds of students in an under-resourced school system. As I began to think about impact on a larger scale, I landed a marketing job in LA, where I thought it’d be a perfect way to reach large audiences and create visibility for marginalized communities on, say, a billboard. But I learned quickly that my job was to find the audience and push the brand message. Who was controlling this narrative??! Writers. I took a TV writing class, and the rest is history.

D: Honestly imitating my mom and her interpretation of how an experience went. I was always asked (even by her) to perform and retell the story.

Tell us about CHUCHI & ADALIZ; how did the project begin? 

A: Nydia Simone of Blactina invited us to participate in a panel centering Afrolatinas. My dad is AfroPuerto Rican, and Dani’s mom is AfroPuerto Rican. Everything grew organically from there–following each other on social, liking each other’s posts, Instagram stalking each other, the usual. Dani sent me a deck on a project she’d been working on, and after more Instagram stalking, I pitched an idea to Dani that we could work on together.

D: We bonded over the fact that we are both bi racial and that no one believes us, after internet stalking each other and being impressed by one another we decided to work together. Ashley had a wonderful idea for a show and I would be crazy not to be on board. I was honored she even considered me.

What was the most fun part of filming this?

A: Twerking on a handstand.

D: Being able to work with our friends 🙂 (and pay them too)

Did you ever think it would go to SXSW? 

A: I’m new to the festival circuit, so I was pretty naive about the prestige of SXSW when we submitted our picture lock version on the final deadline, on the date of the final deadline. I’m proud of CHUCHI & ADALIZ regardless, but getting into SXSW is the external validation for the work we put into it and the stamp of approval that says other people are proud of it, too. Especially knowing that we were probably the very last project to submit at all. haha That feels nice.

Tell us about SXSW – the whole experience.

D: It was so deeply intense and gratifying. To be recognized for all of our hard work felt incredible. To have our series be so well received also felt incredible the amount of support and love we were receiving from complete strangers was so beautiful and made this experience very special.

Do you think are more opportunities for Latinos now? 

A: Yeah! We create them ourselves, invite people to join the fun, and get into SXSW on the way!

D: There’s still a lot of work to be done, but I see our community rising up. I personally would love to see more nuanced Latinx experiences and I’m happy we were able to make one and have it be recognized on a platform like SXSW.

Where do you want to go next? 

A: I want to go take a nap! Until then, we’d love for CHUCHI & ADALIZ to get distribution after we premiere all five episodes at an yet-to-be announced festival in Los Angeles this May/June.

D: To get some distribution going for Chuchi and Adaliz! Keep going for it and keep creating.