Home is Where the Art Is: A Conversation with Edna Chavez and Onix Serrano

On a new episode of The Q Agenda on LATV called “Home is Where the Art Is,” we had the pleasure of having the powerful stories and journeys of Edna Chavez and Onix Serrano.

Meet Edna Chavez

Edna Chavez grew up in South Central Los Angeles, splitting her time between there and Guatemala. Life in South Central meant learning to duck from bullets before she learned to read. That was part of everyday life in her part of Los Angeles. She has a lot of pride in being from South Central, but she’s realized that, as an adult, she has overcome societal trauma growing up normalized to gun violence around her. This harsh reality led Edna to become a dedicated gun violence activist.
At just 24 years old, she’s already made a significant impact in her community and beyond. Edna was part of Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21 class of 2018, which highlights extraordinary young women making waves in their fields.

Edna’s activism began in 2016, during the lead-up to the presidential election. She joined the Community Coalition’s South Central Youth Empowerment Through Action (SCYEA) group, canvassing her neighborhood to inform people about how different propositions would affect their lives. Her drive for activism was fueled by personal experiences, including her father’s deportation due to his undocumented status and the tragic loss of her brother Ricardo, who was gunned down at just 14 years old.

In 2018, Edna spoke at the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., a significant event in the movement against gun violence. She continues her work as a youth leader at the Community Coalition, a nonprofit that tackles issues like addiction, crime, violence, and poverty in South LA. Edna is passionate about finding multifaceted solutions to gun violence, recognizing that it varies in different contexts.

“It was a duty. Coming from where I come from in South Central, it’s more so normalized. That’s just something at an early age that’s introduced to you instead of books. Hood mentality. Protection, you know? Street knowledge. That’s what you need to know…to survive in the streets,” she said, in our interview.

As for solutions, it’s not a one-size-fits-all. Gun violence looks different in different instances, so there needs to be an array of solutions.

Meet Onix Serrano

Onix Serrano, an actor on the rise from Puerto Rico and Florida, shared his journey from local theater to the big screen. Born on September 30, 1997, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico to divorced parents, Onix discovered his love for acting at the age of 12. His mother was incredibly supportive of his dreams, which led him to start in theater. In 2017, Onix moved to the United States to pursue film and TV acting.

Onix has made a name for himself with roles like Ignacio in Max’s “Gordita Chronicles” (2022) and Dave in “Fantasy Island” (2023). He’s also set to appear in Clint Eastwood’s upcoming film “Juror No. 2.” Onix is proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and enjoys playing Latino characters that showcase his culture, and he believes the film industry on the island is growing and sees a bright future ahead. He also stars in the Netflix series “Neon,” produced by Daddy Yankee, and interestingly, three consecutive projects have brought him back to Puerto Rico.

“I am Latino. I am from Puerto Rico. And I am proud of my Latino background and culture. But it can be kind of hard sometimes to convince people that I am Latino because of my complexion and everything. So getting to play a Latino character and work with an all-star, all-Latino cast, it was just amazing,” he shared in our interview, on his role as Ignacio in “Gordita Chronicles”

Join us on The Q Agenda for “Home is Where the Art Is” to hear the incredible journeys of Edna Chavez and Onix Serrano!