Peter Mendoza on Breaking Past the Misconceptions of the Latino Community

Latinos don't often get the opportunity to tell stories that enrich the narrative of what they are seen as outside of the known stereotypes. Moreover, Latinos are seen even less within the storytelling narrative of period pieces.

But, with its season two well underway, HBO Max's Perry Mason is flipping the script and pursuing a storyline that has a focus on the realities of Latinos in 1930s Los Angeles. Among the many actors at the center of this story is Peter Mendoza, who is bringing to life the story of Mateo Gallardo, one of several Mexican boys who find themselves accused of murder.

Mendoza tells People Chica, "The opportunity to tell a different side of the Latino experience that doesn't focus on drugs [or] multiple jobs just to make ends meet—it felt human [and like I was] speaking for people that weren't even considered a race out of convenience."

"The American Dream was not afforded to them, and yet they didn't quit. They focused on family [and] on what they could control while the system lent no relief. Latinos during The Great Depression were the poorest of all the minorities. There isn't much history of their struggle during this time, and yet, we were everywhere you looked," he continues.

In an exclusive interview with People Chica, Mendoza details what it was like working on the Perry Mason as well as how he hopes to continue shining a light on the beauty and vibrancy of the Latino culture within his work.

You're starring in the HBO Max's 1930s period piece Perry Mason. It isn't often that Latinos get to stretch their acting chops in projects like this. What drew you to the role? What was the most exciting part of the experience for you?

The opportunity to tell a different side of the Latino experience that doesn't focus on drugs [or] multiple jobs just to make ends meet—it felt human [and like I was] speaking for people that weren't even considered a race out of convenience. Here are young Latino men who were Californians before it was ever a part of America. They had every right to call this home, and because of their skin and culture, they were excluded because they were in the way of progress and expansion. 

The American Dream was not afforded to them, and yet they didn't quit. They focused on family [and] on what they could control while the system lent no relief. Latinos during The Great Depression were the poorest of all the minorities. There isn't much history of their struggle during this time, and yet, we were everywhere you looked. It was an educational experience getting to know the true contributions to agriculture, mining, music, clothing, and the grit it took in a world that didn't care to acknowledge our fight and our hope. 

The most exciting part of this process was working with actors who pushed me to want to be the very best. As you said, we don't get many opportunities to help reveal a truth we all intrinsically understand. Actors like Stephanie Hoston, Fabrizio Guido, Onahoua Rodriguez, Paul Raci, Chris Chalk, Juliet Rylance, and Matthew Rhys—they all were so very generous, as the leaders they all are, on days I didn't always feel I knew what to do or had the depth I needed. Their support, class, respect, and professionalism helped me really value who I am and that I have a voice worth sharing. A voice that I can be proud of.

Your character, Mateo Gallardo, is part of a group of Mexican boys at the center of a murder conspiracy. How did you prepare for the role? What prep work did you do to help inform your performance?

I got my hands on the Chicano series that came out in response to the East L.A. Chicano Blowouts of the '60s where Latino students fought for better education in low-income communities to know who they were and where they came from. I was born and raised in East L.A., and growing up there was this stigma that speaking Spanish was culturally not correct. 

Almost as if it was an offense for everything it represented in the eyes of society—that we are lazy, job-stealing, drug-dealing murderers. But we made many contributions. We taught the white settlers how to farm, how to mine for gold during the Gold Rush, [and] cowboy culture. We even fought for civil rights before it was mainstream.

There is so much owed to the contributions of the second-oldest minority group in the Americas. America may have been framed by the white settlers, but it was built off the backs of immigrants. That was so inspiring and bittersweet knowing how much of our history was stolen, rewritten, or erased. 

Being a Latino in L.A., also helped inform [me] what it truly feels like to be invisible in a world that only seems to consider you if you're an excuse or a political tool. We are hard-working, loving, and fiercely loyal. More than just entertainment and the token minority, we're filled with richness, innovation, and artistry, that I hope I can live up to.

You've starred on shows like From Scratch, NCIS, Shooter, and Snowfall—helping bring some Latino flair to Hollywood. How do you hope to continue doing this throughout your career?

I am only one of many before me who are fighting to change how people see Latinos in this country. I believe that there [are] good and bad in the stereotypes we are connected to [and] they help add nuance and complexity to a conversation we are still trying to understand. This business can be unforgiving in its fast-paced hustle culture, where you're trying to get eyes on stories that reflect a different side of what we are. 

I don't know how much I can help in that change, but I wish that I can tell the truth of the misconceptions of being a Latino. We are beautiful, cruel, tender, and passionate. We are romantics and tyrants. We love. We [take] revenge. But all in all, we are like everyone else. Our culture only adds dimension to a complicated story we are still fighting to understand. I hope to bring something fresh to what it means to be a man who feels, who's sensitive, ignorant, driven, stubborn, and full of vigor. 

We have been ready for over seventy years! Ricardo Montalbán sacrificed nearly twenty years of his career to give us a different lens through which to express ourselves. I wear my history like a jacket, and I want those who come from the same abyss I came from to know I see you. I am you. Because it is not the color of your skin that should define you but the strength of your character.

What is some advice you'd offer another Latino who wants to pursue acting?  

Why are you doing this? You must believe in what you stand for and what you represent. If not for the community, then for yourself. Don't take for granted the gift of your struggle. To overcome is to recognize the strength and service you offer to a people who don't have the hope or opportunity you have. Don't do this for the money or the fame. 

There is so much to love about this art form. This changes minds, save[s] lives, and brings us together. You hold a higher responsibility to those who came before you to live your life to the fullest. I was inspired by Jean-Claude Van Damme. I wanted to be an action star. But he was just [an] entryway into a life I could've never dreamed of. 

This has saved me. It can save you if you have the patience—study, fight, fall, and start again. Because it is only through the struggles that you really define what your purpose is. Do what you love, and fight for it. And maybe you'll make it to the other side.

New episodes of Perry Mason air on Mondays at 9/8c on HBO Max.