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top: var(--awb-sticky-offset,0); }}</style><style type="text/css">.recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 !important;}</style> <script type="application/ld+json" class="saswp-schema-markup-output">[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/latina.com\/inside-julio-torres-problemista-and-its-boundary-pushing-take-on-immigration-and-identity\/#videoobject","url":"https:\/\/latina.com\/inside-julio-torres-problemista-and-its-boundary-pushing-take-on-immigration-and-identity\/","headline":"Inside Julio Torres&#8217; &#8216;Problemista&#8217; and its Boundary-Pushing Take on Immigration and Identity","datePublished":"2024-03-20T16:36:18-04:00","dateModified":"2024-04-09T15:38:31-04:00","description":"The Authoritative Voice of Latin American Culture","transcript":"There\u2019s no doubt that \u201cProblemista\u201d comes from the brain of Julio Torres. His brand of absurdist humor is instantly recognizable, whether it's his work on \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d \u201cLos Espookys,\u201d or his HBO Special, \u201cMy Favorite Shapes.\u201d In each, he combines cutting social commentary with unique off-the-wall pairings and brings empathy for even the most difficult characters. Torres\u2019 voice makes him particularly well suited to write, direct, and star in \u201cProblemista,\u201d made with studio A24, whose brand is synonymous with boundary-pushing work thanks to films such as \"Everything Everywhere All at Once,\" \u201cMidsommar,\u201d and \u201cPast Lives.\u201d    \u201cProblemista\u201d opens in theaters nationwide on March 22. It follows Torres as Alejandro, an aspiring toy maker who leaves his mother\u2019s magical home in El Salvador for a less forgiving New York City, in the hopes of making it big. In talking with LATINA about the film, Torres explained, \u201cIt\u2019s semi-autobiographical.  based on a moment in time when I was struggling to get a work visa and when I felt like I had one problem that led to another problem.\u201d     (L-R) Julio Torres. Credit: Jon Pack.    When \u201cProblemista\u201d opens, Alejandro certainly has his fair share of problems. It\u2019s not just that his living space is comically small (and getting smaller). Or that he\u2019s trying to break into an elite and rarified industry (here, toymaking). No, what differentiates Alejandro\u2019s troubles from someone like Andy in \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada\u201d is that Alejandro needs to secure a work Visa.    \u201cI'm very interested in humans trapped in bureaucracy,\u201d explained Torres, and his film takes \u201ctrapped\u201d both literally and metaphorically. \u201cProblemista\u201d visualizes what the US immigration system feels like. It shows the system as a cross between a whack-a-mole game and those famous Maurits Cornelis Escher paintings where stairs go everywhere and arrive nowhere. Alejandro is caught in this trap, which sometimes physically detains him, and other times holds his mind and his prospects prisoner.    Navigating bureaucracy feels like being in a senseless maze. I hope that people feel seen by , and if they haven't experienced , that people get a sense of what it feels like.     \u201cNavigating bureaucracy feels like being in a senseless maze. I hope that people feel seen by , and if they haven't experienced , that people get a sense of what it feels like,\u201d he shared. \u201cProblemista\u201d certainly excels at that, dramatizing just how absurd, nonsensical, and unfair the whole process is.     (L-R) Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton. Courtesy of A24.    For Alejandro, being caught in that system means throwing his lot in with Elizabeth, a privileged white lady, played by Tilda Swinton. In our conversation, Torres called her \u201can amalgamation of so many people that I've met along the way.\u201d She\u2019s certainly a terrible boss, prone to throwing her weight around, and demands unfailing devotion from Alejandro, while giving nothing in return except the promise to continue being unpredictable.     Still, Torres refuses to cast her as the villain. \u201cI'm not a black or white kind of person. I like to think that I'm curious and empathetic,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there is anything to take from her  her obstinance and her resilience, her refusal to be kept outside. You could say that is inevitably connected to privilege. But I felt like I needed to learn how to fight imposter syndrome, and  \u2018oh, maybe I shouldn\u2019t own it.\u2019\u201d     (L-R) Julio Torres and Tilda Swinton. Courtesy of A24.    Elizabeth offers an alternative \u2013 she always owns it. She\u2019s the opposite of the good immigrant, the one who waits for her turn and doesn\u2019t complain. Elizabeth doesn\u2019t wait for anything. She demands and she teaches Alejandro to do the same, even if it\u2019s unintentional on her part. In that way, \u201cProblemista\u201d wiggles out of the typical immigration story, nudging its protagonist to succeed not because he\u2019s exceptional or breaks the law, but rather because he learns from an obnoxious white lady about how to take up space.    And that\u2019s not the only way \u201cProblemista\u201d pushes the boundaries of the genre. Torres also gives us a view of the home country, El Salvador, that\u2019s different from how Hollywood typically portrays it. He explained, \u201cThere are experiences that feel sepia, that feel like everyone has sweat in their necks. And there are ones that aren't.\u201d Sepia is the furthest from how he portrays his and his character\u2019s native El Salvador, filling the frame with the deep greens of a shaded and welcoming jungle. Rather than a place of heated conflict, like the LATAM of so many cartel-driven immigrant stories, Torres\u2019 El Salvador is a place of magic and comfort, thanks to Alejandro\u2019s protective mother, Dolores.    There's a difference seeing Latin America through  a US lens. I depict life as I felt it, and Dolores\u2019 house feels a lot like a house I lived in.    \u201cThere's a difference seeing Latin America through  a US lens,\u201d Torres explained. \u201cI depict life as I felt it, and Dolores\u2019 house feels a lot like a house I lived in.\u201d It\u2019s there that Dolores fosters Alejandro\u2019s love of toys and creativity. We see the cocoon she built for him, the safe space that allows him to grow up believing in himself and his abilities. And it\u2019s not hard to imagine Torres growing up similarly protected, able to nurture his own quirky voice away from those who would shame or try to silence him.     (L-R) Catalina Saavedra. Courtesy of A24.    Not, of course, that the real world doesn\u2019t beckon with all of its promises and pitfalls. Alejandro ventures out, internalizing the immigration system\u2019s message of conformity and patience along the way. He even walks like a robot, the sort of wind-up toy he\u2019s far too sophisticated to develop. Torres could hear a little \u201cbeep, beep, beep\u201d when he embodied the \u201clittle explorer,\u201d something that he said also influenced the film\u2019s score.    Hollywood is very interested in this idea of the individual, the American dream, succeeding against all odds. And maybe there\u2019s a reading of that in this movie. But I think I'm more interested in asking why, and  the systems that make it so that only those who are the scrappiest float.    With these touches showing rather than telling the story, \u201cProblemista\u201d is re-writing the immigration narrative. Filtered through Torres\u2019 brain, it\u2019s no longer one of grit and determination but rather of frustration and bureaucracy. \u201cHollywood is very interested in this idea of the individual, the American dream, succeeding against all odds,\u201d Torres said. \u201cAnd maybe there\u2019s a reading of that in this movie. But I think I'm more interested in asking why, and  the systems that make it so that only those who are the scrappiest float.\u201d    It\u2019s a fair question, and one that Torres\u2019s \u201cProblemista\u201d asks with humor and insight, showing its viewers the unfairness without getting stuck in shame or tragedy. Torres\u2019 ability to name, dramatize, and find humor in the absurd sets him apart, and hopefully, he\u2019ll be able to keep honing that skill as his promising career stretches in front of him.  Cristina Escobar is an activist and critic, working at the intersection of race, gender, and pop culture.","name":"Inside Julio Torres&#8217; &#8216;Problemista&#8217; and its Boundary-Pushing Take on Immigration and Identity","uploadDate":"2024-03-20T16:36:18-04:00","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/LLRwd6dXjBc\/hqdefault.jpg","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Cristina Escobar","url":"https:\/\/latina.com\/author\/cristina-escobar\/","sameAs":[]},"contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LLRwd6dXjBc","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LLRwd6dXjBc"},

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&#8216;Problemista&#8217; and its Boundary-Pushing Take on Immigration and Identity </a></h2></div><div class="postShortDesc"><p class="postShortPara"> There’s no doubt that “Problemista” comes from the brain of Julio Torres. His brand of absurdist humor is instantly recognizable, whether it&#8217;s his work on “Saturday Night Live,” “Los Espookys,” or his HBO Special, “My Favorite Shapes.” In each, he combines cutting social commentary with unique off-the-wall pairings and brings [...]</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="paginationAuthor"><div class="pagination"></div></div></div></div></div></main><div class="fusion-footer"></div></div></div> <a class="fusion-one-page-text-link fusion-page-load-link" tabindex="-1" href="#" aria-hidden="true">Page load link</a><div class="avada-footer-scripts"> <script type="text/javascript">var fusionNavIsCollapsed=function(e){var t,n;window.innerWidth<=e.getAttribute("data-breakpoint")?(e.classList.add("collapse-enabled"),e.classList.remove("awb-menu_desktop"),e.classList.contains("expanded")||window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("fusion-mobile-menu-collapsed",{detail:{nav:e}})),(n=e.querySelectorAll(".menu-item-has-children.expanded")).length&&n.forEach(function(e){e.querySelector(".awb-menu__open-nav-submenu_mobile").setAttribute("aria-expanded","false")})):(null!==e.querySelector(".menu-item-has-children.expanded .awb-menu__open-nav-submenu_click")&&e.querySelector(".menu-item-has-children.expanded .awb-menu__open-nav-submenu_click").click(),e.classList.remove("collapse-enabled"),e.classList.add("awb-menu_desktop"),null!==e.querySelector(".awb-menu__main-ul")&&e.querySelector(".awb-menu__main-ul").removeAttribute("style")),e.classList.add("no-wrapper-transition"),clearTimeout(t),t=setTimeout(()=>{e.classList.remove("no-wrapper-transition")},400),e.classList.remove("loading")},fusionRunNavIsCollapsed=function(){var e,t=document.querySelectorAll(".awb-menu");for(e=0;e<t.length;e++)fusionNavIsCollapsed(t[e])};function avadaGetScrollBarWidth(){var e,t,n,l=document.createElement("p");return l.style.width="100%",l.style.height="200px",(e=document.createElement("div")).style.position="absolute",e.style.top="0px",e.style.left="0px",e.style.visibility="hidden",e.style.width="200px",e.style.height="150px",e.style.overflow="hidden",e.appendChild(l),document.body.appendChild(e),t=l.offsetWidth,e.style.overflow="scroll",t==(n=l.offsetWidth)&&(n=e.clientWidth),document.body.removeChild(e),jQuery("html").hasClass("awb-scroll")&&10<t-n?10:t-n}fusionRunNavIsCollapsed(),window.addEventListener("fusion-resize-horizontal",fusionRunNavIsCollapsed);</script><script type="speculationrules">{"prefetch":[{"source":"document","where":{"and":[{"href_matches":"/*"},{"not":{"href_matches":["/wp-*.php","/wp-admin/*","/wp-content/uploads/*","/wp-content/*","/wp-content/plugins/*","/wp-content/themes/Avada-Child-Theme/*","/wp-content/themes/Avada/*","/*\\?(.+)"]}},{"not":{"selector_matches":"a[rel~=\"nofollow\"]"}},{"not":{"selector_matches":".no-prefetch, .no-prefetch a"}}]},"eagerness":"conservative"}]}</script> <noscript><style>.lazyload{display:none;}</style></noscript><script data-noptimize="1">window.lazySizesConfig=window.lazySizesConfig||{};window.lazySizesConfig.loadMode=1;</script><script async data-noptimize="1" src='https://latina.com/wp-content/plugins/autoptimize/classes/external/js/lazysizes.min.js'></script><script type="text/javascript" async='async' src="https://latina.com/wp-content/uploads/fusion-scripts/1d2970f290e9c133a3aaeace86052e4e.min.js" id="fusion-scripts-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript">jQuery( document ).ready( function() {
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