Angelica Vale Talks Her New Netflix Anime Series and Hosting Reggeaton Radio

If you’ve watched Spanish language channels at some point in your life, then you’re probably familiar with Angelica Vale, the hilarious comedy star and the daughter of the legendary actress and singer Angelica Maria. She’s been in countless novelas, plays, and films including Betty La Fea, The Vagina Monologues, and old school classics like Amigas y Rivales. More recently though, she’s been putting her voice forward. Vale played Mama Imelda in the Spanish language version of Coco and she’s starred as Detective Garcia in Netflix’s first Mexican themed anime series Seis Manos, which premiered October 3rd.

Although an anime series with heavy grindhouse/blaxploitation vibes set in 1970’s Mexico might sound like a tough sell to amine fans — a notoriously tough crowd — the reception has been stellar. “It’s been very good, the critics and the response on social media as you know can be really rough, it’s been amazing!” Vale told HipLatina. Boasting the voice talents of Aislinn Derbez, Mike Coulter, Johnny Cruz, and Danny Trejo, Seis Manos is a dark and bloody crime drama mixed with martial arts and supernatural mystery.

It’s a project Vale says she would never even be considered for in Mexico because of her comedy and dramatic work. But she says that’s exactly why she wanted to seize the opportunity. “Seis Manos was in English so I was like ‘yeah no problem’— but I didn’t know they were giving me the opportunity to do it in Spanish too. That is where it became a little bit weird, like what? I got to Mexico everybody was like ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!’ Nobody understood what was going on in my life!” she laughed. “But I think that’s exactly the challenge — that I never get these opportunities to do something so dark and weird, cuz it is weird… but I love it,” Vale said.

Vale also revealed that when she moved to Los Angeles she had no intention of getting into voice acting or doing any acting at all. “When I got to LA it wasn’t because I wanted to do something with my career in the English market it was more because of my husband and his work and I came out pregnant without thinking I was going to do any project in English. So I came here with no expectations,” she says. Luckily for Vale, her time in LA has led not only to a voice-over role but as a midday host on LA’s new reggaeton station CALI 93.9 FM. Yet another opportunity that is different and out of her comfort zone. “I said yes because I love the idea and love the challenge too — and I love the station! I love reggaeton! I’m not a millennial, I know, but hey I was young when Daddy Yankee started. And that’s how I got conquered by this music and now I love it and here I am,” she adds.

Of course, we can expect the same Angelica Vale flare and comedic sensibilities. Although her 10-3 slot will include the hottest reggaeton mixes she says listeners should also expect the unexpected. “I’m going to have a lot of surprises for the audience so if J Balvin is in town I’m going to try bringing him. We’re going to talk to him and have a big interview — because you know that I love comedy and I cannot stop doing comedy even if I do Seis Manos,” she laughed. “I’m going to have interviews and I’m going to have a lot of characters to make fun of them, me, and everybody so it’s going to be fun and hopefully people listen, get entertained, and like it,” Vale said.

Most of all, Vale says that her biggest triumph will be that she gets to be home in LA with her two young children. “I’m so happy to finally be home. I’m always asking for this, I have a lot of work — thank God — but I always have to go out of LA — I go to Mexico, go to Miami, and it’s hard for me because I have two little kids 5 and 7 and they really need me now. Of course, when they’re teenagers they won’t pay attention to me but now they need me a lot,” she laughed.