Belissa Escobedo Talks Being One of the Few Latinas Starring on a TV Show

Mexican American actress Belissa Escobedo, known for her work in Blue Beetle, The Baker and the Beauty, and Hocus Pocus 2, is one of the few Latinas currently on the small screen. The 27-year-old actress stars as Isabella in the NBC sitcom Happy’s Place alongside iconic country music legend and actress Reba McEntire. The sitcom, which centers chosen families, sisterhood, and navigating grief, is set to return for a second season November 7. The series follow Bobbie McAllister (McEntire) after she inherits partial ownership of Happy’s Place, a bar owned by her father located in Knoxville, Tennessee bar, which she runs alongside her half-sister Isabella (Escobedo). Escobedo spoke with HipLatina to discuss her role on the series and Latina representation in Hollywood.

In season 2, fans can expect to see more conflict between the sisters, testing their loyalties and shaking things up at the tavern. Through it all, the show’s leads remind us that sometimes our family isn’t the one we’re born into but the one we actively choose to stand beside every day. Through witty banter and strong character development, Happy’s Place centers sisterhood and humor above all. Escobedo tells HipLatina that she resonates with the show’s theme of chosen family from her personal experience:

“I don’t have sisters by blood but I’ve found sisters in my life. I think something that I found so beautiful about the show as well is that you don’t have these people, they came as two adults and could’ve gone separate ways but they’re choosing to make that sister relationship work and to discover all these things about each other. Sometimes chosen family is the strongest family.”

This bond is forged after they discover they’re half-sisters once their father dies and leaves them both shared ownership of the bar. Isabella was born after their father had an affair with Maritza Sanchez and though they come together as adults from a messy situation, they form a sisterly relationship. Escobedo teased a bit of what’s to come for Isabella this upcoming season: “You definitely expect her to be a little messy, pretty frazzled. She’s 24 and has not used the college degree that she spent so much time getting. Fans can expect to see her struggle a bit and the walls come down.”

Escobedo got her big break in acting through the 2018 ABC Discovers: LA Talent Showcase. Since then, she’s picked up roles across television and film such as Milagro Reyes in the groundbreaking DC film Blue Beetle and Izzy in Hocus Pocus 2. While we’ve made progress in media representation we’ve also seen a slew of cancellations of Latine-centered shows like The Gordita Chronicles (HBO) and With Love (Prime Video) and most recently Lopez vs. Lopez which was the only sitcom on TV at the time that centered on Latines. In the wake of these cancellations, seeing a Latina star in a major network sitcom feels that that much more significant and that is not lost on her:

“I feel so lucky. I feel extremely bless to not only be working but to be on a show that’s so fun. I come from a theater background so being able to be in front of a live audience, it’s so special.”

With the next generation of Latinas looking up to rising stars like Escobedo, the actress shares who made her feel seen growing up, “Hands down America Ferrera. I love her because when I first saw Real Women Have Curves that was the first time I saw myself on screen. Like okay, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’ I was always a chunkier girl so even more so having her be a representation for that as well was super powerful to me. Real Women Have Curves did a lot for me just mentally in being like ‘yes this is something I can achieve’.”

Escobedo was only five when the 2002 film came out and now more than two decades later she’s the representation she loved seeing as a young girl. She caught the acting bug when she was in elementary school but didn’t think acting was a real career opportunity for her. Though she grew up in South Pasadena, an upper class suburb, she shared a one-bedroom apartment with the rest of her family and so is familiar with feeling out a place.

Now as an established actress in Hollywood whose star is only going to shine brighter, she wants to reinforce the message that just because you don’t see yourself represented doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be there.

“The mentality I had as a kid: if it’s not there then I have to do it. I either have to be on camera or I have to write it or produce it. I think if you don’t see it, you have to be it.”

Happy’s Place is set to premiere on NBC on Friday, November 7, at 8/7c.