The rising actress also discusses her band of vigilantes on the hit FX show.
Sure, only two episodes of Mayans M.C. have aired thus far, but one character already looms large on the FX show without saying much at all — Adelita.
Carla Baratta, the captivating actress behind the mysterious vigilante leader, recently spoke with ET about the role and the dark subject matter they are tackling.
“You cannot tell what she is thinking and what she’s capable of,” she said of her character over the phone before the pilot aired. “All you see is what she does. So I think that’s pretty interesting.”
There’s no argument that Adelita is a woman of action. By the show’s second episode, she has kidnapped the son of Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino), the leader of the Galindo Cartel, and burned a shipment of heroin. Afterward, her group, Los Olvidados (The Forgotten), send out a video of the burning, hinting that this is just the beginning of a war against the cartel and it’s fear-mongering.
However, despite her fierce war to reclaim her country from tyranny, Adelita is deeply maternal and her organization cares for countless children orphaned by the violence at the border and beyond.
“When Adelita was a child, she saw her family die at the hands of the cartel,” the 28-year-old actress explained. “So now she wants to take care of the orphans that have been through the same thing that she has. So she’s like a mother for all these kids. We’re gonna see more about these kids, the dynamic that Adelita has with [them]. The way that she protects them and the way that she loves them, but at the same time, she wants them to be strong.”
More interesting still, there are already some moments in the show that hint that viewers might someday see a different side of the outlaw leader. They are quiet moments between her and ‘EZ' Reyes (J.D. Pardo) as he slowly learns more about her operation and her relationship with the club.
“I don’t know if Adelita is a romantic person,” the Venezuelan actress responded when asked about a romance blossoming between the characters. “I think she has other things to think about. At the same time, you can’t tell your heart when is the right time to love somebody. But for sure she’s really focused on other things right now… She’s a woman too, so we’ll never know.”
Baratta also spoke about working on a show that so warmly embraces Latin American culture and the struggles communities on both sides of the border face.
“I think it’s so beautiful and I’m so grateful with the creators (Kurt Sutter and Elgin James) because they don’t want to pretend to do a Latino show, they are actually doing a Latino show,” she said. “Latino directors. Latino writers. And they are given the opportunity and the respect that we all deserve.”
On top of starring on the hit show, she’s also been able to work alongside a life-long hero of hers on Mayans M.C. — Edward James Olmos, an experience she already treasures.
“I remember the first table reading that we had, I had him by my side,” she happily recalled. “Like, so nervous. I was petrified. So everything he was doing, I was doing the same thing. If he opened his script, I will open my script. Everything that he was doing. So yeah, it’s been an honor and he’s such a gentleman and such an amazing and giving actor.”
But for the rising star, the real joy is taking on a character who doesn’t just stand by while her country is ravaged by corruption and drugs.
“I’m from Venezuela and we’ve been through a lot of things, you know. Especially with the children,” she stated. “When I got the audition for this character I was like, ‘I want an Adelita in Venezeuala,' you know? Somebody that is taking care of the kids and cares for the people and wants to do good.”
“So for me, it’s an opportunity to have a voice to portray what’s happening in some places in the world," she added. "Even though this is a fictional world that they’ve created, it feels like there’s something like this happening everywhere.”
Mayans M.C. airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST on FX.
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