Roselyn Sanchez Is Humble And Spicy As CBSWatch Magazine’s Cover Star

Super famous actress Roselyn Sanchez is on the cover of the illustrious CBSWatch Magazine to regale her substantial fanbase with tales of her famed beauty and Pantene-perfect hair. 

In the interview, Roselyn talks about her recent wedding (it was a “mature decision,” she says), and a little about her job playing a detective in Without a Trace but, mostly, Roselyn talks about Roselyn. Says Roselyn, Roselynly:

For the most part, even though [co-star Poppy Montgomery and I] are dressed incredibly, we’re playing detectives. So [this Palm Beach shoot] gives me the opportunity to really dress up, like I’m going to an awards show, and look incredible with the hair and the makeup.

But don’t TV lady-detectives look, more often than not, like hooker beauty queens in butch leather jackets? Yes, says Roselyn. Guess she just looks incredible all the time!

Maybe a few years ago, I would have thought, ‘This is just ridiculous that they have Poppy and me [on a procedural show] with Pantene-beautiful hair.” I don’t think that’s the way an investigator would really look. But I do think that the audience is really accepting that this is the world of TV. It’s fantasy. So, we try to play it down a little bit so it’s not over the top and laughable—but at the same time, I don’t want to do so completely, so that I’m taking away from what God gave me.

Well, we didn’t want to take away someone’s God-given natural beauty by neglecting to iron her hair or apply eye shadow. 

But, wait. Roselyn is both hot and pretty. Is there anything she can’t be?

 I was talking to Anthony [LaPaglia, her Trace co-star] last week, and he said, ‘Ros, you should do a romantic comedy, because you’re really funny. “I don’t think I’m funny, but I think because of all my mannerisms and the way I speak, people think I am.

She even talks funny. But does she have any tips on how other young women with dreams of becoming “Miss America Petite” or starring in Chasing Papi can suceed?

It took me three years, but I said to myself, “If you really want to get your act together, you need to start taking English lessons, and be friends with people who speak only English.”

But, surely, one can speak both English and remain true to one’s Spanish-language and Latina roots, right? After all, how can one be a hot tamale when one can’t even shout “Ayayayay” while wearing feathered pasties and fruit headdress in a giant birdcage? Says Roselyn:

I’m really proud of where I come from, and the way I speak. I love the fact that we love salsa and merengue, and that we eat what we eat, and that we’re bigger than life and dramatic. I don’t have a problem with people thinking that we are that—because that doesn’t mean we’re not also educated and intelligent.

I think America is embracing more and more the Latin community, and the flavor we bring to the table. [Ed. note: Is that flavor "diabetes?"] But the roles were always more limited. And when I opened my mouth, I have a thick accent. The way I see it is, [being Latina] opens three doors and closes two. Some producers love the fact that I bring authenticity, and for others, the way I speak bothers them as noise that gets in the way.

From a Latina who can’t dance to salsa but loves Celia Cruz, who eats arroz con pollo with a can of Diet Coke, who hopes that she is thought of as intelligent and passionate over being “dramatic,” let us just say that some of us may have a problem when people - Latino or otherwise - try to lump us all together as a homogenous group. We enjoy some of the stereotypes that come with being Latina, and acknowledge that a stereotype can be both positive and true but damn it if every entertainer who describes herself as “bringing authenticity” doesn’t enable society to continue viewing us as the Firecracker, the Hot Tamale or the Minority Best Friend. 

Whatever, Ros. Congrats on the Pantene hair. 

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Roselyn’s World [CBSWatch Magazine]