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03.10.2010
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Ana Ortiz lands in the middle of our Travel Issue to share her favorite places to work and play.
Plus, we get the scoop on her plans now that Ugly Betty is saying goodbye.
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| In 2006, Ana Ortiz exploded onto our television screens — all oversized
ruffles and loud prints and sass — playing Ugly Betty’s Hilda Suarez:
Big sister of Betty and single mother of on-the-way-to-gay teenager
Justin. Now, as Betty ends its fabulous four-year run, Ortiz speaks to
Metrosource about her world travels, her Betty memories and why she has
such gay appeal. as Betty ends its fabulous four-year run, Ortiz speaks to Metrosource about her world travels, her Betty memories and why she has such gay appeal. TRAVELING THROUGH: The cast of Ugly Betty knows a thing or two about getting around. Though the show is set in New York City, its first two seasons were shot in Los Angeles — calling for some serious green screen action when the characters stepped outside the offices of Mode magazine or the cozy Suarez home. This was solved by relocating to New York for season three, which may have been a hassle for some of the cast — but for Ana, it was a homecoming. “NYC is where I was born and raised and where most of my family still is; so the move for me was heaven sent,” Ortiz tells me, as we discuss her journey with the series. |
| “It has long been my dream to come home with a great gig; Betty was all that and more,” says Ortiz, adding that she also felt the move was creatively right. “This show belongs here, from the locations to the background actors, to getting to work with the amazing [NY-based designer] Pat Field. The move was a blessing.” |
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Heading east may have also facilitated season four’s episode shot in the Bahamas, which allowed the cast to shoot in that island paradise and gave Ortiz the chance to swim with dolphins alongside Mark Indelicato, who plays her character’s son Justin. Despite the fun they had, Ortiz tells me that her heart belongs to a different island. “Puerto Rico is my favorite place to visit on vacation,” she says. “[It] would be amazing to film in, for so many reasons. There is a lot of history there, and a lot of my history there.”
Ortiz is also excited at the prospect of someday shooting on an island somewhat further away, as well. “Ireland would be incredible,” she says. “My mother’s family is Irish; so to discover that part of myself and my family history [while] working? A dream!” Though it would not be her first working trip across the pond. “I got to travel Europe with the musical Hair and that was a wonderful, life-changing experience,” she recalls. But there is still at least one European destination she has yet to stamp on her passport: “Spain is first on my list of places to go that I haven’t been.”
On this side of the Atlantic, Ortiz had a few more destination recommendations. “Vancouver is stunning,” she says. “The food and shopping are to-die-for and the people could not be nicer.” She also has high praise for her college town: Philadelphia. “There is an art scene there that is so underestimated and so vibrant, cutting edge, diverse. And I mean in all mediums — theater, music, comedy, art — fabulous!” And she encourages everyone to pay a visit to her beloved Big Apple. “What can I say? It’s f**kin New York!”
“Luckily, I have been a blessed traveler,” Ortiz says, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t learned a few tricks along the way. For luggage, she recommends Swiss Army (“It’s silver and sturdy and I love it!”). As for easing travel stress, Ana recommends making your hotel room homey by toting along some mini candles and unpacking and putting away all your things, even if you’re only staying overnight. “It’s relaxing,” she says. “It’s also infinitely easier to repack from scratch.”
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Ana Ortiz (far right) strikes a fashionable pose with her
Ugly Betty castmates
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THE UGLY TRUTH
The world breathed a collective gasp when ABC announced that Ugly Betty’s fourth season finale would also be its series finale. Certainly the show had faced some ratings challenges (not to mention two time-slot changes), but since the show has become a cultural touchstone — definitively one
of the most fashionable and gay-friendly shows on television — fans
were surprised that it is already time to say goodbye.
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Nevertheless, the announcement wasn’t a total surprise to Ortiz. “We
kind of knew it was coming,” she says. “We have had a terrific run.
Hilda is the best character I have ever played. It’s sad, but it’s also
really exciting to see what happens next for all of us.”
What happens next for Ortiz includes raising her daughter Paloma, born in June 2009. Although motherhood is still a relatively new role for Ortiz, playing a mom on Betty certainly honed her maternal instincts. She speaks glowingly of her on-screen son. “Watching Mark and working with him has been out of sight! He has grown so much and as become a true artist,” Ortiz says. She even brags like a mother: “His interests are varied too! He is not putting all his eggs in one basket. He has an internship at Teen Vogue that he went out and got himself.”
Over the years, Hilda has spent a fair amount of time either fiercely defending or worrying about young Justin, in no small part due to his blossoming gayness. However, in real life, Ortiz has been an outspoken crusader for gay rights. Speaking at a pro-gay-marriage rally (while she was still pregnant), Ortiz roused the crowd, calling the right to marry, “The civil rights issue of our day,” and saying, “I just want my child to be born in a state, that if she’s gay, she can get married.” When I ask her if she imagines herself worrying about Paloma the way Hilda worries about Justin, she replies, “Whatever makes my child happy makes me happy. As long as it’s not damaging to them.”
Though Ortiz has more than earned her enthusiastic gay following with her support of gay rights and community-related charities, she also possesses that certain je ne sais quoi that makes men stop and call her, “Fierce!” What’s her recipe for fabulousness? “Depends on the level of fabulous you want to hit,” she says. “Shoes are an obsession — without a doubt. Extra hair is always good for a push into the fab zone. I’ve got some of those clip-in wefts, and they are great. If I really want to work it out, lashes are fun and easy.” Then again, maybe the love is just reciprocal. “I love gay men!” she says. “If I never have to hang with another straight man besides my husband, that would be fine with me. Does that sound harsh?”
Now that she’s hanging up Hilda’s cha-cha heels (though certainly not her own), Ortiz is looking forward to taking on new acting challenges: “Both comedy and drama, especially when you can do both in the same project,” she says. “Film, theater, TV — all of it. [Doing something] edgy would be fun for a change. Ugly Betty is pretty family friendly, and I love that, but switching it up now and then is awesome.” What’s her dream project? “A great movie musical,” she says.
Although the show’s resolution is in the hands of its writers, Ortiz’s wish list for Hilda’s happy ending includes marriage, a thriving business and a son who is happy, safe and able to find love. As for Betty? Ortiz hopes that she “takes over the world.”
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