October 7, 2001
El Paso native finds success on stage, screen
By Maribel Villalva
El Paso Times
In the short film "Questions and Answers," Mara Holguin's character is tormented by a single question: "Are you having fun yet?"
She spends the rest of the eight-minute film thinking of a witty response to the question posed to her by a pesky co-worker.
But in real life, Holguin doesn't even have to think about the answer. She's definitely having fun.
"All I really want to do is act," Holguin said.
For the past 10 years, the 35-year-old El Paso native has been making a living as an actress, doing everything from live theater and commercials to sitcoms and films. Two years ago, she started her own production company, Rancho Grande Productions in Las Vegas, where she lives with her husband of five years.
But it wasn't always apparent to everyone else that she even wanted to pursue acting, Holguin said. That was a desire she always kept to herself, even when it pained her to sit in the audience while her high-school buddies were up on the stage -- the place where she wanted to be.
"Even as a kid, I always knew I wanted to be an actress, but I just didn't know how to pursue it, especially in El Paso. I never had the courage to do it."
But her mother, Rosario Holguin, remembers when Mara was about 8 years old and the family took a trip to San Diego.
"She pulled her uncle to some offices so he could investigate where they had acting classes. He thought it was very cute," her mother said.
Holguin also danced ballet for years under the direction of instructor Ingeborg Heuser. She was in several productions of "The Nutcracker" in El Paso.
After graduating from El Paso High School in 1984, she attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where, still playing it safe, she received a degree in communications. She immediately began working in the public-relations field, but she couldn't fight the acting bug anymore. She enrolled in several acting classes.
In 1992, Holguin joined her boyfriend (now husband) in San Diego, still working in public relations. But once there, she took her desire a step further and began doing community theater and taking more acting classes. It was during one of her stage performances that a casting director from Hollywood noticed her and invited her to be a stand-in for Valerie Bertinelli in the TV-movie-of-the-week, "Murder of Innocence."
Even though Holguin didn't think she looked anything like Bertinelli, she "was lucky to be her same height."
When shooting wrapped four weeks later, Bertinelli invited Holguin to continue as her stand-in in the sitcom "Cafe Americain," which lasted only one season in 1993.
Meanwhile, back in San Diego, Holguin had taken a leave of absence to shoot the TV movie. But once the offer for the series came about, she decided she had to quit her job for good.
"I had a really good job, too, complete with a 401(k), but I decided to leave it even though I knew that a career in acting was uncertain. My parents thought I was crazy for giving up that steady paycheck."
Rosario Holguin said the family was surprised she was leaving a well-paying job, but by that point, everyone knew Holguin had found the one thing she wanted to do.
"I've seen her so dedicated to this," Rosario Holguin said. "I know it's just a matter of time before she becomes a star."
At that point, however, Holguin still wasn't considered by many as a true actress. After spending months on both movie and TV series sets, she had yet to land a speaking role on camera. That chance would come in 1994 when she had a one-word role on "Ellen."
"I think that's when I became legitimate in people's eyes, even though I had done a ton of work on stage. It didn't matter that I was busting my butt," she said.
Since then, Holguin has continued to do live theater (she's especially proud of her work with the East L.A. Classic Theatre) and has had guest spots on TV shows like "Chicago Hope," "Law & Order" and "The Single Guy."
She also can be seen in the independent movies "Questions and Answers" and "Dogpatch" (both produced by her production company), and in "American Slices" and "Dropping Out."
Surprisingly enough, Holguin has never been cast in the role of a Latina, even though she's auditioned for her fair share of roles.
"I always get cast as the generic 'Katy' or 'Suzie,' " Holguin said. "It's tough because I'm very proud of being bicultural and bilingual, but for some reason, casting directors don't see me as a Latina. They see me more as Italian, Greek or Lebanese."
Taking chances
In 1999, Holguin's husband, who works with the Treasury Department, was transferred to Las Vegas. Initially, Holguin thought the move would take her away from her career, but instead it has allowed her to focus on other things.
"At first it felt like my career was over because I wouldn't be able to audition, but the move pushed me more into independent filmmaking, which has also been a dream of mine."
That's when Holguin teamed up with friends who were writers and directors and began work on the films "Dogpatch" and "Questions and Answers," both of which are touring film festivals. Most recently, "Questions and Answers" (which she produced) was screened at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and at the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference in Austin.
Producing also allows Holguin to act in the roles she wants. And if they're not available, she can create them.
Cynthia Farah, assistant professor of film studies at the University of Texas at El Paso, met Holguin last year and helped her organize a screening of "Questions and Answers" on the UTEP campus in March.
"I really admire her for taking a bold step like this," Farah said. "There's a whole new niche for short films and she came along at the right time. She has proven herself and now she can use this as a calling card. She can go to producers and directors with this and say, 'Look what I've done, now give me a chance.' "
Holguin's younger sister, Annaelisa Holguin, an El Paso attorney, said her sister is thriving in the independent film industry.
"She has a knack for these smaller films and she likes to be in charge," she said.
Holguin still makes regular trips to Los Angeles (a four-hour drive) for meetings and auditions. She'll be there this week seeking work since many producers will be casting actors for the fall television season.
Annaelisa Holguin said her sister's success can be attributed to her personality.
"She's just so positive about everything and failure is not part of her vocabulary," she said. "She's got such an energy and an attraction about her. If you look at other celebrities, they have that, too. She bounces back faster than anyone I know."
About Mara Holguin
Age: 35.
Parents: Rosario and Hector Holguin. Her father was recently named a "Legend of Texas" by Sun City Texas by Del Webb in Georgetown, Texas (one of Phoenix-based Del Webb Corp.'s many Sun City retirement communities).
College: Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
On dealing with rejection: "With all of the rejection an actor has, it almost seems like an impossible dream. But, each year you get further along. I'm not a big name yet. I'm not a regular on a series, but I will get to that point."
On doing comedy: "I never saw myself as a comedienne, but it turns out that a lot of the work I've done is in comedy. Comedy is harder to do. It almost has to be like a sixth-sense."
On doing a film in El Paso: "I would love to do a series of shorts in El Paso, also for the film festival circuit."
On admitting she's 35: "I don't have a problem with it, but that's like a curse in the movie business. You never say your age. You always say you're the age they need for the role. I hope that changes."
Holguin stars in the eight-minute short film "Questions and Answers," about a woman obsessed with finding the perfect comeback to the question "Are you having fun yet?"
Comments