I am an entertainer who loves to tell stories using any and all mediums. I work as an actor, writer and producer of film and theater.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Directors who inspire me with their passion and dedication for the art of storytelling. Several of them have called on me more than once and here is what they have to say about our shared work experience:
"Marita has this ability to be vulnerable and fearless at the same time. Her choices were always intuitive and organic. It is rare to get the chance to work with someone who simply just ‘gets it’ every time!"--Nikki Roberts
"Marita brings a level of dignity, strength and humanity to her performances. She delivers an intelligent and layered performance because she has a keen understanding of the human condition and the psychological movement of a character's arc that elevates it beyond stereotype."--Cruz Angeles
“Marita is dynamic, charismatic and professional. On the stage and off. One fine actor.” --David Rice.
Recent highlights include playing the role of Isabella in the short film "LODO" (MUD) which I also co-wrote and produced. Director Alessandro Gentile and myself completed the film in 2021 and it is currently in the US and international festival circuit. We are extremely proud of the team we put together and the outcome it yielded. We are rooted in positivity of the film's impact on audiences.
In 2021, I began development of a short animation film I adapted from a one-act play I wrote: “The Code of the Heart Taught by the Moon”. Working alongside animator and fellow Tejana Laura Nicole Davila, the film tells of the events which occurred one night when the Mayan Moon teaches two little fish who plan to steal her light, the Mayan greeting of “In Lak'ech”. (You are my other me, If I do harm to you, I do harm to myself, If I love and respect you, I love and respect myself).
Recent roles also include Camila in "Sunshine Room", a Student Oscar Semi-Finalist. I played the mother of "Ponyboi", an intersex teenage boy battling his way through life and rejection. The film directed by River Gallo and award-winning filmmaker Sade Clacken Joseph won the Audience Award at Boston LGBT Film Festival and was an Official Selection Tribeca and Outfest. I played “Esther” in the short film “Plane Pretend” written and directed by Sharon Arteaga. The film won Best National Short at the Sout Texas Independent Film Festival and Best Short at Cine Festival, and Audience and Juried Winner Cine Las Americas. Sharon first cast me in her film, “When I Grow Up” and we have since called it the “little film that could”. It won the Texas Moving Image Award at the Cine Las Americas Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Reel Women Showcase at SXSW International Film Festival. “When I Grow Up” was also a winner of the 2012-2013 LunaFest Tour; films selected tour over 150 cities in the US and Canada for 20,000 audience members. The film also got Sharon the award for Best Director at the Inaugural Latina Short Film Festival of Ventura County, California. Director Nikki Roberts cast me in "Botes Al Amanecer" (Cans At Dawn). The film screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Short Film Corner. The film also won Best Film Los Angeles at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles and Best Short at the ninth annual Reel Rascuache Film Festival in Los Angeles.
To build community via my passion for film, I co-founded the Highland Park Independent Film Festival and I am also a producing member of Teatro Arroyo and the Arroyo Arts Collective in Los Angeles.