If the pandemic has taught us anything, and there’s a lot of things that the global pandemic has brought about and taught us all, one of the most important lessons is probably about the power of grounding yourself, slowing down, unwinding, and understanding yourself inwards. It’s actually a challenge in itself - grounding. There’s a great sense of self-awareness required in owning and living your truths, and being honest to yourself, breaking your barriers down. And when you successfully do, you emerge lighter and you know that you’re ready to soar.

Diego Tinoco, our featured artist in this Collector's Issue, has an inspiring story worth reading. Starring on a show about Latinx kids during their formative years and bringing a complex character to life is absolutely commendable.

It’s easy to overlook the depth in an artist from their immediate physical appearance and charm, but Diego is so much more than that - he is an artist at heart, a creator, and a hopeless romantic with such a deep love and passion for acting.

There’s an unexplainable sense of joy that I experience whenever I read the backstory of actors and artists. Their journeys may all be different, but there’s a similar connecting thread that we could all relate to - the journey. There’s ups and downs, there’s pain, there’s triumphs, there’s challenges, and there’s definitely highs, and the uncertainty keeps on going. That’s the beauty of it. The beauty of the unknown, the beauty of surrendering and trusting the process. When you’re grounded, it’s easier to trust that process. When you’re grounded and centered, it’s lighter and taking off is a no-brainer.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, IRVIN RIVERA

The story of one of Hollywood’s bright, emerging stars - Diego Tinoco, is just unfolding. Throughout the four seasons run of Netflix’s On My Block, the Latino actor was able to showcase range, talent and his ability to deliver powerful performances that reflects his dedication to his craft.

Prior to seeing the first season of On My Block, I first saw Diego on a random Youtube vlog suggested on my feed. It was the young Diego, stating his dreams and aspirations on the camera, introducing himself to the world. Then weeks later On My Block premiered. I binged it, and told lots of people to watch it. It was an authentic, coming-of-age series with a dynamic, magnetic cast that’s highly relatable. Diego, Sierra Capri, Brett Gray, Jason Genao, Jessica Marie Garcia, and Julio Macias brought this warm synergy and electricity to the audience. These characters will draw all sorts of emotions from you, and that’s magical.

Four seasons after On My Block, I briefly met Diego virtually for Sundance while he was doing press for the indie, R#J as Tybalt. Then I met him again for a shoot for another magazine where he talked about his upcoming clothing line and things that are keeping him busy, and weeks later, worked with him again for A BOOK OF. We can look forward to seeing him next in the live action adaptation of the anime Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac. And on top of the launch of his clothing line, there’s several projects lined up on the horizon for this rising star.

As a collaborator, Diego gives it his all. “It keeps me hungry. It keeps me always wanting more. It keeps me pushing and putting in the best work and always just trying to get better and better myself.” - that’s the undeniable passionate energy that emanates from him. And that’s one of his admirable traits - that underneath the immediate charm and personality, there’s an artist with a deep-rooted passion for films, acting and creating art. 

What kept you busy last year and this year, and how were you able to navigate the pandemic?

So this year, what kept me busy was prepping up for On My Block - Season 4 in February. We shot in March, April and May, and then after that, I took a couple of weeks off and then went to Budapest to go shoot Knights of the Zodiac for a few months. So I will say that this is really my first free month. And even right now it's not really free, I'm still working on a bunch of side projects. I'm working on my clothing line. I'm working on a screenplay right now. For the pandemic year. I think that was a really rough one for not just myself but for everybody. We're so used to always being on the go. Oh, I got this, oh, I got that... there's this project... this person wants to do that. And when the pandemic came, everything was put on pause. So I think nobody really truly understood how to navigate it. Everybody felt like you had to do something in that time off so they can come back into the world with a brand new project or a brand new invention or something crazy. But in all honesty, I just took the time to just do nothing - hang out with my mom, hang out with my dad and my family. Hang out my friends, go up to Big Bear, get a cabin.

That's nice.

Yes, it’s nice that I just took some time off during the last year.

It's like it grounds you and it puts you in that reflective mood.

Yes, truly.

How are you after that? You just mentioned you spent more time with your family and you did all these projects on the side and then you had more time to reflect. So how would you characterize yourself emerging from that?

Emerging from that, I think that I'm exactly where I need to be. And I think that's something that I've instilled in my meditations that I am here and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be at the moment.

I love that. I love hearing that. I have this thing that always comforts me that I've read somewhere that says you're always at the right place at the right time all the time.

Yes.

How would you describe Cesar's evolution throughout the whole run of the show?

In one word I would put, as an audience member, I'm satisfied with his evolution. I think his evolution throughout the whole series, again, was an unpredictable source of energy. We never knew if he was going to join the gang, abandon his family, abandon his friends, or go to school. We never knew, and it's kind of like life, right? We never know exactly what's going to happen next. We have our plans in life and then there's life's plans in life. And you just got to stay resilient, you got to stay resilient and stay on course of what you want. So I think Cesar is a reserved character with a heartbreaking but ultimately, I think, complete character arc, storyline and development. At least as far as we see, you know, we only see him from 14 to 17. So, three years of a human's life?

What drew you to his character? Was it the backstory? Is it his resilience like what you said? What originally drew you to this character?

I think the resiliency - being resilient, I think that's one of the most powerful character traits a human being can have. To keep getting shit thrown at you over and over and over again and life just trying to beat you down but you just got to keep getting up and keep pushing past the dark times and the hard times and just give it your best, I think that's applicable to any storyline. You see any great movie and the main character always has that resilience in them. It's exciting.

It's like when you go to the cinema. I've been watching movies and TV shows because we want to see an inspirational character. And I think Cesar was that for myself, at least.

So it was recently announced that you'll be part of the live action adaptation of Saint Seiya. How excited are you about this project and what should the audience look forward to?

Yes. I am super excited. I'm super honored. I feel so privileged to be a part of this Sony franchise, Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya. They picked me up at a perfect time. I just finished up the four years of On My Block. Did one indie film - Romeo and Juliet that premiered at Sundance. And yes, couldn't have gotten picked up at a better time. This is going to be the next chapter of my life. We signed off for three movies. So it's a three picture deal with Sony for Knights of the Zodiac.

Congrats!

Thank you. And yes, I think what the audience and the fans can expect is a multi-ethnic, action packed film with a whole lot of heart. And I truly believe that this movie is going to be the gateway for a lot of other anime movies to start getting developed and produced and make their debuts in Hollywood. There's so many anime that haven't been brought to live action yet. Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, One Piece.

ALL SEASONS OF ON MY BLOCK ARE STREAMING ON NETFLIX