Our Diverse 100: Meet Brenda Herrera and Jasmin Espada, the publicists handling Latino outreach for major studios

With a couple of decades of combined public relations experience under their belt, Herrera and Espada are two of the industry’s leading publicists. They serve as chief operating officer and president, respectively, of Espada, Herrera and Associates, an international PR company representing many of the top names in music, film and television. This Q&A is part of a special series examining diversity in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Read more profiles here.

Was there a person in the industry who looked like you and made you think this could be a career for you?

BH: Bel Hernandez, publisher of Latin Heat magazine, and Elia Esparza who used to be Latin Heat’s editor in chief. When i was in college, I was so impressed with Latin Heat because it was a trade publication for Latinos in the industry, and Variety and the Hollywood Reporter never covered anything about Latinos. When I met Elia and Bel, I was in awe of them and wanted to work with them.

What was your first job in entertainment?

BH: I was a receptionist at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. When it was the first year of the Latin Grammys, there was nobody Hispanic, Latino or that spoke Spanish. So they recruited me from being a receptionist to be a talent coordinator because no one else could speak the language.

How do you feel about the academy’s response to the #OscarsSoWhite diversity issue?

JE: It’s a good start, but it goes deeper than that. It’s something that is very ingrained in society. It’s like having a family picture, and four members of the family’s heads are cut off. [Latinos] need to fully be part of the American family picture.

As owner of your own PR film, you often work with studios. What does the conversation look like when they’re bringing you in to market toward Hispanic audiences?

BH: It’s really like a box that they need to check off that says they are doing Hispanic outreach because they really don’t care. As long as they say they have a Hispanic agency fulfilling that need, that’s good enough.

What has been your proudest career moment to date?

JE: Being from Puerto Rico, representing Ivonne Coll from “Jane the Virgin" last year when the National Puerto Rican Day Parade gave her the lifetime achievement award.

BH: I would say being a part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Eugenio Derbez, who recently got his star. For us, because he is such a huge star, when he got his star — as a Mexican comedian, actor, writer and producer — we all felt like we also got our star. He represents what Latinos can do in this country. So, being part of that whole experience was a huge highlight because he’s like the Robin Williams of Mexico.

What’s your favorite Oscar memory?

JE: When Marlon Brando declined the Oscar and sent a Native American activist to decline it.

READ MORE: Here are 100 people in Hollywood who could help fix the Academy’s diversity problem