She’s a mover & shaker

ROSIE PEREZ is an actor, director and choreographer. Her IFC documentary about Puerto Ricans in the U.S. and on the island is “Yo soy Boricua, pa’que tu lo sepas!” and was just released on DVD. The title translates as “I am Boricua, just so you know!”

How did you become a documentarian?

Really out of frustration. Not being able to get what I wanted made. I wanted to do a feature film on the sterilization of Puerto Rican women. I couldn’t get the financing. At the time it was the early ‘90s. I swear, with me, maybe three other actors out there, we were the ones saying it -- Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Esai Morales -- at the time they were saying, “There’s not a demographic for this movie, we’ll lose money,” and “Is it true?”

I’d present all the facts to them. They were like, “No, too controversial.” Then an ex-boyfriend of mine, a friend, every year would call me up and make fun of me at the Puerto Rican Day Parade. He moved around the corner from me [and] goes, “Rosie, you can hear your people all the way across the East River!” And I said, “Because we’re proud.” And then it clicked in my head. I called Carol Bodie, my agent, on Sunday. You don’t call agents on Sunday! And that’s how it started. It was like, 10 years plus one moment.

And you finally said, forget the money men.

I was trying to work in the system, because it would have to take a lot of marketing dollars to get it out there. The industry -- you can’t just market to the Latin community, it’s the Mexican community and the Salvadoran community and the Dominican community and we’re all different and all have different likes and tastes. I also said screw the system because they wanted me to profile celebrities. They were like, “You’re good friends with John Leguizamo,” and I was like, “Yeah?” Those documentaries have been done. They’re kinda boring! A documentary about their experience is stupid.

I was like, “I’m not gonna do the tap dance for you anymore.” My agent said, “Well, the Independent Film Channel is offering financing with a hands-off policy.” I flew over there. And I lied too. I lied my butt off, and I got a green light in 15 minutes. I lied to them about Rory Kennedy and Liz Garbus. I told IFC I’d pitched them and they wanted to be a part of it. And they were all, “Oh, yeah, yeah, should we call them?” And I was like, “No!”

My agent was there, and my manager was sitting in the room, and his eyes were bulging out of his head. We got in the elevator -- the rule is, don’t speak till you’re out of the building. Then they were like, “Are you crazy?” And I was like, “Yes, I am.” I got in a cab over to Liz and Rory’s building. And they were into it but were like, “What about financing?” And I was like, “Yeah, we got that covered.” And that was it.

That’s pretty wily. I’m impressed.

Me too! I’m a straight-up person. I’m not a liar.

How much time do you spend in Hollywood? You finished working on “The Take” a while ago, with John Leguizamo.

Well, that’s how much time I spend. The last time I was in Hollywood was last year to do that movie with John. I don’t appreciate Los Angeles as much as other people in the industry do. It’s a very strange thing to walk out your door and not see anybody.... It’s broad daylight and you hear birds chirping and nobody’s there! I could ride my bicycle in L.A. on the sidewalk, ‘cuz nobody’s walking. But what’s really funny is, if there is one pedestrian, and I’m on my bike? They’re like, “Oh, my God, you’re riding your bike on the sidewalk!” They get hysterical. People out there, they drive you crazy.

And what’s Bushwick like today?

Bushwick is changing -- not as rapidly as downtown Brooklyn has, but it’s getting gentrified. It’s crazy! I grew up there and it was a dangerous neighborhood, but on my block I was always safe. Step off my block? Another story. But the same factories that my aunt and all her female friends slaved in are getting converted into private lofts that are going for a million-plus.

I still hang out in Bushwick once in a blue moon. And my friends go, “Isn’t that funny?” All the rich people and all the white people are buying those disgusting factories -- and I go, “No, it’s not funny! Because, honey, you’re going to get shut out. Your $500, two-bedroom apartment is going to be null and void.” The people who live there don’t get it. That neighborhood has been ignored for years, especially after the ’77 blackout. Remember “Brooklyn is burning”? That was Bushwick. When we told people where we were from, people would walk away.

So where’s the Puerto Rico independence movement at today?

The voice of the independence movement is still there, but it’s not as vocal. Puerto Rico went bankrupt last year, and I don’t understand why Americans aren’t shocked. It’s historic! The first U.S. territory to go bankrupt. And they borrowed money from the U.S. to get out of bankruptcy -- with interest. I think that scared a lot of people on the island. The issue of statehood is out of fear of really becoming a third-world country. Now the thought of going independent in their financial state is even scarier. There’s a fable in Puerto Rico, a story, that if you pen a bull, if you put a fence around the bull as soon as it comes out of the womb, then when it’s a year old, you can take away that fence and it’ll never leave its property.

I don’t take a side. People think I chose a side. Like, no, honey, I’m just stating facts of what’s going down and what went down. I don’t live on the island. Just like: You live in Los Angeles -- don’t tell me how to live in New York.