Former Celebrity Actress Lydia Blanco Garza Presenting Guest Lecture on April 11 as Part of DMC Cultural Programs Spring Lineup
Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso
Some people head to Hollywood and find their dream as an actor or actress. Del Mar College (DMC) former student Lydia Blanco Garza found hers. As one of the few who make it in Tinseltown, the actress has made her mark both on the big and small screens in the most competitive industry in the world.
On Thursday, April 11, as part of the College’s Cultural Programs spring lineup, Blanco Garza will provide an inside look into her personal experiences with a lecture titled “Perspective as a Latina Actress in Hollywood.” Learn how she managed a successful career with celebrity status and shared the screen with actors like Tom Hanks, Kate Winslet, Natalie Portman and Jack Black and took direction by big names that include Steven Spielberg, Nancy Meyers, Mark Ruffalo and Ivan Reitman.
Co-sponsored by the Art and Drama Department, the FREE lecture begins at 1 p.m. in Room 164 in the Fine Arts Center Music Building on the East Campus at Kosar and Ayers. For more information, contact DMC professor of drama Carl Yowell at 361-698-1154 or cyowell@delmar.edu.
After studying drama at DMC during the mid-nineties, Blanco Garza transferred to Corpus Christi State University/Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in theater from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
She then moved to Austin where she hired her first agent and began her professional on-camera career. Blanco Garza’s work in the Lone Star State’s capital included staring in short and feature films, performing theater and voiceovers for Japanese animation and appearing on a billboard in downtown Austin for the Texas Lottery—all in two short years.
With some experience now part of her professional portfolio, Blanco Garza headed to Los Angeles where she spent ten years guest starring in television and film. Her first speaking role was on Lifetime’s Strong Medicine, which led her to work with “bonafide” Hollywood legends. Most widely known for her guest-starring role on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Blanco Garza’s other notable TV appearances include Desperate Housewives, CSI, Prison Break and Weeds, Monk, The Practice and The Shield, to name a few. Other roles included feature films such as Little Birds (2011), The Holiday (2006), The Naked Ape (2006), The Terminal (2004) and Dial M for Maria (1999). Additionally, she produced and casted the award-winning web seriesThe Best Friend and many short films, along with the SAG feature films Homebound and Boost, which were both shot in El Campo, TX. She has worked in the casting offices of NBC’s The Cape with casting and television director Risa Bramon Garcia.
After returning to Corpus Christi, Blanco Garza founded The Blanco Agency, representing over 100 performers for casting in local, regional and national television, film, commercial and voiceover projects. Her talent agency provides regular training opportunities for local actors, and she functions as casting director.
Blanco Garza also has served on the board of directors for the Aurora Arts Theatre.
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.