Biography

Monique Alvarez is the creative visionary behind She Se Puede Productions, which has delivered such provocative and innovative TV shows, films, and documentaries as Hialeah: Dade F*ckin County (sold to Amazon), Havana on the Hudson, My Abuela in Miami, and Streets Unseen, with Alvarez serving as creator/writer/executive producer. She can also be seen on screen in films/TV shows like Zero Day, City on a Hill and Percy, and behind the lens, photographing for NY: Life on the Street. Drawing from her brightly colored Latina-American heritage and classical stage training, Alvarez layers in powerful themes of self-determination and belonging, of tradition and transformation, and of intergenerational conflict and connection, exemplified by distinct characters that are as real as the conversations around abuela's dinner table.

Alvarez grew up in Hialeah, Florida, a mecca of Cuban culture rendering the louder half of her Colombian-Cuban roots. She was working on her first film set and mounting original short plays by the age of 13. A graduate of Florida State University where she earned a BA in Communications and Media Production with a double minor in Theater and Hispanic Marketing, Alvarez also took an overseas Theater Fellowship in London, toured the US with a regional theater company, and founded a multilingual theater company under the mentorship of Mark Medoff as well as an intercultural activist movement on campus - achievements that eventually landed her in the FSU Alumni Hall of Fame. She additionally studied at Shakespeare & Company under Tina Packer, The Barrow Group NYC under Seth Barrish, The Berg Studios under Gregory Berger-Sobeck, The Second City, UCB, WGA's Staff Writer Bootcamp, and coached under protégés of Sanford Meisner, Peggy Feury, and Uta Hagen.

In Los Angeles, Alvarez worked in bilingual Public Relations and Marketing while building her portfolio as a SAG-AFTRA actor and voice artist (Paw Patrol: The Movie, Shu and the Resistance). She performed alongside A-list actors including Kevin Bacon, Christopher Walken, and Robert De Niro, traveled with premier comedy/improv troupes, and represented major brands in campaigns before co-launching RezLab Entertainment, a boutique production house showcasing Latin-Grammy, Emmy and Cannes award-winning talent. Upon shadowing Lesli Linka Glatter and Clark Johnson, Alvarez directed a documentary and sketch video series. After enjoying a few ad-industry awards and film festival honors, Alvarez founded She Se Puede Productions in New York City, which has gone on to partner with Peabody, Emmy, and Canadian Screen award-winning directors and producers to create fresh, inventive entertainment that sizzles like a lechón asado in a backyard barbecue. Committed to pushing boundaries for positive societal change, Alvarez' work continues to include advocacy vis-à-vis community-minded creative initiatives.

In amplifying the voices of original characters, artists, and families, Alvarez and her partners passionately bring the soulful, authentic stories of Latinx, Latin-American, and multicultural people into the boisterous discourse of American media.
- IMDb mini biography by: SSPP/ Cliff Flamer