Growing up poor in Mexico, Armando Ibañez migrated to the U.S. in his early adulthood, hoping to attend school. Quickly, he realized pursuing an education or any other kind of dream would be difficult because of his immigration status.
“I used to feel like I wasn’t allowed to dream big, and I wasn’t allowed to pursue goals. My mind was conditioned to just work and work and work,” said Ibañez.
So, that’s what he did. For most of his 20s, Ibañez held different positions in many restaurants across Los Angeles. Whether it was as a host or a server, Ibañez knew he didn’t want to work in restaurants his whole life.
It was in 2010 when he saw a movement of young activists demanding recognition and respect for undocumented people that ultimately inspired Ibañez to pursue his dreams. At 30 years old, he received his Associate’s Degree in Film and TV production from Cerritos Community College.
Even so, he struggled to find the stories he wanted to tell.
“I never thought I could be a filmmaker because I thought that filmmaking was a dream or a profession that only rich or white people could achieve,” said Ibañez.
It wasn’t until he watched Issa Rae’s YouTube series, The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl, that he realized what he wanted to write about.
“After watching [the series], I felt inspired and encouraged. I wanted to write my own stories about an undocumented queer Mexican server who lives in LA and is navigating love and life,” said Ibañez.
He did realize though, that writing this kind of story came with its own difficulties.
A recent report by USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examined 1,600 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2022 and more than 62,000 speaking characters. Throughout the 15 years, the study found no film distributor launched a movie featuring a Latino or Hispanic lead or co-lead.
When addressing the intersectional exclusion issue, the study’s numbers remain consistent. In 2022, only seven Hispanic/Latino characters were identified as LGBTQ+, while over 95% of films spanning from 2014 to 2022 lacked LGBTQ+ Hispanic/Latino representation.
That lack of inclusion is one reason why a journey of self-discovery and navigating the intersections of queer and immigrant identities is at the core of Ibañez’s award-winning Youtube series, Undocumented Tales, which first premiered in the summer of 2016.
Written and directed by Ibañez, he hopes the series will educate audiences about experiences often left out of mainstream media. “This is a love letter to my community. I wanted my community to be able to look at the screen and say, ‘That is me! All the things that the character is going through, I have gone through!’” Ibañez said.
Jesus Suatan, Program Coordinator at Latino Equality Alliance, a Boyle Heights organization focused on advocating for safety, equity, and wellness for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community, said stories like Ibañez’s are significant for those with intersectional identities.
“People get excited about seeing queer characters of color on television because I think they see themselves, and they see a little bit of possibility and hope,” said Suatan.
Described as a ‘messy queer story,’ the series follows the journey of Fernando Gutierrez, played by Ibañez, as he navigates queer life and his immigrant struggles in Los Angeles.
The first season is an excellent example of the stories Ibañez wants to spotlight. The two-episode season showcases the experience of breaking up as an undocumented person. Fernando’s partner brings up the fact that they can’t travel or even drink at a bar because of Fernando’s immigration status.
The show also highlights what it’s like when an undocumented person is fired. Those who use false social security numbers have to be very careful about the kinds of jobs they apply for.
“It was very important to me to show someone our complex lives. Undocumented characters who have all types of problems. They have relationships; they have family problems; they pursue love and sex. Despite all the barriers, they keep going,” said Ibañez.
As the series continued, Ibañez continuously fought against the stereotypical narratives of immigrants. “Society has created this higher expectation of undocumented immigrants. If they want to be recognized as human beings by this country, they need to be perfect examples. They need to speak English, they need to go to school, they need to be valedictorians, they need to be perfect,” he said.
Ibañez is on a quest to change the narrative Hollywood has created in film. “Hollywood has a different perspective of how underrepresented communities live in general, and it’s offensive,” Ibañez said. “Suffering is the main component and stories of underrepresented communities created by Hollywood.”
In 2018, Ibañez received the Entrepreneurship Fund from Immigrants Rising to finish the third season, which premiered in 2019. His work includes collaborations with CultureStrike, Translatin@ Coalition, Immigrants Rising, Familia:TQLM and SolCollective.
Since completing his series’ fourth and final season, Ibañez has continued telling authentic stories representing the communities he loves. His next project will tell the story of TransLatina Coalition Vice President Maria Romain as she tells her journey of finding her voice and identity as a trans woman.
“I’m very, very lucky that the community is rooting for me,” said Ibañez. “That is my fuel to keep going and tell these stories.”
