How Vlogging Helped This Latinx Actress Land Her First Major Gig

Often, influencer culture and envy go hand in hand: Here’s a photo of someone on a glamorous beach vacation; someone else in a designer dress; someone else applying luxury skin-care products. You’re meant to live vicariously through someone else’s good fortune. 

When Sheryl Rubio started making video content, though, her intentions were just the opposite. She was in a dark place — and she was sharing her experience in a way that felt more like a form of journaling than a mode of exhibitionism. Having just left her home country of Venezuela for Mexico, she had no job, no circle of friends, and no family close by. After making the rounds as an actress in Venezuela, she wanted to try her hand at acting in a larger market — but she showed up at casting calls across Mexico for eight months to no avail. So she began to share her day-to-day struggles on her video channel: the loneliness of a new country, the disappointment of failed auditions, the frustration of looking for work. 

Sure, her content was vulnerable. But there was a rawness to it — and because of that, she began to develop a community. Eventually, she found herself seeking comfort and encouragement from her ever-growing online support system. And now, as the star of  the major streamable drama serial, she says that very community played a pivotal role in her success.

So, as a testament to that fortitude, Refinery29 is partnering with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple to produce Valiente Y Fuerte — a video campaign designed to amplify the voices of Latinx creatives like Rubio who embody strength, passion, and fortitude. Watch the video above for more intimate details about her rise to success — and the community that helped her get there.