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Yes, I am a Mexican, and I have a past and a culture. But what matters is the film itself, not where it was financed or cast.

In Hollywood through the 50s, there were black, English, and Middle European housekeepers and maids.

I had to endure the worst time of all in terms of racial discrimination in Hollywood when I first started out. It was inconcievable to American directors and producers that a Mexican woman could have a lead role.

There's virtually nothing made up in 'The Immigrant.' So much of the film came from somewhere in my family's past. All the details are from my own family.

I didn't know I wanted to do films until I started to do them. Very few films are made in Mexico and film-making belonged to a very specific group, a clique.

I started in movies in Mexico and started doing telenovelas in Mexico. 'American Family' was the first thing I did in English.

I finally, you know, moved to Mexico City, where the film industry is. I started working there as a producer, which is a very, very valid thing for women to do, because we always produce for men, right?

I never saw film stars at home. We had no maid, no cook, no swimming pool.

I think the three Mexican directors that came before me did a very good job in Hollywood because they came in and started directing things like 'Harry Potter.'

Contrary to the macho culture of Mexico, both my grandmothers were very brave young widows. I was always very close to these hard-working, intelligent women.