Alex Cambert rose to fame when he worked to develop "Mas Vale Tarde con Alex Cambert," a late night talk show for Telemundo. The show was a rarity for Spanish television; he is described by Advertising Age as "Jerry Seinfeld, if the comic were Cuban-American, and spoke Spanish." Cambert sat down with Latin Times to discuss his career as an Emmy award- winning broadcaster and gave some serious advice to the next generation of Latinos who are looking to get into the media.
What are your future plans? Do you have any career goals you still want to achieve?
"My goal right now is with the Reelz Channel show, "The Big Picture." I am very proud of being a part of a Latino hosting team in English. I think that is the sign of something new and I love that, I love being part of that."
Unfortunately "The Big Picture" on Reelz Channel was cancelled after only one taping. "It just didn't play well," Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard told Deadline. But Cambert said he takes his future career "project by project" and in spite of the cancellation, the broadcaster says that his made "goal is to represent Latino people well. I know that we don't always get all the opportunities that we should or that we could, so when I do get those opportunities I am very serious about presenting a positive, fun, light-hearted, and smart image of Latino people. Because I think that's what we are, we are incredibly hardworking and so if I can be a part of that, I am proud, honored and humbled."
With the demographic of America changing, what would tell other Latinos who are trying to enter the entertainment industry or simply the media?
"I think now is a great time to be entering the industry. I did it 25 years ago, and with the shifting in demographics there certainly is a need there. But my real advice would be to prepare, prepare, prepare. Know your craft, know your market, know your niche, and know your brand. Skin color doesn't get you the job, you have to prepare."
How do you think things have changed for Latinos entering the industry now compared to when you first started?
"Now is a wonderful time to enter the business, for many years, Latinos who entered Hollywood had to hide their ethnicity, but now let your Puerto Rican freak flag fly, and be who you are! When I first entered, I was the one brown person in a sea of white people. Now its more accepted, and casting directors and networks are looking for people of color. It's good, brown is beautiful!"
What was the inspiration behind your career path?
Cambert revealed to Latin Times that he originally applied and was accepted to Columbia Law School but did not attend, because it simply wasn't his passion. He stated that he realized that he was only pursuing academics and law for his parents, "in Latino families we often have a lot of goals and pressures that are transferred onto us from our parents. A lot of immigrants came to America for a better life for not themselves but their children. At some point I realized, that's not my dream, that's their dream. I found comedy during my undergrad and I feel in love with it."
Check Alex Cambert's demo reel:
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