We were lucky to catch up with Abimael Acosta recently and have shared our conversation below.

Abimael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

When I was 45 years old and already had a well-established career as a writer and director in Puerto Rico, I decided to pursue a dream I had since childhood – which was to move to Los Angeles and start working in the film and TV industry there. Despite many people telling me not to do it and that the risk was too great, I chose to follow what my heart was telling me. Within a year, I organized my move from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry. At first, I wanted to work in a circus because a circus had visited the small town of Adjuntas where I lived in Puerto Rico. Later, I realized that the circus life was complicated. When I went to see a play for the first time, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. I decided to move to the city to study theater.

In college I started studying Radio and Television Production alongside theater. After graduating, I began working as an actor in theater, film, and television. However, almost simultaneously, I discovered that my true passion was writing. One day, an actress friend told me that a TV producer was looking for a writer because the current one was moving to Argentina. I took a risk and went to the producer’s office with a script I had written about their show. I had stayed up all night to write it. That was my first opportunity as a writer, and I’ve been doing it for the next 30 years.

One advantage I have as a writer in Los Angeles is being bilingual in Spanish and English. I’ve also worked in different areas of the industry such as acting, directing, producing, marketing, copywriting, press, and translations. One of the things I’m most proud of in my career is the professional ethics that guide my decisions as a professional and as an artist.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

From my point of view, one of the most rewarding aspects of an artist’s career is the fact that through our work, we can be agents of change. With our talent, we can invite people to reflect on topics they might not have considered before and lead them to develop empathy towards the situations we present in our works or towards those groups of people they haven’t had experiences with. Through our work, we provide them with a glimpse into the lives of those individuals or minority groups they are unfamiliar with. The work of a writer is an important tool for social change.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Both in my development as an artist and in my personal growth, I would have liked to have learned or understood earlier that we will always be judged by others, and it’s something we won’t be able to avoid. What we can avoid, however, is allowing the judgments of others to negatively affect us and lead us to give up on our dreams or create insecurities about our abilities. I’m someone who believes that it’s important to listen to what others have to say about our work and about us. But before giving it importance, we need to consider who that person is that’s talking about us or our work, what criteria they use to judge us, and what their motivation is.

This is something significant, and based on this, we should decide whether or not to take into consideration what is being said about us. Sometimes, what is said about us can help us grow and improve. Of course, it’s also important to understand that what others say about us doesn’t define who we are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vimeo.com/854465114
• Instagram: @abimaelacosta
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abimaelacostawriter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abimael-acosta-6ab20449/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AbimaelAcosta/featured

Image Credits
I have rights for the use of these photos.