Unabashedly queer performer Fernando Carsa is now crossing the finish line for the final season of the acclaimed television series Acapulco. The Apple+ project ends with season four and was inspired by the 2017 film How to Be A Latin Lover, which starred the legendary Eugenio Derbez as Maximo Gallardo Ramos.
The series bounces back and forth through time as Maximo rises to the top of the hospitality industry after beginning his career as a humble pool boy at Las Colina Resort. Carsa plays Maximo’s friend, Guillermo, referred to as Memo, a laundry attendant with a heart of gold at the resort.
The breakout role has earned Carsa accolades such as the Critics Choice Rising Star Award and the University of California at Los Angeles School of Theater’s Outstanding Achievement Award. He graduated from UCLA after transferring from Fullerton College into the Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.
Film roles have included Tachi in 2023’s At Midnight and this year’s Summer of 69 as The Saint Bernard/Samuel Moros.
Fernando talked to Windy City Times before the debut of Acapulco’s season four about his authentic life in high heels.
Windy City Times: Hola, Fernando. What are your pronouns?
Fernando Carsa: My pronouns are he/him. I saw Lady Gaga last night and my voice is almost nonexistent, sorry!
WCT: I saw the video you made in front of the stadium. Where did you get your outfit?
FC: I got it as soon as I bought my tickets. I got it from my friend Joey Ce, who is a queer designer. He designed my first movie premiere outfit for my first film. We worked on this piece together because I wanted to have the Lady Gaga experience as a fan.
WCT: What was your favorite part of her concert?
FC: My favorite part was just realizing how amazing this woman is because she exceeded all of my expectations. We are seeing Lady Gaga at the best concert she has ever done and this was my favorite concert that I’ve ever been to. It was life-changing for me. I know that sounds like a lot, but it truly was!
WCT: Your parents were performers. Did that inspire you growing up?
FC: Yes, both of my parents met in our hometown in Mexico. Even though they couldn’t focus on that path financially and it wasn’t a good fit from where we came from, they instilled that respect and work ethic of a theater actor onto me. I grew up watching performances my whole life. I guess they are living their dream through me now.
WCT: I love that one of them is named Charo!
FC: [laughs] My mom is as iconic as the performer Charo.
WCT: After graduating from UCLA, you booked Acapulco in just six months. Did this happen with a regular audition?
FC: It was a very usual casting process. The only difference is that I was the chosen one by destiny. I won the lottery because this is a fairytale type of situation. Who books a series regular just six months out of college for Apple TV+? That’s insane.
I did a lot of manifestations before auditioning for the show. I graduated in 2020 during the pandemic, so I asked the universe to help me find a way to get my career started and not abandon my dream. Through hard work and this opportunity, the dream has become true now.
WCT: Is Memo modeled after someone from your life?
FC: Initially, Memo was described at the audition as Jonah Hill in Superbad. Once the creators of the show started filming the pilot, they realized they could make the character more naive, sweet and excited about life. It was an organic transition and a Jiminy Cricket route.
It happened because I started basing the character on my younger self. I was also inspired by my five-year-old niece, who was not even one at the time we started filming the show.
I wanted to celebrate my younger self through Memo but also make my niece proud of her uncle through the character as well. Even though he is an adult, he sees the world as a child does. He’s not childish, but he’s very childlike.
WCT: What have been the challenges of playing a straight man?
FC: What has been cool about Memo is that they have allowed me to defy gender stereotypes. At the end of the day, I feel straight men, in comparison to gay men, are very stubborn. The challenges can be navigating his relationships that have him proving his masculinity, especially with Lorena, played by Carolina Moreno. It’s not just macho Latino culture; it’s all of the stuff we have as men trying to prove we are straight. In Memo’s life, where does that come from and how does that translate into the story?
I allow him to be connected to his emotions and that has made him more of a confident man. He learns from women and challenging the macho stereotypes has made him a better man. That has been a really interesting message we have sent through the show.
WCT: The cast members I have met were supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. How was working with them?
FC: When I first started doing the show and I started doing red carpet appearances, I was scared of expressing myself and celebrating myself as I do now, because I was afraid of being put in a box as an actor or that people would think I could only play gay roles.
It was because of my cast and how they made me feel safe to use those opportunities to exist and step into the light.
My cast was supportive of my self-expression in my sexuality. They were the first people to give me a standing ovation. I purchased my first platform high heels while filming the second season of the show and I used to wear them to the set to break them in. It was my cast that saw me wear these heels for the first time.
They would help me with photo shoots and cheer me on. By the time we got to the public events of the second season, I was wearing makeup, glitter and all that. I felt like they helped me be brave and embrace the skin that I was meant to embrace.
Honestly, they continue like that to this day. As you saw at the Critics Choice Celebration of LGBTQ+ ceremony, I had to have Jessica Collins give me the award because she has paraded my self-expression the most in that cast. Everyone has, but she has been my fairy godmother and I love her.
WCT: And she loves you. I approached Jessica after the ceremony to thank her for presenting the Rising Star Award to you and she said, “How could I not? Just look at him. He’s so special!” Your representation is very important.
FC: Thank you so much.
WCT: With Acapulco being filmed in Puerto Vallarta, did you go out to the queer bars like Blondies after a shoot?
FC: Well, the show is a lot of work. It’s a tight schedule and it’s not easy for the crew to close down a hotel for a long period of time. We didn’t go out as much as we wished we could, but we did hit the bars. The first time I saw go-go boys at a club was during the filming of the fourth season. I have been sheltered because I went straight from college to this show! [laughs]
WCT: Was the after-party following the last day of shooting emotional for you?
FC: Yes. The thing about the show coming to an end is that the cast and crew are saying goodbye to this story. It’s a chapter in our lives that is concluding.
The beauty of it is that I am not sad, but more grateful. What we created is truly a family. We all knew the show would come to an end at some point, but none of us were scared because we knew the bond that we had was so strong that it would transcend the life of the show, which includes the crew and every department.
I have made a family with these people. Acapulco is not only my TV debut, but I became the person I am today on that set. They are a part of my personal life and by the time we got to the wrap party, it became a celebration. There was no time to be sad.
Four years of streaming a bilingual show with an international cast and crew was something to celebrate. That’s not a funeral; that’s a party!
We still talk to this day. If I go to Mexico, I see everyone who lives there and it’s the same wherever I go. Jessica is the closest one to me and we just went to dinner. The Acapulco family is still alive and the family is not going anywhere.
WCT: What are you doing next?
FC: After four years of being a little scared, I am dipping my toes into music and producing. I executive-produced a short film called The Fly on the Wall or in Spanish La Mosca en la Pared and it premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. My friend Rossana De Leon, who is the pool singer in Acapulco, wrote it. It went to the Guadalajara International Film Festival and it won Best Jaliscan Short Film. I am looking to produce and act in more films in the future.
I have been writing music that I hope to release by the end of the year to give as my birthday present for turning 28.
I am in a creative zone right now and it’s very exciting. Follow me on social media and come along for the journey because I am here to fight against the bad things currently going on. I am here to stand up for our rights!
Take one last trip to Acapulco this summer with the fourth season on tv.apple/com. Two episodes debut on July 23, with more content on the way in the following weeks.