By Elia Esparza
Vanessa Marquez was an accomplished and talented actor. Her untimely death came as a result of a South Pasadena Police shooting last Thursday, August 30th, when according to South Pasadena News, her landlord called 911 because Marquez was having a seizure. The details of what exactly transpired are still unknown and sketchy at best. For the latest updates, read the South Pasadena News, whose offices happen to be located just 800 feet away from where the actress lived, and have had the most accurate reporting on how incidents escalated resulting in this beautiful woman’s death.
What we do know is that Marquez’s tragic end has shocked her fellow cast mates, friends and the entertainment industry. And, we is being posted via one social media post (FB) Remembering Vanessa Marquez, the actress was living with various medical diseases, including celiac disease, CVID, IVID, fiber, osteoporosis, and the after effects of suffering a pulmonary embolism. She suffered a lot of physical pain. And, according to other reports, she also suffered from mental health issues.
On social media, the comments were similar as in actress Dyana Ortelli‘s post: “Unbelievably talented!” Playwritght and actress, Odalys Nanin’s: “You will not be forgotten.” Nicholas Ontiveros posted:
“Remembering Vanessa came over to our house for Thanksgiving one [year]. My mom [Lupe Ontiveros] invited her to join us and she was very happy and honored. Nicest girl anybody could ask for. May you Rest In Peace, Vanessa. We will miss you.”
There are dozens from fellow actors and cast mates from her acting debut in the feature, Stand and Deliver, portraying Ana Delgado (1988), to Blood In, Blood Out (1993), two iconic films that are highly acclaimed for their Latino storylines and in showcasing some of the best of Latino actors in the industry. Marquez’s high profile visibility came in NBC’s hit TV drama, ER in 1994. Other TV series credits include: Malcom & Eddie (1999), Melrose Place (1994), Nurses (1994), and many TV movies.
Culture Clash’s Richard Montoya reminds us of how incredibly talented Vanessa Marquez was and how wide her acting range reached:
Most profoundly emotional is the cast of Stand and Deliver — four of her film family — Will Gotay, Lydia Nicole, Ingrid Oliu, and Daniel Villarreal— who are having a hard time coming to terms with the loss of their friend.
Daniel Villarreal posted the Stand and Deliver collage above with this note:
“Good morning. MOURNING. Sad beyond belief. We lost the sweetest of the lot. The girl from the Eastside who took 3 buses to audition. The most perfect castmate. A very talented actress and a lover of film. So glad we found her and shared many many great memories together. From our STAND AND DELIVER family, Rest In Peace Vanessa Marquez…”
Vanessa Marquez, Mark Eliot, Ingrid Oliu
Will Gotay, who portrayed Francisco “Pancho” Garcia in Stand and Deliver, is having a hard time accepting Marquez’s death and the way she died, posted this:
“The news will hit this morning that yesterday afternoon, the Stand & Deliver family lost one of our own. Vanessa Marquez aka Anita was shot & killed by South Pasadena police in what is amounting to a volatile situation that simply ended horribly tragically. Vanessa had been struggling with dire health issues for many years now. Recently they had been all-encompassing and she was debilitated by them. She was terminally ill. When you read what will eventually be written – please don’t judge. Use empathy to understand where she might’ve been coming from when and as these ugly chain-of-events unfolded. Tragedy is never an easy thing to deal with. When it’s someone you shared a history with, someone you loved and called family – it’s ultra magnified! It shakes us to our core and exposes our vulnerabilities… Please don’t get morose and ask for me details – I will not share them.
What I am asking is that you think kind thoughts that she be now at a better place. That when you remember her – you remember the soft voice and the sweet smile. And. if at any point in your life journey you are confronted with chronic health issues and challenges of the mind – know that if you reach out…someone will answer. I am truly heart broken!
May she finally find the rest and peace she so searched for now that her very real struggle has come to pass. My sincerest heartfelt sympathy for those who survive her. Be kind to each other. Speak to each other. Listen to each other. Care.”
STAND AND DELIVER, left to right: Vanessa Marquez, Patrick Baca, Ingrid Oliu, Will Gotay, Karla Montana, Lydia Nicole, Mark Eliot, 1988. © Warner Bros. /
Casting Director, Toni Livingston (Hix) posted on Facebook:
I am so heartbroken right now. I cannot bear hearing all the coverage I know will be coming.
Today is a very sad day for me and the Stand and Deliver family. We have lost someone in our family. Over 30 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be the Casting Director for a film called Stand and Deliver. We sent out an open submission call for high school age Hispanic actors. I received a letter from Vanessa [Maruez] with her senior picture, which stated that she felt that the description of Ana was her. Not knowing whether or not she could act, I brought her in to show the director what a high school student looked like. She ended up blowing us away in the audition, and she became Ana. I was fortunate to be able to cast her in another American Playhouse production with one of her cast mates. The biggest surprise came when she asked me to come see her in her first play. She did not tell me who was in it, or what kind of role she had. It turned out to be a big stage, a world premiere production called Demon Wine and starred Bill Pullman, Tom Waits, and Carol Kane. Vanessa played Pullman’s tomboy daughter. I had no idea that sweet small voice was capable of reaching the upper seats. And the language….. After the show, the first thing she did was apologize for her language. I was so proud of her. Many things happened to Vanessa over the years. Many of them will discussed in all the news shows regarding her death. I just hope my sweet girl is in peace and I hope she now knows that she was loved by all of her family.”
The ladies of Stand and Deliver: Karla Montana, Vanessa Marquez, Ingrid Oliu, & Lydia Nicole
Geneva Urich posted:
Geneva Urich, Remembering Vanessa Marquez
Blood In, Blood Out, co-star Enrique Castillo Posted:
“So sorry to read of the recent passing of Vanessa Marquez, such a gentle soul. Tragically dealt with mental and physical health. Always remember and treasure our off-screen letters to each other as Father/Daughter on the film, Blood In-Blood Out. My thoughts go out to her family and I hope you rest in everlasting PEACE, Vanessa…”
ER‘s Eric LaSalle posted:
“We tragically lost a member of our ER family yesterday. Vanessa Marquez played a nurse when the show first aired,” La Salle, 56, wrote in a Tweet on Aug. 31. “Sending out condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in eternal peace.”
Luis Alfaro, the accomplished Chicano writer, theater director, playwright and social activist posted this: Writer:
GONE AGAIN
I tried my best today to imagine that Vanessa Marquez and I did not have much of a connection. Which one was she? I wanted to not remember that she did a ton of readings and workshops at the Mark Taper Forum with me. That we didn’t laugh in the halls and rehearsal rooms at the Taper Annex. That I once offered to buy her a coffee, but I ended up bringing her a cup of milk instead and she meowed at me all through rehearsal just to get even.
A gifted young actor who always brought her skill and focus to the work, she was always driven by an innate desire to be consummate. She had been acting for a long time and she brought the gift of the professional into the room, although she looked like a young waif just out of school.
If there was a problem, she didn’t share it. I remember the pixie quality. The girlish voice and laugh. The flower in her hair. The elevated gait that she probably did not have, but I imagined, because she was the gal who did tour of duty on E.R. for many seasons. Who was part of the ensemble of Stand and Deliver, looking very much like the young High School student she was portraying.
Yes, I tried my best today not to remember her.
I wish this story had a better ending. She got really mad at me once. I was casting for our theatre for youth play, Black Butterfly, and I didn’t call her in. She was livid. She called me at home to confront me about it. I wanted to expand the circle, play with new collaborators. “Finally, a role I am perfect for and you don’t want to fucking cast me?”. I apologize but she can’t hear it. The click confirms my fear. We never really speak again after that. I see her in plays and other readings, but she has no space for me.
The years go by. I am watching a show, Intervention, but for all the wrong reasons, and there she is. She is suffering. I never watch this show again. Then one night, a few years ago, she calls to ask me about a play. It’s odd, but we talk about it. I don’t mention Black Butterfly and she doesn’t ask for an apology. It’s an olive branch. Accept it as such. But we don’t catch up. We just open the line again.
And then late last night, the name starts to appear on social media. I was reading the LATimes online in Oregon and saw the story of the shooting. Like everything on Facebook, it’s a story that unfolds, first in someone asking everyone to stay away from South Pasadena. Thirty shots, she thought she heard. Later Akeime is in grief and shock. Finally, someone says, “It’s Vanessa”. Later it becomes, “The cops shot Vanessa”. A thread spirals out in anger about cops, not Vanessa.
She was someone I knew. Not intimately, but that time was an intense and powerful time when we were all coming up as artists and worked on play after play like there was no tomorrow.
The pressure we gave ourselves also led to the pleasure of working in the thing we all wanted to do, art and theatre. We went from show to show and it was just like you read about in the history books, except we were people of color, and the opportunity to be there was not one to squander. Maybe that’s why she worked so hard.
I can’t do anything about the end, but I can tell you she was great when we worked together, special in her own distinct and wonderful way. And that’s how I am going to remember her.
As information becomes known regarding her funeral services and memorials being planned, Latin Heat will update our readers.
Our apologies for not including every post and for those who didn’t respond to our quote inquiries via email. There will be more articles on Vanessa Marquez coming. Stay tuned.
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