Take a moment to think about all the things you are grateful for in life. It may be family, great friends, your career, or just having groceries in your refrigerator. Over time, things change and improve, but everyday life plants a seed that can grow into something if we let it.
At 20 years old, Paulina Chávez is making her way through the Universe in a graceful way. When asked what she is grateful for, she stated, "I am grateful for my family, the support I have from the fans from "Fate: The Winx Saga,” and the people who have been following me since the beginning of my career. As I get older, I have an appreciation for life and what’s in store to come from it.”
Fascinating Flora
The Netflix series “Fate: The Winx Saga” was released in 2021 and has been a steady watchable TV series on a streaming service. The series is a live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's animated series "Winx Club" (2004).
In the show, it follows a fairy, Bloom (Abigail Cowen), as she adjusts to life in the otherworld, where she must learn to control her magical powers at Alfea College. At Alfea, fairy warriors from all over the universe study and train to improve their magic powers.
Alongside Bloom are Stella, Aisha, Musa, Terra, and Flora, played by Paulina Chávez.
Flora arrives in the second season, episode two, “Taken by the Wind.” Her arrival shocks Terra, her second cousin by marriage, who is out in the woods, off of school grounds, at the time. Flora comes out of nowhere, ready to join in helping the crew at Alfea College.
Chávez said, "In this show, there's so much drama and romance; it's dark. There's a lot of loyalty, and betrayal; it's a lot of fun. Coming of age with monsters and magic and fairies."
Flora is one of the original Winx girls known as the Guardian Fairy of Nature. She was born and raised on the planet Linphea, where she learned to become one with nature and hone her skills. Flora's unique ability as a fairy is her power over plants and flowers. Thanks to all the traveling she's done with her parents, she also is an expert in healing potions and finding herbs, which comes in handy during specific situations.
"Flora, she's very confident and well-traveled and at ease in every situation. She knows how to navigate her space in her room. She's very opposite from her cousin Terra. It causes some sparks to fly between the cousins, and she's just really trying to place, and it's sweet.” Chávez added, “Flora and I are similar in not letting herself be pushed around, and that's something that I am still learning to do. We can both be feisty and, in my opinion, that's a good thing," she laughed.
"The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia"
In this Netflix series, Chávez played Ashley Garcia, the world's only 15-and-a-half-year-old robotics engineer and rocket scientist, gets the chance to work for NASA. She moves across the country to live with her Uncle Victor, a pro football player turned high school coach.
"Ashley Garcia is a 15-year-old rocket scientist. And she has always focused on her career. And now, finally, she wanted to be a teenager and have a first kiss and all that fun stuff. And I think that show was such a fantastic show. Mainly because it's sporadic to see a show like that where a Latina is a lead and is wickedly intelligent; that was something that very much drew me to her.” Little did Chávez know that her oldest sister, a civil engineer, would set the stage for this connection to her role.
"My older sister, she's a civil engineer. She was the third woman in her class who graduated. At that time, it was surreal. To have a show about this young intelligent Latina was just incredible. And I knew from the moment that I read the script I needed to be a part of it."
Many stories of Latina women are rare to see. In these modern days, we are gradually witnessing a change in where film, tv roles, and more are opening up to more women's stories, and Latina women are emerging on the scene. "We need to see ourselves in cheerful lights. I remember my sister always talking about Vanessa Hudgens. I find myself being drawn to roles that are vigorous.”
Chávez also explains that her sister did not only inspire her role in the show but would also like to see the younger women and Latina female generation become more involved in S.T.E.M. and S.T.E.A.M. education.
"Garcia helped open my eyes to how much we need to promote not only STEM but the arts as well, to motivate young women to join that and explore that field/industry."
Scholarship for the Latinx Community
Chávez was supposed to be in the class of 2020, but she graduated in 2019 so she could continue filming "The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia." While on set, she gave her mother the idea to offer a scholarship to the school district she had just graduated from.
"When we got that idea, we even told Eva Longoria about it while she was directing onset, and Eva told me to just go for it and do it. We've been giving it out for three years and two years with the Salvation Army. I wanted to help out the community where I grew up and was educated.
It's something my parents always taught me, to give back to the community."
Chávez has teamed up with the Salvation Army to create the scholarship.
"This scholarship, I think we finally settled on a name called the "Be Your Own Kind of Genuis Scholarship," and it's offered yearly each summer in San Antonio and the surrounding area. While I was filming Ashley Garcia, it opened my eyes, and I realized the importance of furthering your education. Whether it is S.T.E.M. or the arts, this is very important to my mom and me."
Another reason Chávez wanted to create the scholarship was to help the middle-class community. Even though her sister worked hard on her grades to receive a scholarship, she was still denied based on her parent's income.
"We all know that college is expensive; it’s hard if we don't qualify for assistance, and our parents still have their own debt, so we wanted to focus on the middle-class community. My sister was top three in her class so they offered a scholarship immediately, but she was not able to receive it because we were categorized middle class."
Chávez also stated about the scholarship, "It's all about paying it forward for the community and the Salvation Army. I love them so much; they're great, and I love what they do for the community.”
Even though Chávez is filming and working on her acting career, she may still revisit her education path in the future. "It's something that I do think about. But again, it's very expensive and I don't want to be in debt. I want to be financially ready. I think it'll be cool but for now, I am working on my career. So when it's time for me to go to college, it will be great. Plus, I'm still trying to find something that I'm passionate about when I go to college and use that income."
Latina Histories
Many films and tv series are becoming more current in featuring stories about women who faced difficulties but powered through to their goals, proving the world wrong while making strides for women's rights. Just as Chávez is emerging in the industry, we are prepared to see the leaders and fighters from the past and present stories of the Latina community.
"I want our race to be told. I just finished filming a movie 'Mustang Miracle’ over the summer. It's based on a true story. It's a story that comes from Texas. And so, it's something that I had never heard of. It's based on this group of Latino young men who work at a golf course as caddies, and they learn how to play golf on their own. They end up being very, very good. Somebody ends up seeing them and they start to compete and win a championship."
Even though Chávez is in this film based on Latino men, she is confident that more Latina stories will emerge soon on film and television. Playing the supporting role in many real-life stories, women are always prepared to stand by men's sides.
"I want stories like this about women; without women, men would be off-course. For instance, the First Lady, she's always there because, honestly, let's be honest, we as women are needed. One of my favorite movies is ‘Hidden Figures.’ That tells me that there are so many stories where women are exceptional individuals and the actors portrayed. That's something I want to continue doing—looking for those roles and roles that don't put me in a box because I'm an actor and can do it all at the end of the day.”
Moving into the future, expect more from Paulina Chávez. She is a spicy, badass Latina on the scene for success. She will celebrate her 21st birthday in 2023. What are her plans? One word: Vegas.
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Marshelle R. Sanders
- Photography
- Brittany Bravo
- Retouching
- Brianna Kish
- Senior Editor
- Jessica Catignani
