Empowerment Series: Talent Manager, Carolina Alduey Shakes It Up with AW

Carolina Alduey is a former Publicist turned Talent Manager. The native New Yorker began her career at Columbia Records where she assisted with press campaigns for mega artists like John Legend, Maxwell, and Beyoncé. She also worked on brand campaigns for Netflix, Hennessy, Hispanicize, and the Latinx digital conference. Currently, she uses her experience to help underrepresented comedy writers and Actors get exposure.

AW sat down with the energetic Latina to shake it up and discuss career, underrepresentation, life, and intuitive decision-making.

You have the task of helping underrepresented men, women, and non-binary clients source opportunities in television and film. Did anything in your personal life push you towards doing this type of work? I’ve always been the champion of the underdog. I grew up in a home with two older brothers, there are some feelings of being left out. Also, I come from a family who always rooted for the underdog in their way. We come from the Dominican Republic, and like many families, we were disenfranchised when coming to the US looking for a better life.

Being in New York, Dominican, raised in Washington Heights, and having this unique experience of having a multicultural life is beautiful. I remember being 13, visiting Orlando and some kids asked me where I was from. They had not heard of the Dominican Republic and the only reference I had was to tell them “It’s where baseball players come from.” In hindsight, I felt some erasure growing up. Something I didn’t understand at that age but now I can reference it. We weren’t seeing this dual, multicultural experience that I was surrounded by living in NYC. I had Spanglish, hip-hop, and Merengue culture. I wanted to give a platform to that world because there are too few opportunities on a mainstream level, which I saw growing up.

We have talked about “shaking it up,” doing something different, and going against the mainstream. It is critical to do things that challenge us. You’ve said that you like to shake it up. Can you share an experience or time when you reshuffled things in your life and had a good or bad outcome? I have so many! Grateful to my friend for teaching me about shaking it up. In 2015, I needed a break from New York and moved to Miami for 2.5 years! It was a scary process to leave the only city you’ve ever lived in. As Carla said, “Sometimes, you just have to shake it up!”

There have been different moments like this throughout my life. While in college, I worked with HBO for 3 years in Human Resources and Training but it wasn’t exactly, what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted something more creative, so the first time I shook it up was when I went to work at Sony Music, the parent company of Columbia Records. It was a big risk but it taught me the value of taking risks and trusting my intuition. I know not everyone can take big risks. We can take educated (managed) risks, though, and do what we want, no matter what stage in life.

You are inspiring change with the work you are doing. “We cannot be, what we cannot see.” Highlighting our Latino talent is one of the best ways to amplify our voices. I believe to create a real, lasting impact we have to unite and contribute in different ways to changing the landscape and telling more of our stories. Do you ever feel like you are swimming against the tide? What are some ways the Latino community can help each other more? Yes, every single day. I focus on the art and clients because when I look at the numbers and impediments, it distracts me from my purpose. Also, understanding that there is an acceptance we have to have for everyone’s culture. We talk about Latinidad, what are the things that bring Latinos together besides Bad Bunny. Sometimes, we get extremely siloed in our communities. Not to say that we can’t champion our community because we are different and special but let’s not look for ways to divide. We have to find ways to build bridges that encourage coming together. Let’s invite more people to the table and express who we are and what we need.

As a Talent Manager in a top-tier agency, what has been a major hurdle as you try to get visibility for your clients? First, studios and buyers, the people who give the green light on the shows, most of them, don’t come from our culture. People will usually want to work with the things that make sense to them. At the end of the day, a good story is a good story. Historically, the people in the US at least, those who have been able to tell those stories have been White. They have a wealth of experience, time, and generations of talent. We are catching up, we’re 20% of the country competing with the rest to get coveted spots.

The other part is mental, “representation matters,” if I don’t know that I can be a Showrunner Writer, Actor, or Standup Comedian, I have limiting beliefs. Even when you get there, you have to manage those limiting beliefs because you may have not seen others pave the way. Then, we need to retrain ourselves to believe we can do it, and know that it is possible. We can get in our way, too but there are lots of layers that go into it.

AW likes to end interviews with a message for the community to inspire and encourage. What do you hope to see in this new world post-strike? Do you feel the work that has been accomplished offers hope for more opportunities for the underrepresented talent? There is a desire to see more underrepresented talent but we are not being given the tools. I represent Writers and Actors, and usually, when you have unions coming for a cause, we are the most impacted by unfair contracts. SAG and UGA are fighting for our client’s needs, impacting our underdogs, positively.

Carolina gave us a wealth of information to ponder. Our community has power but how can we use it to lift one another? How can we support one another, more?

Lastly, her final message for our community was invaluable. She suggests we get still, trust our intuition, and live our truth. Get to know who we are. What stories are we telling ourselves and the world? We have to believe that we can do anything. Figure out what sets our soul on fire then go after it!

What will you regret more, making that mistake or never trying?

Learn more about Carolina, Instagram @hola_carola

Listen to the AW Confidential Podcast for the interview and watch for sidebar conversations. Also, available on our YouTube channel.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.