By Emily Friedman

Academy Award-nominated director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Maria Eladia González ’13) will speak at the Latino Heritage Assembly Nov. 6. The assembly is organized by members of the Latino Parent Association Teresa Romano (Marina ’09, Fredel ’11), Jessica Snyder (Nicole ’09), Marisa Berry (David ’09, Gillian ’09) and Vicky Knight (Alex ’11). 

Iñárritu was asked to speak by Teresa Romano. The two families have been good friends since Iñárritu moved to Los Angeles five years ago.

Iñárritu said he welcomed the opportunity to get to know the school and share his ideas with the community. 

“When we first started planning the assembly, my mom and I thought he would be perfect for it,” Marina Romano said. “So we told all of the other members of the Latino Parent Association.”

Iñárritu said he loves to speak to students.

“They are the ones who really have the opportunity to change things and are fresh and spontaneous,” he said. “I always learn a lot from them.”

“I think that he will be a great speaker because he is a very interesting person that can share many valuable experiences with all of us,” Marina Romano said. “He is very passionate about his work and artistic expressions of every sort. He has become an emblematic figure in the modern globalization of the Mexican culture.”

Iñárritu described his life growing up in Mexico as “full of contradictions and very alive.”

He began his career as a DJ at a top-rated Mexican radio station.

He then became involved in advertising, theater and later television, all the while studying filmmaking. He made his directorial debut with “Amores Perros” in 2000. 

“I want to talk about my experience of doing ‘Amores Perros,’ ‘21 Grams’ and ‘Babel,’”  he said. “Hopefully those experiences will encourage some students to make their own films or at least inspire them or [help them] learn from my mistakes. The hardest part is to maintain your voice strong enough so as not to lose it during the long and tough process.” 

Iñárritu takes a lot of inspiration from his two children.

“They see things that I would never think about and that influence me a lot,” he said.

 “If you have something to say, just say it,” he said.