From Mérida to Manhattan: A Yucatecan Actor Finds His Stage in New York

A kid from Mérida who grew up watching American movies decided, at 17, that New York was the place to find out what he was made of. That instinct has taken Manuel Zopiyaxtle from Yucatán classrooms to Off-Broadway stages and international film festivals — with plenty of hard lessons in between.

Zopiyaxtle trained at the New York Film Academy, drawn as much by the city’s mythology as by the school’s curriculum. The program, which covers not just performance but cinematography and directing, gave him room to develop across disciplines. “I felt that something was calling me to that school,” he told Diario de Yucatán.

The adjustment was rough. Moving alone to one of the world’s most relentless cities meant confronting homesickness, culture shock, and a social landscape that felt colder than anything he’d known in Mérida. New York, he says, is “very energetic” — and completely overwhelming. “Every person is just a grain of sand” in it.

He noticed early that relationships in New York tend to run transactional. “People are always looking for what they can get from you,” he said. Rather than fight that reality, he decided to shift his own perspective. “I can’t change the fact, but I can change my attitude.”

That mindset carried him through. So did solidarity with other Latinos navigating the same city. Zopiyaxtle says the Latino community in New York has been a genuine source of support, anchoring collaborative projects, bilingual productions, and festival work that has helped him stay rooted. New York’s Latino theater scene is substantial — the city is home to a range of dedicated Spanish-language and bilingual companies that stage work in both Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway venues, from the Bronx to Hell’s Kitchen. A citywide festival, Teatro Fest NYC, presents dozens of productions each year from that community.

Zopiyaxtle has worked across that circuit — stage productions, short films, and series — and credits what he describes as a growing “big wave” of interest in Latino art for opening doors. That momentum, he says, gives him room to bring Yucatecan and Mexican identity into the projects he takes on.

On screen, he has appeared in the series The Missing Kitchen King and the feature Filthy Dogs, currently making its way through the festival circuit. His short film Gothic Girls Are Right, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, has screened at international festivals. He also had a role in For Lila, a production that earned recognition at several festivals for its ensemble work.

In theater, he has taken on roles in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, exploring both comedy and voice-driven work. Comedy is where his heart is, though he’s careful not to make that sound easy. “Comedy is a very difficult art,” he says — one that has to be built from seriousness to land with an audience.

His theatrical training began long before New York. As a child in Mérida he performed in school productions, then studied under instructor José Balmaceda, who grounded him in character construction, physical work, and voice. That foundation, Zopiyaxtle says, still informs everything he does. One line from Balmaceda has stuck with him: “I don’t worry, I take action.”

Coming up, he is developing a romantic short film in Spanish alongside actor Tatiana Mirabent, while continuing to audition and take on new work. He has considered a move to Los Angeles but for now remains fixed on New York, where he sees the independent film and theater industries continuing to grow.

Science fiction is the genre he most wants to explore — specifically the kind that pairs spectacle with emotional depth. He cites Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar as the template for the stories he wants to tell.

His family in Mérida remains his anchor. And representing Yucatán, he says, is not something he takes lightly. “Everything is possible if you are completely committed.”

Yucatán has a history of sending creative talent beyond its borders — the state’s early film history stretches back more than a century, to filmmakers who documented their world with whatever equipment they could find. Zopiyaxtle is working in a different era and a different city, but the impulse is familiar.

About Manuel Zopiyaxtle

• Trained at the New York Film Academy in New York City
• Earlier theatrical training with instructor José Balmaceda in Mérida
• Short film Gothic Girls Are Right: writer, director, lead actor; selected for international festivals
• Feature film Filthy Dogs: currently in the festival circuit
• Series: The Missing Kitchen King
• Short film For Lila: festival recognition for ensemble performance
• Theater: Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, New York City
• In development: romantic short film in Spanish with actor Tatiana Mirabent

With reporting from Diario de Yucatán, New York Latin Culture Magazine, Broadway World