Benjamin Bratt on culture
San Francisco native (and onetime Chronicle paperboy) Benjamin Bratt is a consulting producer on his brother Peter’s documentary “Dolores,” and he voices a singing star in the highly anticipated Pixar Day of the Dead film “Coco.” Both films celebrate Latino culture, and the actor, 53, couldn’t be more delighted. Q: How does it feel to have “Dolores” and “Coco” coming out in the same season? A: It’s an exciting time and, I confess, kind of a relief, because what it means, what it indicates is that, at long last, Latino culture for what it is — and what it is in this country is quintessentially American — is finally getting its due. Our cultural contributions are part of the great American canon, whether it’s taking an artistic form or a political one. Our stories are not only relevant, but are universally relatable. It speaks to a certain degree of courage on Pixar’s part to recognize not only the vastness and influence of Latino culture, but also how rich and authentic the stories that come from that cultural life are. Q: How important is it to be able to tell the story of a people? For most of Hollywood’s history, it was only telling one story in a country that is home to so many different cultures. A: It’s odd, because as a kid who grew up in the city, one of the most progressive, liberal, culturally diverse cities in the world, I never second-guessed what it was I was a product of. Nor did my brother. It wasn’t until the late ’80s after graduating from the American Conservatory Theater that I woke up to the shocking reality that Hollywood wasn’t at all interested in depicting what exists, this world that I know, this melting pot. The American ideal, the American dream is that it’s a country of immigrants. Yet that wasn’t being depicted at all in film and television shows when I first tried to make it as a professional.