Timing is everything — one of the first lessons I learned as a plucky 17-year-old, eager to join the magical world of live theater. I was determined when I impulsively volunteered on a school night for an upcoming production at TAMIU.
Boda de Sangre by Federico García Lorca was set to open the following week. I was aware that the cast included a Hollywood actress with roots in Laredo, but I knew hardly more than the play’s title.
I sat in the foyer as the cast arrived, waiting for the Hollywood actress to make her entrance. I imagined her to be a tall, twenty-something brunette with tan skin, long legs, and pin-straight hair; not someone who looked like me or anyone I knew.
“That’s Julia,” said Beto, the theater facility manager. “She came all the way from LA to be in this play.”
He pointed to a woman on a bench across the room with a script in her lap, rehearsing her lines in a hushed voice with her eyes closed. Sunlight trickling through the windows illuminated her silver hair, warm complexion, and features reminiscent of the women in my family.
This was Julia Vera, the Hollywood actress from Laredo — a collection of words that seemed like a paradox until that day.
Over the next two weeks, I observed her transformation into La Madre every night, never tiring of her electrifying portrayal of a prideful matriarch hellbent on preserving her family’s honor after the titular wedding goes awry.
Her journey in acting began when teachers at Macdonell Elementary noticed a little girl with a loud voice. She was frequently selected to sing in recitals and posadas, accompanied by classmates on guitar.
“They had me sing as loud as I wanted,” Vera said, noting that it wasn’t coincidence that drew her to the stage. It was the unrealized dreams of her mother, Juanita Zambrano Vera, a classically trained singer from Encinal. “She dreamt of being an actress and passed that on to me.”
She performed one act plays throughout her school years. Despite her standout talent, the need to support her family influenced her to join the Army after graduation in 1959. “I was the oldest of fourteen kids, and my dad was the only breadwinner,” she said of Juan Vera.
She trained at Fort McClellan in Alabama before transferring to Houston to study nursing. Six months after enlisting, an accident left her injured and brought her military career to an abrupt end. Vera was granted a medical discharge with honors and returned to Laredo and enrolled at Laredo Junior College.
Two years into her studies, she married Andrew Andrews, and they welcomed their first child, Pembrooke Andrews, in 1961. Four more children were born in short order by 1965, when the young couple faced an exciting opportunity.
“My husband came home one day, and he said he had gotten a job offer in Los Angeles. I went crazy,” Vera recalled. “All I could think about was Hollywood.”
Once there, she attempted to find work as an actress. She secured an agent, but struggled to attend auditions or book roles without sufficient childcare. “I had to give it up,” she said.
She decided to wait until her children reached adulthood to resume her acting career. She continued living and working in Los Angeles, where interactions with actors were commonplace.
“I met a couple of actresses, and I told them I was going to be an actress,’” Vera said.
“It’s never too late,” one of them responded.
“That was from Jane Fonda,” Vera revealed.
By the late 1980s, all five of her children were fully independent. With her husband’s blessing and two years’ worth of savings, Vera enrolled in acting classes.
Her acting instructor quickly recognized her talents and referred her to audition for a production with Nosotros, a Latino arts advocacy organization founded by actor Ricardo Montalbán. The lead actress had withdrawn after opening night due to scheduling conflicts. Vera was overwhelmed at the prospect of replacing her.
“The Nosotros Theater was untouchable. Only the best of the best were accepted there. I didn’t have a resume,” she said.
She cast her doubts aside and agreed to audition. She arrived at a locked theater to find the director standing outside, waiting for her son to drop off the keys.
The director auditioned Vera on the sidewalk in front of the theater. Vera was cast on the spot and promptly sent to rehearsal.
“Everybody contributed to learning my lines, learning the character,” she said of her castmates. “They would take turns, walking me up and down the sidewalk.”
Vera made her theatrical debut the next night in Los Angeles. Impressed by her performance, an agent offered representation. She began working “nonstop on commercials” before working in film and television.
Forty years later, her resume boasts over 100 stage, film, and TV credits, notably Speed, The X-Files, and This Fool. The latter earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2023 Imagen Awards.
She said she is semi-retired, but remains vibrant as ever, looking after her infant great-granddaughter, writing short stories and plays, and enjoying the well-deserved fruits of her labor.
“I’m very happy with the results of my life,” Vera said.
