whether
she’s hosting a spoken
word event, or playing a santera, a
deputy, comedic characters, or a vixen,
deborah magdalena brings authenticity
and panache to the stage and screen.
now she'll bare her poetic soul in
her first spoken word cd spoken soul:
a survival kit of poetry.
the
puerto rican actress/poet – who
calls miami home – began amusing
friends and family at an early age
with her spontaneous comedic sketches
and dance numbers.
raised in new york, deborah is a puerto
rican native who returned to her homeland
at the rebellious age of 16.
"at the time, i had purposefully
forgotten how to speak spanish, says
deborah.” "it was only then
that i embraced being latin -- and
fell in love with the island. that
being latin is hip right now doesn't
impress me. you either are latin, or
you aren't. whether it's in style or
not."
deborah left puerto rico to study
fashion at the laboratory institute
of merchandising in new york, and continued
that education in paris. but her penchant
for dancing, acting, and writing lured
her back into entertainment -- and
her on-screen career was born.
her major break came when she landed
her first-ever audition for a role
in the hbo comedy hard core tv. deborah
trained with notables such as herbert
berghof and michael beckett. her talent
flourished, and she was hired as a
series regular on the improvisational
apollo comedy hour, and joined the
comedy troupe the edge.
the
casting director for the newz --
a nightly half-hour comedy sketch
show -- saw deborah’s mellifluous
performances on the apollo, and offered
her a part as a series regular. deborah
accepted, and moved to los angeles.
the show ran for one year.
deborah’s
desire to spend as much time possible
with her family
-- including her brother, latin grammy
winning jazz flutist nestor torres
-- prompted her to take advantage of
the numerous productions in south florida;
she has since appeared in several feature
films, tv series, and theater productions.
the vivacious deborah clinched a role
in holy man starring eddie murphy,
jeff goldblum and kelly preston. she
played a secretary in the demi moore-starrer
striptease, and appeared in the hbo
movie plato’s run with gary busey
and roy schneider.
she
played opposite gloria estefan in
the andy garcia-executive produced
hbo movie for love or country, the
life story of the renowned jazz trumpet
player – arturo sandoval. "she
carries with her a warm heart and refreshing
vitality that is always a pleasure
to be associated with." said andy
garcia
in
television, deborah was a regular
on the aaron spelling's safe harbor
- wb. she played a re-occurring role
in the chuck norris tv series sons
of thunder - cbs, was a guest star
in sins of the city – usa, and
co-starred on an independently produced
sherman hemsley pilot love thy neighbor. "deborah
was my first choice for the show, says
hemsley,” whose most notable
tv role has been that of george jefferson. "not
only is she a multi-talented actress,
and should have her own show, but she
is a wonderful person. i think of her
as my little sister."
critics
adore deborah. of her work in the
three-act play a criminal sorority,
a theater writer had this to say: "of
the cast, deborah magdalena as maria
is a knockout -- rosie perez with deeper,
darker latin soul. she makes every
line funny, and every emotion super-real."
wanting
to nurture that “dark
latin soul” and keeping “every
emotion super-real” after ten
years of constant traveling between
new york, los angeles, and miami, deborah
decided it was time for her to indulge
herself in writing and living life
to the fullest.
“the artist way by julia cameron
saved my life. the book and my writing
mentor’s voice - famed screenwriter
rafael lima - made me realize that
i can actually practice my art without
a casting director’s permission.
writing has freed me – says deborah”
coming
from an elite musical family it was
a natural evolution for her
to combine music with her very personal
writing skills and acting skills. deborah
spent one full year honing her spoken
word craft in various poetry venues
in los angeles and miami. “my
family has always supported my crazy
adventures. they only demanded that
i do more than my best- she says”
she
finally joined forces with well famed
producers of the likes of brandon
k. olmos, son of edward james olmos. “deborah
is soul, everything she does has soul.
when i heard her poetry for the first
time it was spoken soul. it was something
i had never heard or witnessed before
- says brandon” thus the title
of her cd
deborah’s father, master pianist
nestor torres sr. – affectionately
known as don nestor – accompanies
one of her poems purposely titled dear
daddy. “musically collaborating
with my dad has helped heal so many
of my male issues, throughout many
lifetimes - declares an emotional daughter.”
during
the course of deborah honing her
craft she has acquired a strong
south floridian following - “she’s
like an athlete who implements their
attributes. she takes over the stage
and crowd, captivating them with her
passion and sensuous conviction” says
an avid south floridian poetry connoisseur.
besides
hosting special poetry events, moderating
panels on the business of
spoken word, winning various slams
(lte2003 champion, mia. fl., and poetry
competitions (nikki giovanni & aretha
franklin – regional 3rd), deborah
has been and still is an active community
member. she has hosted several charity
events in miami and new york city,
including one for victims of hurricane
mitch. she has marched along side edward
james olmos and martin sheen in the
annual cezar chavez march in los angeles.
her work with aids charities stems
back to her days in high school.
presently,
on her promotional tour of - spoken
soul: a survival kit of
poetry - throughout the country, deborah
continues to work on her notable first
manuscript “letters to the men
i love”. which was showcased
in miami last summer.
“i want to live life, love life,
celebrate my culture and publicly heal,
in hopes to inspire others to do so.
it’s not about what you are;
it’s about who you are" – deborah
magdalena
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LLC (2002 - 2005) 
