Diana Yanez

Diana Yanez is the creator, co-writer and co-star of the Off-Broadway hit LATINA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. This masterful retelling of family antics around the holidays has been chosen as Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice" since its inception in 2015. Her first one-woman show, VIVA LA EVOLUCIÓN, about growing up Cuban and queer in Miami, won the New York International Fringe Festival “Overall Excellence Award for Solo Show” in 2010. With co-writer, Marjorie Duffield (Netflix OVER THE MOON) she wrote, performed and produced THE PIP AND PEN SHOW, a YouTube micro-series. It’s the feel-good middle-aged lesbian almost British comedy you’ve been waiting for! She has appeared on TV shows including CRIMINAL MINDS, THE SHIELD, BOSTON LEGAL, and many more.  As a comic and comedy writer, Diana has created characters as well as performed and written for Margaret Cho's SENSUOUS WOMAN SHOW Off-Broadway. She toured with Cyndi Lauper on the TRUE COLORS TOUR as a comic, writer, and performer. She has created original characters that are in various viral videos including SPANISH FOR YOUR NANNY, LET ME BORROW THAT TOP (with Liam Sullivan) and MY PUSS (with Margaret Cho). Together these videos represent over 30 million views. A writer and out stand-up comic, Diana has performed at The Groundlings, The Improv, The Comedy Store and many others. Her improv groups include THE GAY MAFIA, COMEDY SMASH, and QUEER ON YOUR FEET. Diana hails from Miami, Florida (the "Other Cuba") and is first generation Cuban-American.  She studied Fine Art in Berlin, Germany and is fluent in three languages. A passionate storyteller and performer, Diana intends that her pieces shed light on the universal truths of being human, regardless of one's color, gender, heritage or sexual orientation.
SAG-AFTRA
Dramatist Guild

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.dianayanez.com
FB: dianayanezshow
TW: @dianayanezshow
IG: @dianayanezshow

MORE ABOUT ME
“Ironically, some of my happiest childhood memories often started with a bad dream. I’d have one, wake up and go to my parents bedroom. ‘I had a nightmare,’ I would tell them.  Every single time, Mom and Dad would make space for me on their bed. They would embrace me and then set about calming me down. Naturally and without judgement or pressure, in the most genuine and vulnerable way, my parents would share with me the stories and tall tales of their lives before I came along. I was always completely amazed, transported and ultimately soothed back to sleep. I know that when I told them I wanted to pursue a creative career that it scared them but little did they know it was those very stories that inspired me to pursue the magic they had shown me.”

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
LATINA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL continues to grow and glow. Now available as a downloadable audio album, it is quickly becoming a tradition for many Latino, as well as non-Latino families. Please visit www.LatinaChristmasSpecial.com for more info and show dates.  In process: the stage play, THE DEUCE. It’s 1987. Ariana, a big haired loud-mouthed Cuban-American from New Jersey and Gustavo, a cute gay Puerto Rican with a secret meet at a legendary dive bar in Miami Beach. Despite all their experience partying, nothing has prepared them for what happens at this bar when it closes. In process: the feature-length screenplay co-written with Marjorie Duffield (Netflix OVER THE MOON), SCARY-ETTA. When Etta decides she must liquidate her famous horror-movie-star’s estate in Iceland, a stranger and her son arrive claiming to be her long lost Latino family - and by the way, they’re on the run from notorious cartel boss. It’s ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS meets ADDAMS FAMILY with a spicy splash of JANE THE VIRGIN.

KEYWORDS
Latina, Latinx, Latino, Comedy, Comic, Cuban, Miami, Florida, LA, NYC, Speaker, Storyteller, feminist, LGBTQIA, Lesbian, Queer, Family, Anti-Racist, Diversity