Laura Alemán

Carrying Puerto Rico in Every Step, from San Germán to Atlanta

By Daniela Cintron

Published May 22, 2025
Last Updated May 23, 2025

For Puerto Rican actress and producer Laura Alemán, being Boricua is not just part of her identity — it is her identity. “Being Puerto Rican is everything that I am, everything that I represent and everything that I stand for,” she says, her voice catching. It’s a sentiment that threads through her words and her work, guiding her path as an artist and as a woman forging space in Atlanta’s cultural scene.

Before standing in front of a camera, Alemán was a professional dancer, trained at the National Puerto Rican Ballet. For years, the stage was her home, and movement her language. That discipline and artistry eventually led her to a breakthrough at just 14 years old, when she booked a national commercial for Radio Shack. That experience sparked a pivot into acting, and she soon landed the lead role in the Telemundo series “Zona Y,” launching her full-time career as a performer.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Alemán grew up navigating the island from coast to coast. Her life was rooted in San Germán, Ponce and Mayagüez, while her mother worked in San Juan — a rhythm that led to her appreciation of Puerto Rico’s regional diversity. “I was always traveling the island since I was a kid,” she recalls. The early exposure to different people and places fostered an appreciation for community, heritage and cultural expression, values that continue to drive her, even as she builds a life far from the island.

Now, based in both Atlanta and Los Angeles, Alemán says what keeps her grounded is the ability to connect with others who speak Spanish and understand the nuances of Latin culture.

“I’m always seeking to connect with people who can understand me on a different level,” she says. Language for her is not just communication — it’s emotional, it’s intimate, it’s power. “Sometimes I feel I can’t really express the fullness of who I am in English.”

And that fullness? It’s layered and complex, a living reflection of Puerto Rico’s history: Taíno, African and Spanish. “I owe everything I am to my island and to the heritage that I bring from being part of a Taíno family, an African family and the Spanish mestizaje,” Alemán says. With that acknowledgment comes a sense of duty: to uplift her people, honor their resilience and represent them with integrity on every stage she steps onto, whether in film, television or life.

Even her day-to-day choices are infused with cultural reverence. “Todo lo que hago, from the things I choose to decorate my home to the music I listen to daily, has a purpose,” she says. She sees every moment as a chance to educate, to share, to invite others into the world she cherishes. “I teach people about my culture and what something specifically means so they can feel part of it and understand why we love our culture and our people.”

Atlanta, for her, has become a place where that vibrancy can flourish. She finds echoes of Puerto Rican life in the city’s neighborhoods — Midtown’s bustling streets, markets such as Ponce City Market and the ever-present rhythm of multicultural life. “There’s always this aliveness that I feel kind of resembles our communities,” she says. “People walk, eat, shop and create community. That’s what I like about Atlanta. It represents the Latinidad I bring to it — my colorfulness.”

In Laura Alemán, Atlanta has gained more than a talented actress — it has gained a cultural ambassador. With each role she takes, each conversation she has, each gesture of joy or pride in her people, Alemán weaves Puerto Rico into the fabric of her adopted home. And no matter where she goes, the island moves with her.

Meet other Puerto Rican creatives in Atlanta.

Daniela is the content manager and bilingual editor for Discover Atlanta. As an award-winning bilingual journalist, she is passionate about shinning light on untold stories about culture, food and Atlanta.