LUMI CAVAZOS / ACTRESS

The romance of “Like Water for Chocolate” came true for the Mexican movie’s star, Lumi Cavazos--she and co-star Marco Leonardi now live together in Hollywood. But chances to act in English and beyond stereotype have been few. Cavazos, 29, teams with Ione Skye in the new indie “Mascara” and has the title part in composer Andrea Centazzo’s modern opera “Tina” on Saturday and next Sunday at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

ACK-CENT-U-ATE: “Sometimes the problem [in getting roles] is the accent. Honestly, I don’t see why it should be. In real life a lot of people talk with accents, especially in Los Angeles. If it’s a French accent, maybe it’s nice and they accept it. But not Mexican.”

LANGUAGE BARRIER: “ ‘Mascara’ is important because people can see me speak English a lot. I did ‘Bottle Rocket’ when I first arrived here [four years ago]. It got great reviews. But my character didn’t have to speak English.”

A BREAK: “In that way, ‘Tina’ [about photographer-revolutionary Tina Modotti] is a showcase. We’re inviting a lot of people from the industry. It’s a great character--passionate artist and revolutionary--and a very artsy project. I’m very lucky to be part of this.”

TYPE CAST: “In general, [Hollywood] has focused on the problems of illegals coming to this country when having Latino characters. I don’t want to play the typical characters for Latinos. We should break with that stereotype.”

CHOICE ROLES: “There’s a film project about Carmen Miranda that has been suggested for me, but I haven’t read the script. And Salma Hayek is doing the film about Frida Kahlo, producing it. We have talked about me maybe playing Constina, Frida’s sister. It would be great to act together with her.”

COMPANY TOWN: “Hollywood is pretty different than Mexico. In other cities you walk a lot. Here it is more about you and your car. And it is all about the movie industry here, and I’m not. Maybe that’s why it’s taking time for me to get roles. I want to have a life beyond my professional life.”

FILM EN ESPANOL: “Our movie industry in Mexico is still in development. They should promote more of the films outside of Mexico. There are a lot of people interested in Mexican culture here. We have been sharing a history for a long time.”

TRUE ROMANCE: “Mario and I support each other very much and haven’t had problems. He just finished ‘The Hangman’s Daughter,’ the prequel to ‘From Dusk Til Dawn,’ and he goes back very often to [his native] Italy to work.”