Bravo’s ‘Southern Charm’ Star Rodrigo Reyes On The Importance Of Latino Visibility
30.11.2023 - 19:27
/ deadline.com
Rodrigo Reyes joined the cast of Southern Charm in Season 9 and his participation gave Latinos visibility on the Bravo reality series for the first time in the show’s history.
Although Reyes seemed to appear out of nowhere to viewers, he has been running in the Southern Charm circles for years.
“I am happy to be a part of it. I’ve known everyone for so long, so it’s been comfortable to slide into reality TV,” Reyes told us.
Coming into the Bravoverse was easy for Reyes as he tells us he was already close to Shep Rose and Austen Kroll.
“When I first moved into Charleston, Shep was one of my first friends that I made well before the show because we met through mutual friends,” he adds. “I met Austen because he’s really good friends with some of my closest friends. Charleston is very small and if you live downtown, you basically know everyone’s business and everyone knows each other for the most part.”
Reyes is the first representation of Latinos in the long-running reality series. His dad is from the Mexican state of Durango, while his mom is a third-generation Mexican American. Reyes grew up in Arizona where there was a lot of diversity and living in Charleston has been a significant change for him.
“Coming to Charleston I didn’t initially feel like an odd man out because Charleston has a lot of history, and culture that people take pride in,” he says. “For me, making really good friends that were open and accepting didn’t feel like a hard task to make this place home.”
Reyes notes that he’s “grateful for the opportunity” to represent Latinos on Southern Charm and Bravo. As one of the few Latinos on the cable network, his visibility is essential to Latino viewers. At BravoCon, Reyes connected with Danielle Olivera from