María Canals-Barrera has spent decades building a career across television and film, but for an entire generation, seeing her in person can instantly bring them back to childhood and some of their favorite Latina actresses: Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.
The Cuban American actress, beloved for playing Theresa Russo on Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place and Connie Torres in the Camp Rock movies, spoke about that enduring connection during an interview with this reporter at UltraCon in Palm Beach, Florida, this weekend. She also gave voice to the animated version of Hawk Girl, played by Isabela Merced in the latest DC movies.
Canals-Barrera said encounters with fans frequently become emotional, something she experiences not only at conventions but also in everyday life.
"Oh my gosh. Every day, on the street, at cons, at this event," she said when asked what people tell her when they approach her. "They get emotional too, because it's a very special time. The time of being children."
For Canals-Barrera, realizing that her work became part of the childhood memories of so many viewers has also been emotional.
"It touches my heart, and it's an honor for me to be part of the childhood of so, so many people," she said. "It's beautiful. Beautiful."
That connection spans some of the most recognizable projects of Disney Channel's late-2000s era.
Canals-Barrera starred as the Russo family matriarch alongside Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin on Wizards of Waverly Place, which premiered in 2007, and Wizards Beyond Waverly Place: One Last Spell, which had it's last season this year. Her character was the non-magical parent in a household where her three children were learning to control their powers, grounding the fantasy comedy with a recognizable family dynamic.
She also played Connie Torres, the mother of Demi Lovato's Mitchie Torres, in Disney Channel's Camp Rock, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, and this 2026 third installment of the franchise, where she was promoted to Camp Director.The movies became defining titles of the Disney Channel era and also starred the Jonas Brothers.
Years later, fans who grew up watching those productions are now adults, some with their own children, but Canals-Barrera said their reactions demonstrate how closely entertainment can become tied to memories of childhood.
The actress also reflected at UltraCon on another part of her career and identity: what it has meant to navigate Hollywood as a Latina performer.
Asked about the state of Latino representation in the entertainment industry, Canals-Barrera said she believes progress has not always moved in a straight line.
"We've been moving backwards, and we need to move forwards," she said.
Rather than restricting Latino performers to a small number of roles specifically written as Latino, she argued that actors should have opportunities to audition across a much broader range of characters.
Canals-Barrera recalled her husband joking that instead of focusing exclusively on securing "three or four" designated Latino roles, the industry should "open up the doors for us to play the 500 roles" that might otherwise be viewed as non-Latino.
"Really letting the actor audition and may the best person get it and not necessarily filter us out if we happen to have a Latin surname or any kind of other ethnic name," she said. "I think letting us act is really the key."
Canals-Barrera also emphasized the diversity that exists within the Latino community, noting that Latinos come in different races and skin tones.
But at UltraCon, the affection from fans offered its own reminder of the impact she has already made.
For viewers who once watched Theresa Russo navigate the magical chaos of the Russo household or saw Connie Torres supporting her daughter at Camp Rock, meeting Canals-Barrera today isn't simply meeting an actress from a favorite Disney production.
For many, it is meeting someone who was part of their childhood.
