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TIKTOK'S FAVORITE BARISTA LORENA JUSINO By Adam Kluger
Lorena, your Calla Lily character is so awesome, how did you create her? Since moving to New York I’ve heard people talk about Bushwick somehow like it is in the Calla Lily skit. A few months ago, my friend Dalí was describing Bushwick that way and told me to watch the SNL Bushwick sketch which I thought was hilarious and pretty accurate to some parts of Bushwick I know. A few days before I did the first “Bushwick Coffee Shop” video I went to a really cool coffee shop and the barista was really kind and had a really soft soothing voice. A couple of days later I told Dalí about that coffee shop and that it was just like she had described places in Bushwick. And then she made a comment that inspired the line “Do you want a bit of CDB oil?”. After that, I decided to make the first video. At first, I thought about making it an LA coffee shop because I thought it would be too far-fetched to make a coffee shop in Brooklyn like that. But I’ve never been to LA so I decided to make it more specific to my experience. After posting the first video I received a lot of comments saying it was accurate. I started visiting more coffee shops in Bushwick and that inspired me to make more videos. The video where I say that we don’t have egg and cheese bagels was based on a recent experience I had where I was craving one and the barista told me they didn’t serve those there. I was shocked that a New York coffee shop didn’t have eggs and cheese bagels. One of the commenters asked me the character's name and I googled flower names and I thought Calla Lily was fitting. I think this character resonates with people because they either had similar experiences at coffee shops they’ve been to or because I’m talking in a very calm soothing way that’s relaxing. I’ve received 58
many comments that it’s like ASMR. And there’s also the outrageous comedic side of it. What got you interested in comedy? I’ve never thought of myself as funny. I loved doing funny videos as a kid but it has never been my intention to get into comedy. I always wanted to be an actress but I was too afraid to pursue it. I’m from Puerto Rico and when I was in college I came to NYC for a semester as part of a student exchange program. I took an acting class and fell so in love with it that I decided to pursue it as a career. After college, I officially moved to NYC to study acting at the William Esper Studio. It was during my second year there that I did a couple of comedic scenes and people were saying that I could be really funny. After graduating from the studio was cast in a comedy sketch show called “A Sketch of New York”. After that, I was in a couple of other short plays that were comedic. I joined TikTok during the lockdown in March. Since I’m not a dancer and it takes me days to learn a simple 15-second dance I thought that learning TikTok dances would be a good way to keep me distracted and entertained. Then I discovered that you can use different audios and create a situation out of them or make them like memes. And eventually, I started getting ideas to create my own characters. I’ve been handling this year by taking it day by day. I eat healthily and work out. That really helps ease anxiety. I’m introverted so I enjoy being home which helps. I've been reading and watching movies and series. What do you think of TikTok? I love TikTok. There’s something for everyone. There are health experts
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and teachers educating people in really fun ways. I also follow a couple of therapists that give great advice. There are activists using TikTok to bring awareness and get their message across. And you have actors like me using TikTok as a creative outlet. One of the things that makes me laugh the most is when people recreate famous movie scenes and they play all the roles. Two of them are @julianburzynski and @cocodevile. Other hilarious creators are @ flossybaby and @brodywellmaker. Then some of the ones that inspired the content I do are @kallmekris, @ jen_nicole33, @actressbecc, and @ itscaitlinhello. My TikTok handle is @
lorenazoejt and my Instagram is @ lorenazoe Cool! If I were to pick out some other terrific/hilarious TikTok stars I would also add @michaelrapaport for his political rants, @shannonfiedler13 for her impressions, @ leresatee for her stand-up, and @ameliasanson for her take on dating... So Lorena, aside from serving up smiles and delicious coffee infused with the energy of moonbeams, any other with future plans? My goal at the moment is to be a working actress. I want to get cast on a film or series and once the theaters are open again I want to do plays.
