The Playmaker: Ariana Raygoza on Blurring the Lines Between Artistry and Football

Ariana Raygoza cut her teeth under the bright lights of Los Angeles, ultimately finding her way in roles in shows such as Barry and Insecure. From East LA to NYC and back again, this multi-hyphenate talent used her roots in the arts and athletics to carve out a space where acting, fashion, and football can collide into a cohesive, storytelling force for good. In this conversation, we got to learn how Ariana turned her love of performance and play into a vehicle for healing, connection, and activism.

41: Where did you grow up?

AR: I grew up on the eastside of Los Angeles, then I lived in New York for six years. I studied acting and business at NYU, and when I moved back home I got really involved with acting work. Once the pandemic hit and the Hollywood strikes right after, it really shifted the way the industry was going. So I started pivoting into soccer, and I was able to blend my creative work and one of my lifelong passions with others. Now, my work utilizes my background in acting and modeling to create projects that mix football, fashion, and storytelling all together. 

 How long have you been working in the arts?

I would probably say since I was 16. I started working in productions with people older than me, creating short films, and it’s been almost 15 years of doing performance work since then. It’s taken different forms during that time, whether it’s being on stage or in front of the camera for photoshoots to working in casting now, which has been really fun so far. 

Do you feel like at this point you have something that you’ve settled on, or is there still opportunity to jump into something new?

I think now more than ever, you need to have more opportunities and platforms. In the past, people in the acting industry would push you into a certain role. I used to get cast in a lot of bratty, stuck up roles and they wanted that to be my MO. But that is no longer the way to go. We need to be leaning on our multiple passions, our side hustles are now our livelihoods. The more multifaceted you are, the more your passions and interests can support each other. 

How do you preserve the essence of your passions in the face of this new shift?

It’s about the integrity of it all, and that’s important to have in a culture that’s so results oriented. If I’m focused on getting seen or exposed on Instagram, then I’ve lost the point of it all. One thing I’ve leaned on is remembering what brought me joy in the first place. How can my five year old self understand what’s fun about this? With soccer, I loved passing the ball so everyone can get involved, and I realized that’s how I work in any space. That’s where the integrity comes from and what makes my work successful, it’ll never feel like a job to me. 

How did you get involved in soccer? What were some of your influences growing up?

I give all the credit to my dad. He came to the States from Mexico and passed down his passion for the game to me. He was my coach from when I was five and he was there when I tore my knee and had to stop playing. He knew I loved to perform so he was always looking for ways to combine my interests together. That’s how I got into this soccer journalism program, I ended up writing an article about the movie Goal! and got to interview the cast as well. So not only soccer was a big part of my life, I was already learning about how I can be creative in this sport. 

What’s been the process like in finding roles that are tied to your history and what you want to showcase?

It’s been a mission of mine to look for those roles, because I feel so protective over making sure authentic stories are being told. Soccer exceeds borders, so many communities have connected with it because the barrier for entry is so low. And because of that, we’ve been able to find so much common ground. That’s why accurate representation is so important to me, it’s something I can’t be quiet on.  I want the models that are posing for this soccer brand or platform to actually have a history with the game. I want the people in charge of creating these projects to know what the game is, and what it means to so many people. 

You still find time to play and be active in soccer, how was that possible for you?

It’s really like therapy. I was talking to Sam, who is 1/2 of the team behind Systemarsoa, and they were telling me you might have a million things to do, if I can’t play, then I can’t function. It’s a catharsis, not only to play and move your body but to be around new energy. It’s what I feel most accountable to outside of my work. I’ve been playing for a rec team Alien OG FC for five years, working from the lowest division all the way to the top. And knowing that I have a game on Sunday is what gets me through the week. I wouldn’t have made it in LA if it wasn’t for them, they became my support system. 

What advice can you give others looking to find those types of soccer communities? Any in LA (or elsewhere) you wish to highlight?

I really found a home in the pickup game sphere in LA. I know it can be tricky, there are great pickups that cost money – like $5-10- and I think it’s a fair tradeoff. Organizers are out here renting fields, covering insurance, and creating safe, accessible spaces. That work matters. 

But a lot of my favorite games are the ones where the neighborhood comes together on a field like Glassell Park. It doesn’t matter what skill level you are or how young you are, there’s a place for you and that’s really beautiful. 

For leagues, I grew up with the Pasadena Adult Soccer League, which my dad was a part of the development board. When I moved back to LA, it was just as active as when I was a kid. They have such a wide range of options to play in – men’s, women’s or coed. It’s a great way to meet people that you wouldn’t have met otherwise. 

Now I’ve started organizing soccer tournaments and fundraisers, it helps me invite people of different backgrounds to these inclusive spaces, and it’s something I’m continuing to flesh out and improve over time. One I’m particularly proud of was setting up a Goals for Gaza tournament last year. It was so much work, but so rewarding. And I would do it a million times over. 

Speaking of Goals 4 Gaza, which is a solitary football tournament for Palestine, what was the process and drive behind organizing an endeavor like this?

I’ve seen it done in the UK and even NYC and knew that we can organize one here. A lot of my friends and myself included were so distraught by the situation in Gaza, and there was a need to put our grief into something constructive. So once I found out that a friend was renting a field with the same idea, we got to work and word spread so organically. People from different soccer communities in LA came to offer their talents and resources to make this a reality. 

What really surprised me was how joyful it all was. We had mixed teams – moms from East LA playing with former D1 players – to prioritize connection and seeing them start the day as strangers to hugging & hi-fiving each other at the end of it was so beautiful. LA can be a stratified place, it’s so easy for people to feel isolated and alone and far away. And for one day, we brought it together.

Mind you, this was during the worst rain storms we had in LA in a long time. And the turnout was amazing, even those who couldn’t make it out donated what they could. We had drumming groups from Angel City and LAFC create new chants just for that day. We even had a spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement give a speech and jump into a game right after. 

There was so much joy and passion out of something that brought so much despair. It’s unfortunate that it takes tragedy like we see in Gaza, and earlier with the fires in LA, to support each other. But for that day, people showed up. We met our fundraising goal, and even now people keep asking when’s the next one. It was such a great thing to be a part of. 

As you know LA, specifically Pasadena and Altadena were hit hard from the fires, how did you and your soccer communities help support people in need?

Well, we went rogue. I’m from that area, so I knew people that lost their homes or were right next to the chaos. My soccer team and I couldn’t sit still, so we decided to grab shovels, P100 masks and head over there. 

We were just a ragtag group of soccer players knocking door to door, asking if they needed their yard cleared. It was such a shock to them because no one asked if they needed help in the midst of the chaos. We spent the week cleaning up dry leaves and debris to prevent any new fires popping up. More and more people joined us, and it became this unofficial, organized makeshift crew working through our grief.  There was something physically healing that came with moving to do something instead of doomscrolling, despite how dangerous it was. It was selfless and selfish that in that it helped us cope and that we were making a small difference.  

Any future projects you want us to know about? 

One thing I’ve been sitting on is creating mixes that are tied to playing on the field. During pickups I’m usually the DJ and I got interested in learning how music can affect how you move on the field. Does this song affect your BPM? Does this beat make you want to run faster? So right now, it’s slowly incubating and we’ll see what comes of it. 

Another goal is to create another fundraising tournament here. I think we have so many supporters and collaborators that are eager to do something, especially as the world is changing so quickly, I think it’s a great way for us to come together and use soccer as a platform for supporting one another.