Jose Yenque's powerful performances have warranted notable mentions and strong recognition. His most recognizable role was in the Steven Soderbergh film 'Traffic' (2000) where he portrayed a corrupt Tijuana soldier known as the "Torturer" opposite Benicio Del Toro. Yenque's TV film debut earned him an 'ALMA Award' for _Foto-Novelas: The Fix (1997)_ (dir Carlos Avila) in which he played a down and out boxer in search of redemption. Director Carlos Avila (I) later cast Yenque in the feature film Price of Glory (2000) opposite Jimmy Smits. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, son of veteran New York Broadway stage actress Teresa Yenque, Jose Yenque grew up in the theater. After graduating High School he was offered a scholarship to Ballet Hispanico of N.Y. Yenque also trained extensively in several NY Theater companies. He then toured internationally 'West Side Story' where he received rave reviews for his portrayal of "Bernardo" before moving to Los Angeles.
A few of Yenque's notable film credits are I Believe in America (2007) (dir. Michael Navarez) with 'Jaime Harris' and Melissa Leo and The Last Adam (2006) (dir. Ed Banuel) with Leonard Roberts and Carl Lewis. Yenque also received rave reviews for his work in the complex lead role of an assassin torn between his family, work and self-sexuality in the unconventional Spanish love story Puños rosas (2004)produced by Televisa. Yenque has also had the honor to work with his mother Teresa Yenque, as well as Lisa Vidal and Miriam Colon, in The Blue Diner (2001) (dir. Jan Egelson). The film won the "Audience Choice Award" in the 'New York's International Latino Film Festival' and in the 'Havana International Film Festival'. It has been shown on 'HBO' Latino and 'PBS'. Yenque's notable Television performances have been seen on hit prime shows such as ER, Lincoln Heights, Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, NYPD Blue and the The X-Files. Most television viewers remember Yenque as "Gabriel" in 'Lifetime' Network's 'The Division'. Yenque also enjoyed lending his voice talent for the snake-like villain "Copperhead" on WB's Justice League (2001) for the Cartoon Network.
In 2004, He played an immigrant dad struggling to make a better life for his American-born son played by Jeffrey Licon in the AFI short Wednesday Afternoon (2004) (dir. Alonso F. Mayo), which was picked in 2005 by the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' as the Gold Medal winner in the 32nd Annual Student Academy Awards, and in Broken (2006) (dir. David Wendelman) Yenque endured 6 weeks of strenuous boxing training in order to portray "Luis" a boxer coming to terms with the end of his career. His devoted hard work paid off for this performance when he received the 'Best Actor' award for 'Broken' in November 2006 at the 'International Hispanic Film Festival'. Presently, Yenque stars in the film Between (2005) (dir. David Ocanas) opposite Poppy Montgomery, Patricia Reyes Spíndola and Danny Pino which premiered at the 2005 'Sundance Film Festival' and is airing on the 'Lifetime' network in 2007. Yenque can also be seen this fall in the new ABC drama _Marlowe (2007)_. Near the end of 2007, Yenque will resume the role of 'Leo' in the film Disenchanted Island (2008) which is the sequel to I Believe in America (2007) (dir. Michael Navarez).
In early 2007 Yenque received the Sol Azteca Award (Indio, CA.) "Ambassador of the Year" for his 7 years of volunteer work with the children of Casa Hogar Sion orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. This was endorsed by Congress woman Mary Bono. In 2006 The Sol Award from the Cine Sol film festival (Texas) for his "Outstanding Contribution to the Arts".
