Showrunner and creator extraordinaire Gloria Calderón Kellett’s latest series, With Love is set to premiere Dec. 17. Following the success of her award-winning One Day At A Time starring Rita Moreno, Justina Machado and Todd Grinnell, Calderón Kellet once again proves why she is considered one of Hollywood’s most successful TV producers.

With Love’s series premiere of Nochebuena introduces us to the Diaz family—Diaz siblings, Lily (Emeraude Toubia) and Jorge Jr. (Mark Indelicato), who are on a mission to find love and purpose. Their parents stars Benito Martinez and Constance Marie– oh the joy of life with an all American-Latino familia! 

Another recurring actor who caught our attention is Birdie Silverstein, who portrays Charlie and happens to be the daughter of Busy Phillipps. Birdie is proving to be quite a delightful gift and is making a splash and Hollywood is paying attention.

Of course, being the outspoken and gregarious Latino family, what could go wrong during the stress-heightened days leading to the Christmas holidays? Everything, that’s what!

The Diaz family has gathered for their annual Christmas Eve gathering known as Nochebuena. The family comes together not just bearing gifts but also with a truck load of personal problems and issues they are currently dealing with. 

With Love is a groundbreaking television production in that it has cast one of this generation’s most influential transgender woman, Isis King, who portrays Sol Delgado. The rest of the cast in the first five episodes includes Vincent Rodriguez III (I Heart Arlo, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Todd Grinnell (Hollywoodland, One Day At A Time), Rome Flynn (How to Get Away with Murder, A Madea Family Funeral), Andre Royo (Hand Of God), Desmond Chiam (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and Calderón Kellett herself as Gladys Delgado. 

Bring on the mix bag of tamales! Feliz Navidad! Watch on Prime Video.

Featured Photo: With Love follows the Diaz siblings as they navigate their love, family and life. (Credit: Kevin Estrada/Amazon Studios)

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Hamilton actress and singer Ariana DeBose and Encanto singer Sebastián Yatra will appear on the ABC special The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration Nov. 28.

DeBose will join country singer and Rock of the Ages actress Julianne Hough in the rendition of “We Need a Little Christmas,” “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Holiday” medley.

The Carolina-born DeBose debuted on the TV series So You Think You Can Dance in 2009, and has alternated acting between Hollywood and theater stages. Her credits include the vampire series True Blood, the drama series One Life to Live, the indie film Daphne and the musical plays Hairspray and Bring It On. The Afro-Latina actress has played the roles of famous singers in Broadway productions, like Mary Wilson in Motown and Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Her role in Hamilton in 2015 meant she was part of the musical’s original cast whose live performance was filmed for Disney+’s Hamilton. 

For his part, multiple Latin Grammy-nominated Yatra will sing “Dos Oruguitas,” track number six on the soundtrack for Disney’s animated film Encanto, which is set in a fantastical Colombia. The song was written and composed by Grammy Award-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame. The song also was produced by Miranda along with Mike Elizondo. “Dos Oruguitas” is one of a few songs in Spanish among the movie soundtrack’s 45 tracks. The film’s album was released one week before the film’s premiere Nov. 24 in time for Thanksgiving weekend.

Yatra has received eight nominations for the Latin Grammy, the two most recent in 2020 for his collaboration with Colombian singer Juanes in the single “Bonita”–both as Song of the Year and Best Pop Son. 

The Medellin-born and Miami-raised Yatra will also perform a “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” medley in the yuletide TV special. 

In The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, DeBose and Yatra will join a lineup that includes artists like Julianne Hough, Jimmie Allen, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Brett Eldredge, Needtobreathe, Switchfoot, Norah Jones and Gwen Stefani.

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” and “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade” are executive produced by Sally Conner for Disney Parks, who brought on production company 45 Live and executive producer Michael Antinoro.

The Nov. 28 show will air from 7 to 9 p.m., Eastern Standard Time/Pacific Standard Time. 

Featured Photos: Ariana DeBose (Credit: Kat Hennessey/Courtesy of artist) / Sebastian Yatra (Credit: Courtesy, self)

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Robert Rodriguez’s superhero, adventure filmWe Can Be Heroes premieres on Netflix on Christmas day. It is a sweet, feel-good family film starring some of Hollywood’s top talent.

Texan native, Rodriguez’s directorial debut film El Mariachi earned the distinction of being the lowest-budget movie to make $1 million at the US box office and launched his career in 1993. His cutting-edge visual style seen in his horror (From Dusk till Dawn) and action (Sin City) films, has made Rodriquez one of the most famous, influential, and beloved directors in contemporary American cinema. For We Can Be Heroes Rodriguez, once again takes on multiple roles including director, writer, producer, editor, and director of photography.

We Can Be Heroes is the stand-alone sequel to Rodriguez’s 2005 film The Adventures of Lavagirl and Sharkboy – 3D which follows a young boy named Max as he’s recruited by two imaginary superhero friends, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, to save their home planet, Planet Drool.

In We Can Be Heroes, Sharkboy and Lavagirl are now adults in the real world. They’re a part of a team of elite Earth superheroes called The Heroics led by Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascual). When the earth is threatened by a massive alien invasion, The Heroics have their super children sent to safety, under the care of the strict government babysitter, Ms. Granada (Priyanka Chopra Jonas).

However, when The Heroics are kidnaped by the aliens, the superkids, led by Moreno’s daughter Missy (YaYa Gosselin,) escape from Ms. Granada. Together they go on an adventure learning to use their strengths and unique powers, as a team to save both their parents and the world.

Throughout the film, there is an emphasis on the importance of teamwork among the diverse group of people, including gender, race, and physical ability. Every superkid, despite what limitations others put on them, is able to use their individual power to excel both in the group and individually. This is especially evident in Missy who must overcome her own insecurities and believe in herself, in order to effectively learn to lead.

Intent on making We Can Be Heroes as true an authentic family film, Rodriguez collaborated with four of his five children, Racer Max, Rebel, Rogue, and Rhiannon. For instance, Racer Max who initially created the characters of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, was also a co-producer on We Can Be Heroes. While Rebel wrote the film’s score. The film’s music references rock icon David Bowie’s hit song Heroes, which can be heard throughout the film. The phrase, “We can be heroes”, is one of the most recognizable lyrics of the song.

Rodriguez shared how he wanted We Can Be Heroes to be a children’s version of The Avengers. Expressing how, “The genre is a great way to present a mythology, but grounded in family values and messages for children,” he said and added “If kids are going to watch a film over and over, you want to give them something that teaches them about family, working together, inspiring others, and using all of their personal power to change the world for the better”.

In these turbulent times when adults don’t seem to have all of the answers and with so much infighting among them, children are left to feel unsure about their futures. We Can Be Heroes gives children positive encouragement. It gives hope that with each new generation comes the opportunity to rebuild and go further than the generation before them.

We Can Be Heroes premiers on Friday, December 25, 2020.

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Every year about this time, the cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is abuzz with the production of La Virgen de Guadalupe presented by the Los Angeles Theater Center’s Latino Theater Company. This year the tradition continues virtually and will continue to be free of charge starting on December 11 and streaming through to December 20th.

La Virgen de Guadalupe, written by Evelina Fernandez has become a Christmas family tradition in the City of Los Angeles. It is widely known for its majesty and magical story of Juan Diego, an indigenous peasant who in 1531 witnessed the apparition of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin chose Juan Diego to carry a message to the Bishop of Mexico about building a cathedral in her honor.

The presenting of this play during the holidays has become a cornerstone of the Latino Theater Company and is presented as a “gift” to the L.A. community, free of charge.

The cast is a blend of professional actors in the lead roles and commuity members including children who also make up some of the choir and the “pueblo”. This beautiful pageant play features Aztec dance and music with a universal message of faith, love and perseverance.

Featured photo of Sal Lopez who plays Juan Diego is courtesy of The Los Angeles Theater Center

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The popular cable channel Lifetime is celebrating their 30^th anniversary of the first Lifetime Original Movie, by announcing over 50 new original films set for release between May and December of 2020, including Mario Lopez’s newest Christmas film project, Feliz NaviDAD.

Feliz NaviDAD is written by Peter Murrieta (Wizards of Wavery Place, One Day at a Time and Cristela) and produced by Mark Roberts (Mexico’s Next Top Model, The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia and Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire). Melissa Joan Hart will be directing. The film stars Lopez and Paulina Chavez as his daughter (Ashley Garcia in The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia).

In Feliz NaviDad Lopez plays is a widower struggling with his first Christmas after the passing of his beloved wife. His daughter makes it her mission to help him rediscover his Christmas spirit. Lopez will be both star and the executive producer of this heartwarming Christmas family-friendly movie.

It has been highlighted as one of the featured films for Lifetime’s yearly Christmas film block tradition It’s a Wonderful Lifetime. This will be Lopez’s second-holiday film with Lifetime, after the rom-com A Very Merry Toy Story (2017).

Hart will join Lopez in Feliz NaviDAD as the film’s director and actress. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Hart revealed that Lopez himself asked her to direct this film. Hart has made a name for herself as a television director, which including the original Netflix series The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, which was co-created by Lopez. Feliz NaviDAD will also be the third rom-com holiday film collaboration between Hart and Lopez, including their first and most popular film, Holiday in Handcuffs (2017).

While Lopez is primarily known for his role as A.C. Slater in Saved By the Bell and playing Greg Louganis in the TV movie Breaking The Surface: The Greg Louganis Story. He has been doing a lot of work as an entertainment host, currently on Access Hollywood.  Recently he has been producing a multiple TV shows and films, such as Champs, A Very Merry Christmas, The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, and the Saved by the Bell reboot.

Though there are concerns about film projects, either starting or finishing during this uncertain time of COVID-19, according to iHeart Radio’s On with Mario Lopez, the production has gotten the green light to begin production on June 8th.

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