Written by Roberto Leal

Since its streaming-only debut on HBO Max during Father’s Day Weekend, Father of the Bride has grown into a critically acclaimed mega-hit not only in Latin America, but world-wide. HBO proudly announced that Father of the Bride categorically has had the largest viewing audience of any streaming-only movie on their platform to date.

So why has this third retelling of a popular iconic family romantic comedy struck such a resounding emotional chord globally? What’s in the secret salsa of this wildly popular and successful film? Let’s check out some of the special ingredients that went into the making of Father of the Bride.

The Latino Reimagining

Father of the Bride has been described as a “reboot” or a “remake”, of the classic 1950 original Father of the Bride with Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor or the subsequent 1991 remake with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Martin Short. The only common thread connecting the three films is the basic plot and the title of the movie. 

As written by Matt Lopez (Race to Witch Mountain, Bedtime Stories) and directed by Gary Alazraki(Club de Cuervos, We Are the Nobles) this incarnation of Father of the Bride is not a reboot in the sense they took an old existing movie and simply replaced the old cast with an all Latino one. Additionally, the vision of both Lopez and Alazraki in Father of the Bride was told through the cultural lens of two vibrant Latino communities in the U.S. The Cuban-American and Mexican take on the story make it more than just a mere remake but rather a complete reimagining and creation of a unique, standalone story.

Authentic storytelling from the top creatives who happen to be Latino and know the culture is not lost at all in the success of this film.

Lopez and Alazraki also cleverly start the story with what is often referred to as a “McGuffin” which is an object or device in a movie that serves merely as a trigger for the plot. In this case, the McGuffin is the opening scene in which Billy Herrera played by Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven, The Godfather, Part III) and his wife of 30+ years, Ingrid played Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman and seven-time Grammy winner, Gloria Estefan, decide in one of their marriage counseling session to divorce. 

This turns on the emotional current that influences Billy’s reaction to his daughter, Sophie, Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Emerald City) who comes home announcing she has proposed and will marry Adan Castillo a Mexican EMO man played by Diego Boneta (Terminator Dark Fate, Luis Miguel: The Series). The couple plans to move to Mexico to work at non-profit which helps immigrants along the border.

The Cuban/Mexican Culture Clash

The wedding surprise announcement set off Billy’s traditional protective and cautionary Cuban sensibilities on how the wedding will proceed. His cultural alarm bells are further set off when he meets his future in-laws from Mexico.

The oft-heard claim that Latinos are not a monolith is brought into sharp scrutiny in Father of the Bride in a playful, tongue-in-cheek comic clash of cultures between Mexico and Cuba that delightfully stands every stereotypical portrayal of Latinos on its collective head.

Sophie’s fiancé Adan is the complete antithesis of the stereotypical macho Mexican male. He practices yoga, is a tree-hugger, doesn’t like sports, wears glasses and looks more European than mestizo.

Adan’s flamboyant father, Hernan Castillo, Pedro Damián (Showtime, Like, la leyenda), turns out to be to Billy’s surprise, a bombastic but affable, multi-millionaire business tycoon who owns a super luxury yacht that is so big it has five zip codes and three time zones. Hernan also has a very young trophy wife and child, but still maintains a relationship with his ex-wife. These are different but positive Latino representations rarely seen in Hollywood movies.

Unstereotypical Matters, Matter

Garcia’ career has mostly veered from playing the typical Hollywood Latino stereotypes, but it is a practice that has negatively affected the image of U.S. Latinos around the world and that is an important issue to Garcia. He sees Father of the Bride as a movie that moves the needle forward in the right direction.

“There was both an honor and an obligation to deliver a story that’s within the Latin cultures, in this case, the Cuban and the Mexican, trying to relate to one another,” Garcia told Entertainment Weekly in trying to make the point of the importance in the representation of Latinos in film.  “There’s an obligation to do it right without stereotypes that represent universal themes”

Comedic Chemistry 

The on-screen chemistry and comedic timing between Garcia and Estefan are the result of a 30-year personal friendship and growing up in the Cuban-American culture of Miami. Estefan, who has won more Grammys than the NY Yankees have won World Series proves herself to be as good an actress as she is a singer. As Ingrid, Estefan is strong, funny and loving. Garcia, as the stubborn, tradition-bound, conservative Cuban who came to America as an exile and became the most sought-after architect in Miami, now feels his world crumbling around him. It’s a role and performance Garcia has grown into as an actor. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Billy Herrera or being married to anyone other than Gloria Estefan as his beloved Ingrid.

Father of the Bride ReDux

Because of its enormous popularity and streaming numbers after just one week in release, there is already talk of a sequel to Father of the Bride.  In the current film Cora  (Isabela Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight, Instant Family) Billy’s younger daughter designed and designed the wedding and bridesmaid dresses for Sophie’s wedding. The sequel could have Cora designing her own wedding gown for her nuptials. The question is, will Billy Herrera have the energy and financial wherewithal in  Father of the Bride 2 for another wedding?  One can only hope so.

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Father of the Bride is currently streaming on HBO Max.

The post Film Review:  Five Reasons ‘Father of the Bride’ Is a Hit first appeared on .

By Cris Franco

Cuban-born, Aurelio de la Vega taught, mentored and inspired students, performers and artists, including visual artists whom he encouraged and patronized. Testimonies abound of both his generosity and his uncanny ability to affect lives, both personally and through his music. “He was one of those people you must remember as ‘before and after’,” one of his students  remarked. In addition to his work as a composer, de la Vega distinguished himself as poet, essayist and human rights advocate. 

In 1959, the mature composer moved permanently to Los Angeles. The fall of the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship had caught him in the middle of a U.S. lecture tour, after which he returned to Havana. But after a brief stay, the hostile context he found persuaded him to emigrate. In the U.S., once he had become a citizen, de la Vega became a vocal critic of the Castro regime, particularly its dismal record of human rights abuses and persecution of dissident artists and intellectuals, all of which had contributed to the destruction of a free Cuban culture. In reaction, de la Vega saw his ever-growing catalog and world-wide acclaim banned consistently in Cuba from all mention and performance, including air waves. Only in 2009, half a century after going into exile, as an overdue recognition of lifetime achievement, was Intrata (1972), one of his more ambitious works, performed publicly in Havana by the Cuban National Orchestra.

A prolific composer, lecturer, essayist, and poet.  His impressive catalog includes orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano and electronic works and his commissions were sought the world over. Throughout his long career he garnered  numerous recognitions, among them the Friedheim Award of the Kennedy Center for the performing arts which he received twice (1978, 1984), the Cintas Foundation William B. Warren Lifetime Achievement Award; the Carlos Vo Hispanic Imperial Order, of which he was made a member; and four nominations to the Latin Grammy Awards, three times for Best Classical Contemporary Composition and once for Best Classical Album.

In his honor, the Verdi Chorus has just announced the Maestro Aurelio De La Vega Guest Artist Fund which will provide enhanced funding for guests artists that perform with the group. Chorus President Frank Strauss said, “Aurelio De La Vega was a key figure for both the classical music world  and the Verdi Chorus itself. One of his greatest joys was discovering and nurturing talent. During his life, he personally sponsored the guest sopranos that sang with the Verdi Chorus.  This new fund, created in his honor, will extend  into the future financial support to all guest artists who sing with the Verdi Chorus, and will serve as a way to continue the Maestro’s important legacy.”

Of their spring concert, titled “Hélas mon Coeur” (Alas my heart) conductor Anne Marie Ketchum says, “The title for this program feels appropriate on so many levels. Aside from being the title of one of the most beautiful ensembles from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, the phrase itself, ‘Alas, my heart’ sums up both the losses we have all experienced over the past two years, and the bittersweet hope for what lies ahead as we launch our 39th season. It’s a strong and emotive program which our three sensational guest artists including renowned baritone Roberto Perlas Gómez who, with over 100 roles to his credit, has performed extensively throughout the United States.” 

Performance times are Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, May 15 at 2:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, located at 1220 2^nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401.  

Tickets are available for purchase at www.verdichorus.org. 

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By Bel Hernandez

The new ABC series The Baker and The Beauty takes a Cuban family who owns a bakery, a scorned Latina ex-girlfriend, an international fashion mogul and her overprotective manager, and breaks all stereotypes — giving us the all American rom-com.  This colliding of cultures creates the impossible love story which premieres tonight on ABC at 10/11 EST.  

ABC is counting on the fact that a romantic comedy is just what America needs now — and this was before the “Stay in Shelter” order currently in place because of the CoronaVirus 19. It is based on an Israeli hit TV series created by Assi Asar and currently airing ist 2nd season. It has been praised by audiences and critics alike, the American version was fast tracked, announced in early 2019 and in just over a year, it is premiering in the U.S.

Daniel Garcia (Victor Rasuk) is working in the family owned Miami bakery and doing everything that his loving Cuban parents and siblings expect him to do. But on a wild night, he meets international super star Noa Hamilton (Nathalie Kelley) and his life moves into the spotlight much to the angst of her manager (Dan Bucatinsky).  As for Daniel’s family his younger sister (Belissa Escobedo) was already a of Noa followers on social media; his brother, DJ Cubano (David Del Rio) wants her to play his music at her events; and Daniel’s parents (Lisa Vidal and Carlos Gomez) take a wait-and-see attitude — with trepidation.  Meanwhile the ex-girlfriend, Vanessa (Michelle Veintimilla) dismayed at being scorned, although heart broken forges on, as she is not going to the breakup get in the way of conquering the world.

Kudos are in order to the producers and casting executives; and the writers of the show, both these elements deliver an authentic peek at a bi-cultural world.  The multi-generational Garcias include three American born and bred kids whose parents were born in Cuba and whose culture lives on in each one of their kids. The combinabination of the music, the spanglish and the delicious Cuban food and pastries their world revolves in, is what gives this series the flavor of life.

In the first three episodes you get a glimpse into each character’s back story, their personalities and the dynamics that each of the relationships will seemingly explore.  By the fourth episode I was anxious to what is coming up next in the international romance in store. On the homefront, Vanessa takes on a role in Mateo’s life that can prove to be very fruitful for both of them.  

Then there is Escobedo who in her very first series series role is a revelation.  Her talent draws you into the character of Natalie with her powerful yet nuanced performance.  I immediately wanted to know “who is Belissa Escobedo”? An alumni of the Los Angeles County High School of Arts, Escobedo moved to New York for five years to study and do theater.  Upon her return she worked at the Boyle Height theater Casa 0101 run by her creative idol screenwriter/producer, Josefina Lopez.  Escobedo went on to work on three plays at Casa 0101 for a span of one year.  She played the lead, Ana in Lopez’s play Real Women Have Curves (which was produced into a movie in 2002 starring America Ferrera as Ana).  In The Baker and the Beauty Natalia’s character comes into her own and the audience is compelled to want to join her on her journey.

Carlos Gomez and Lisa Vidal are the parent you would love to have. Mari Garcia, if she is a wise cracking, former showgirl mom who has it all worked out and breaks into dance at the sound of salsa music.  As for the patriarch of the family, played by Gomez, he plays your unstereotypical loving and knowing dad, who makes the most delicious pastries and can cook up Cuban pollo fricassee for special family dinners, like no other.

And then there is Vanessa played by Michelle Vientimilla.   Although Vanessa gets dumped in the first episode by Daniel, her character is not going anywhere soon. As a matter of fact, word is her role only kept getting bigger during the filming of the series.  Vanessa stays connected to the family, even though her life with Daniel is seemingly over. She is hurt that the Garcia family would cut her off because her son broke of their relationstion after four years of dating. As strange as that sounds, Veintimilla shared at the TCA press tour that, “This is the first show that I can say, I totally understand the character”.    

Kelley who plays Noa and whose family is of Peruvian and Ecuadorian background, almost didn’t get the part of Noa because she self identified as a Latina.  The producers wanted the culture clash dynamic for the two lead characters, so she went back in to audition and this time she used her Australian accent, which she isn’t faking since she lived in Australia since the age of two. That did the trick.

As for the lead in the show, Rasuk, he likens his background to Daniel’s.  Rasuk grew up in a working-class family, born and raised in New York to Dominican parents. He’s has a laid back charm that he brings to the role and it’s what makes the chemistry between Daniel and Noa spark. In spite of all the adversities, their decision to move forth with their relationship is when the real adventures begin.

This is a story of a family you have rarely seen on TV.  It is a romantic comedy, with an authenticity of characters that are universal in story and culturally rich.  It’s the American story redefined.

ABC has a lot invested in this series and they are supporting it in every way possible.  They put the series in a prime time slot, right after The Bachelor. They believe in the series.

The Baker And The Beauty is based on the hit Israeli series by the same name created by Assi Azar for Keshet Broadcasting. For ABC it’s written by Dean Georgaris and produced by Universal Television and ABC Studios in association with Keshet Studios. 

Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.

The post When You Take A Hit Israeli TV Show And Add Cubans first appeared on .

At the Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts in L.A.

Los Angeles, CA — Hero Theatre announced today that One Day at a Time stars Justina Machado and Isabella Gomez, Jane the Virgin’s Ivonne Coll and Imagen Award-winning veteran stage and film actress Wanda De Jesus round out the company of Hero Theatre’s The Floating Island Plays.

The Floating Island Plays consist of four plays chronicling the Cuban/Cuban-American experience. The plays are The Modern Ladies of Guanabacoa, Fabiola, In the Eye of The Hurricane and Broken Eggs. The tetralogy is written by Eduardo Machado. All four plays, rarely presented together, will be presented as staged readings on March 30 and March 31, 2019.

Machado will host the opening ceremony followed by an exclusive talk-back with her and the playwright. Coll and Wanda De Jesus star in, In the Eye of the Hurricane. Gomez along with De Jesus complete the weekend with a performance of Broken Eggs.

 (Roswell New Mexico, Grey’s Anatomy, So You Think You Can Dance) and acclaimed actor and musician Zach Villa (Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer) are also part of the cast. Mason will star in the first playof the cycle, The Modern Ladies of Guanabacoa. Villa will star in the second, Fabiola. 

More cast members include esteemed stage and screen actors Moises Castro, Antonia Cruz-Kent, Mateo D’Amato, Olivia Cristina Delgado, Romi Dias, Serafin Falcon, Emanuel Gironi, Joey Greer, Joseph Henderson, Gloria Laino, Jonathan Medina, Mauricio Mendoza, Peter Mendoza, Sarita Ocón, Julieta Ortiz Elizondo, Marissa Chibas Preston, Geoffrey Rivas, Magda Rivera, Onahoua Rodriguez, Christopher Salazar, Tom Sandoval and José Zúñiga.

The Floating Island Plays can be seen on Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31, 2019 at the Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets and further information can be found at http://www.herotheatre.org/.

The post “The Floating Island Plays” Headlined by Justina Machado, Isabella Gomez, Ivonne Coll and Wanda de Jesus first appeared on .