This year 2,800 performers vie for an Emmy nomination in 2022.  That is 935 more entrants than last year. One hundred and ninety-seven (197) of the contenders for an Emmy nomination, considered the highest honor a TV performer can attain, are Latinos.   

While there isn’t any known research to compare the number of Latino entrants in the past years, this year’s list of Latino contenders for a 2022 Emmy nomination is remarkable.  Will the large number of possible Latino nominees lead to Emmy winners?  Historically, Latinos are usually left out of the Emmys, underrepresented, or not even in the running. The decidedly record number of submissions could be an indication that Latinos are being proactive in increasing the visibility of their work at the Emmys, that would definitely elevated their stature in Hollywood.

This year there seem to be more “independent” submission by either the talent themselves of the production companies. Typically, the networks, cablers or streamers pay the entry fee to submit performers and/or creatives who they feel have a good chance of winning the Emmy. This year several independent production companies and individuals submitted themselves when their broadcast platforms indicated they would not be submitting them. One such production company is New Cadance Production who produce HBO Max’s The Garcias. Executive Producer/Creator Jeff Valdez share with that their production company had submitted in 29 different categories, the majority in the acting categories and definitely some of their creatives.

Come September 12, 2022 when the Emmys air on NBC, it will be interesting to see if diversity at the Emmys will, this year also include Latine talent.

For a bit of an overall perspective.  The number of submissions vying for an Emmy nomination as a whole, is up in all categories and it breaks down like this:

• Entries in the Comedy category are up from 576 to 984 entries.

• Entries in the Drama category are up from 928 to 1,243 entries.

• Entries in the TV Movie/Limited category are up from 361 to 573 

These numbers do not take into account all the categories.  This break down is only for the performer categories.  The creative categories which include the producers of the shows, the directors, writers, and the technical categories could number in the thousands.

Of the 197 Latine contenders, the shows with the most Latinos submitted for an Emmy nomination are FXs Mayans MC created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James with 13 submissions; HBO Max’s The Garcias created by Jeff Valdez, Gibby and Mike Cevallos with 12 submissions; and  Apple TV’s Acapulco created by Eduardo Cisneros, Jason Shuman and Austin Winsberg with 10 submissions. Gentefied, created by Linda Yvette Chavez and Marvin Lemus, and executive produced America Ferrera has submitted eight names for possible noms.  On My Block, created by Eddie Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft and Lauren Lungerich submitted five talents; while Hightown, created by Rebecca Perry Cutter and starring Monica Raymund, and With Love, created by Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, both submitted four talents each. 

Actors in some of the most popular and/or critically acclaimed shows currently airing on broadcast, cable and the streamers include Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt in HBO Max’s DMZ; Adan Canto in FOX’s The Cleaning Lady; Rosie Perez in HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant; Nicholas Gonzalez in NBC’s La Brea, and many more in contention. 

The breakdown for the Latino Emmy Award contenders is as follows:

ACTOR:

38 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama

22 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series

13 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or Movie

11 – Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

10 – Outstanding Actor/Comedy Series

  7 – Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

  5 – Outstanding Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

ACTRESSES:

32 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in Comedy Series

22 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

10 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

  8 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

  6 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama

  6 – Outstanding Lead Actress in Limited or Anthology Series of Movie

  5 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology or Movie

  4 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama

  2 – Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama

The TV shows with most Latino performers seeking an Emmy nomination are:

TO SEE FULL LIST OF NAMES SUBMITED FOR EMMY CONSIDERATION CLICK HERE

^{*We have included a couple of Brazilian actors to this list}

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Gonzalez was surrounded by many cast members of the film and TV projects she has worked on this year, as well as her family and close friends.

The event was hosted by NEFT Vodka at their headquarters in the city of El Segundo, California. The intimate, exclusive event had a feeling of familia. Special invited guests of seasoned talent who have literally paved the way for the next generation included actors Marlene Forte (Superstore, Star Trek), Enrique Castillo (In Other Words, Blood In Blood Out, DejaVu), Patricia Rae (All Rise) and Seidy Lopez (Selena: The Series, Mi Vida Loca), Art Bonilla (Gentefied) and Emmy Award-nominated writer-producer Nancy De Los Santos (Answer to My Prayers, Selena, Mi Familia).

The young cadre of Latino actors in Hollywood was in full force, a sign that Latinos are a new creative force on the big and small screens. Among the new stars that attended to celebrate Gonzalez were Julio Macias (Selena: The Series on My Block), Joseph Julian Soria (The Flight Attendant, Gentefied), Chelsea Rendon (Maya and the Three, Vida), Julissa Calderon (With Love, Gentefied), Jacqueline Grace Lopez (East Los High), Armida Lopez (Boss Level), Karina Noelle Castillo (NCIS, S.W.A.T.), Suanny Serpas (Eye for an Eye) Momo Rodriguez (Mayans MC) and Jesse Garcia (Flamin’ Hot, Narcos Mexico).

Other guests included Emmy Award-winning actor Terrence Terrell (Giants), NEFT Vodka’s Director of Business Development Enrique Velez, Brenda Herrera of The Herrera Agency, Gabriel Gonzalez of Grammy-winning band Quetzal, and Dr. Jose Luiz Ruiz, president of the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation, entertainment photographer Eddie Sakaki and Ruben Cardiel of the Raza Golf Club Association.

Featured Photo: Annie Gonzalez receives the Latin Heat Rising Star Award (Photo: Cesar Arredondo/Latin Heat)

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The National Association of Hispanic Publications recently named Bel Hernandez Publisher of the Year for her demonstrated excellence in publishing and service to the Latino community in the entertainment industry through her Latin Heat Entertainment, an online trade publication. The recognition couldn’t be more timely as it coincides with Latin Heat’s 30th anniversary.

In celebration of its three decades of service, Latin Heat has launched the Latin Heat Rising Star Award honoring a talent who is stepping into the spotlight in a major way. The award’s first recipient is actress Annie Gonzalez, a proud Chicana artist from East Los Angeles. Her breakout role came in Netflix’s Gentefied, which led to a starring role in Eva Longoria’s directorial feature film debut Flamin’ Hot.  Furthermore, Gonzalez recently landed another starring role, George Lopez’s Once Upon a Time in Aztlan for Amazon Prime Video. The budding actress is currently seen in in season two of Gentefied, which debuted in November.

Both Hernandez’s NAHP Published of the Year and Gonzalez’s Latin Heat Rising Star awards will be presented at an industry event Wed., Dec. 17 in Los Angeles County.

Credited with expanding the coverage of Latinos in Hollywood, Hernandez, dubbed as “The Godmother of Latino Hollywood” by MovieMaker Magazine, has received many recognitions and forged many alliances throughout the years, most notably with her mentor and former publisher of The Hollywood Reporter to promote the “crossover” coverage of Latinos. She was recently named to Credentials Committee of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the producer the Golden Globe Awards.

“Looking back, I reflect on where we were back then as a creative community, it was the independent Latino directors creating the opportunities for Latinos–Gregory Nava with Selena and El Norte), Robert Rodriguez with El Mariachi and Desperado), Miguel Arteta with Star Maps), Edward James Olmos with Stand and Deliver and American Me, and others”, Hernandez reflected. “Fast forward 30 years and now there is a cadre of Latino creatives who continue to cast authentically and create the future stars of Hollywood who happen to be Latino”.

NAHP’s founding president Kirk Whisler will present the Publisher of the Year Award to Hernandez at Wednesday’s invitation-only industry event. Gentefied’s Gonzalez will also be presented with the Latin Heat Rising Star Award.

The celebrity red carpet event is sponsored by Neft Vodka and will benefit Brighter Future Charity, a non-profit organization devoted to enriching and empowering the lives of youth, adults and families within the autism community.

Herdandez is also CEO of Latin Heat Media, a multi-media company whose mission is to create content by Latinos and about Latinos for universal audiences. The parent company of this website, Latin Heat. LHM also produces TheTRENDTalk Show and LATINAFest, a festival that celebrates all things Latina.

In addition to running her own media company, Hernandez is also involved in various community causes. She serves on the advisory boards for Farmworker Justice and the Mexican American Cultural Education Foundation. Hernandez has been recognized for her journalist endeavors with an ALMA Award and a Mujeres Destacadas Award from La Opinión Newspaper. Additionally, she has been honored by the Hispanic Public Relations Association, Latina Style Magazine, Hispanic Lifestyle, National Hispanic Health Foundation, National Hispanic Media Coalition, the City of Los Angeles and Women in Theater Festival.

Featured Photo: Bel Hernandez (Credit: Latin Heat Media) 

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When she was in first grade, Annie Gonzalez would often stare into space in class. That got both her teacher and mother concerned. 

Asked what was the matter, the 7-year-old replied she imagined herself as an actress one day getting on a stage to pick up her Oscar and Tony awards. “I have wanted to be a performer since I was a little girl,” says Gonzalez. “I never saw myself doing anything else.”

Her mother encouraged little Annie to hit the books and pursue her dreams. Three years later, the little brown girl landed her first acting gig, playing a Guatemalan immigrant in the ABC police procedural drama television series Without a Trace. “I had to get a haircut for the role,” she recalls. 

That was the beginning of a long road in search of roles for the actress who identifies as a Chicana, an American woman who’s proud of her Mexican descent. She was one of the original dancers on Jamm X Kids for the former WB Television Network and went on to other small roles in movies like Mitú’s Beauty School and 20th Century Fox’s Spies in Disguise and series like Showtime’s Shameless and Starz’s award-winning Vida. 

Those minor parts are of big importance for Gonzalez. “I’d say every single project has amalgamated the actress I am now,” she states.

Then came Gentefied, the Netflix series that gave Gonzalez her breakout role. Premiered right before the beginning of the pandemic in February of 2020, the show is about gentrification, family and dreams of a better life centered on three Mexican-American cousins in the East L.A. community of Boyle Heights. She has the role of Lidia Solis, the pregnant and highly educated girlfriend of Erik Morales, one of the central characters played by J.J. Soria. Gentefied is executive produced by America Ferrera (Superstore, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and created by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez.

“Playing Lidia has opened me up and matured me so much as an actress,” she says. “She is a woman anyone can relate to, who feels pain, has weaknesses, shows vulnerabilities, who has gone through so much and done a lot.” In Gentefied’s second season, which returned in early November, Gonzalez’s character becomes a mother, moves to Palo Alto and starts a new job at Stanford University. “I feel Lidia thinks she has to carry the world on her shoulders,” says the actress. “But she’s human and, like any human, she makes mistakes.”

The multilayered Lidia raised Gonzalez’s profile and may have helped her secure a starring role in the upcoming film Flamin’ Hot from Searchlight Pictures, which marks the directorial debut of actress Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives fame. The biopic tells the story of Ricardo Montañez, the Latino who reportedly created the popular snack Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and who is played by actor Jesse Garcia. Gonzalez’s role is Judy Montañez, the wife of the Cheetos’ inventor. Shot this past summer in New Mexico, the film’s release date is yet to be announced.

Gonzalez credits Longoria and other renowned actresses for opening up doors for new generations of Chicanos and Latinos in showbusiness. “I wouldn’t have been able to do my work without the predecessors paving the way for us, people like Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Linda Yvette Chavez and Rita Moreno,” Gonzalez states. “They all have shown us that beautiful brown girls can make it in Hollywood.”

One can expect to see more of Gonzalez in the near future. In addition to Flamin’ Hot, she’s been cast in Once Upon in Aztlan, a drama starring and exec produced by George Lopez that the comedian is currently developing for Amazon Prime Video. Gonzales also appears in The Edge of Her Mind Anthology: Her Movies Vol 1, an upcoming collection of independent drama shorts focused on women’s mental health. The Chicana stars in the short Cafe Abundance playing a woman who breaks down in the middle of a hip restaurant.

All those accomplishments earned Gonzalez to be the inaugural recipient of Latin Heat’s Rising Star Award this month. “It is no surprise Annie has booked three major roles in a span of just a little over two years,” says Bel Hernandez, the founder, and publisher of this trade publication that covers Latinos in Hollywood. “She is talented, authentic, and smart, qualities that make for a rising star.” Adds Hernandez, “In 30 years Latin Heat has covered many rising talents like Jennifer Lopez, Jay Hernandez and Salma Hayek on their journey to stardom. We feel Annie is on the same trajectory, and are honored to award her the Latin Heat Rising Star Award”.

Gonzalez has big hopes for her career in 2022 and the coming years. “I’d love to be able to do another two features and star in a comedy,” she says. “I want to demonstrate the full range of my acting chops. Also, I have a lot of stories to tell.”

Apparently, some fantasies of 7-year-old Annie, the first-grader from East Los Angeles, have been coming true. Maybe the major awards she dreamt off could arrive soon, as well. 

Featured Photo: Annie Gonzalez (Photo: Juan Veloz)

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The 1940 film Our Town, based on Thornton Wilder’s play of the same name, takes a nostalgic, rose-colored-lens look back at the changes that occur in a small New Hampshire town. Set in pre-World War II America, this gentle, vanilla-flavored remembrance of things past foreshadows the seismic shifts in our inner cities, the flight to white suburbia and the ethnic identity of inner-city neighborhoods.

Gentefied, the Netflix dramedy set in modern-day Boyle Heights is a thoughtful and often funny Chicano meditation on how innovation, change and the ever-present encroaching menace of gentrification can cause doubt and conflict within a traditional Latino community.

Gentefied creators Linda Yvette Chávez (The one-Wayz) and Marvin Lemus (Dia De Cuetes) tell us the story of the Morales cousins, Erik (Joseph Julian Soria, Crank: High Voltage) and Chris (Carlos Santos, Vacation Friends) as they struggle with the paradox of the American Dream within the milieu of their Chicano neighborhood as symbolized by the taco shop of their beloved, immigrant grandfather Casimiro “Popi” Morales, beautifully played by veteran Mexican actor Joaquín Cosio (Quantum of Solace ).

 OUT OF THE RIVER INTO THE MAINSTREAM

“Getting into the mainstream” is the catchphrase often heard among Mexican nationals and Mexican Americans that defines the strategic pathway to successfully assimilating into American society. But “getting into the mainstream” or assimilating presents a troubling conundrum for Mexicans who have crossed a river to get here and even for those who were born on this side of the river. Succeeding in White America for a Latino means jettisoning huge parts of their Mexican culture like forgetting Spanish in favor of English, Americanizing our Hispanic names and leaving ancient cultural traditions behind.

Gentefied uses Popi’s taco shop as the backdrop- to explore the intracultural conflicts of assimilation versus maintaining traditions within this Chicano neighborhood. The principal characters are the archetypes that illustrate the dynamics within the story of Gentefied. Popi is the classic Mexican immigrant hero. Popi crosses the river, settles in Boyle Heights, starts a thriving taco shop and becomes a fixture in the community. His grandson Erik symbolizes change and the desire to seek new horizons. Chris, Erik’s cousin, likes the safety and security of Boyle Heights and only wishes to honor his grandfather’s legacy.

Ana Morales, (Karrie Martin, Holidate ) is an aspiring artist. Ana has attracted the attention of an Anglo art patron who wants to promote her work for a profit. But it is not clear if Ana intends to compromise her artistic integrity and allow herself to be exploited by her patron.

Lina Solis (Annie Gonzalez, Shameless) is highly educated, ambitious and upwardly mobile. She’s involved with Chris, but the lure of the mainstream is drawing her away from her familiar surroundings.

When Popi’s taco shop runs into financial problems, Erik convinces a skeptical Popi and a resistant Chris that the taco shop needs to introduce new flavors and ingredients to its tried-and-true menu of tacos and other traditional Mexican favorites in order to attract a newer, more prosperous upscale customer.

THE ORGANIC HUMMUS AND SPROUTS TOSTADA

Popi eases his anxiety over the changes to his taco shop by spending time with Lupe (Alma Martinez, The Terror). Lupe provides a sympathetic ear and is a safe harbor for Popi during the stormy transition raging in his precious taco shop.

But the changes Erik installs ring-up positive results at the cash register. Even Chris has to grudgingly acknowledge his cousin’s quirky culinary adaptations have proven successful. It isn’t too far-fetched to imagine Popi having an unsettling vision of his taco shop becoming a trendy eatery for yuppie gabachos eating his now-signature hummus and sprouts tostada with a knife and fork. ¡Ay Dios, sálvanos!

WHAT PRICE TRADITION?

Thomas Wolfe wrote: “You can never go home again.” As a cautionary warning against viewing the past through a romanticized mind’s eye, it has some truth. But it can also be said that you never leave your neighborhood. You may leave it physically, but emotionally, spiritually and culturally where you were formed as a human being stays with you throughout your lifetime.

Gentefied shows us a Chicano neighborhood struggling to maintain its identity and long-held traditions in the face of impending change from outside forces and within the Chicano community itself. Everything has a price and Gentefied asks what price a community is willing to pay to keep its treasured traditions. All the characters in Gentefied through their various storylines are seeking an answer to that question.

WELL, THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

While Boyle Heights is the focus of Gentefied, the creators of the show, Chávez and Lemus, are holding a larger mirror up to a demographic and cultural explosion in America that the inhabitants of Wilder’s 1940s New Hampshire small town could never imagine in their Thorton Wildest dreams.

In this year’s World Series, the two teams celebrating America’s Pastime were dominated by players with Hispanic surnames. During the game, there was a gimmick promoting: “Steal a base. Get a free taco.” Whenever a player from either team stole a base, Taco Bell gave away free tacos to all of America. Not a baloney sandwich, a slice of pizza or a potato knish, but a taco.

In a recent historic first appointment, the Senate confirms Robert Santos, a third-generation Mexican American from San Antonio, Texas as head of the US Census Bureau. So not only will the growing numbers of Hispanics in America be too big to ignore, but we also now have a Latino statistician making sure the numbers are accurate. The political and societal implications of those numbers are enormous.

While Our Town is a warm, fuzzy, feel-good look at an America that used to be, Gentefied is?—through the lens of Chicano Boyle Heights and the characters struggling with the tug and pull of tradition versus modernity?—an entertaining and colorful glimpse into the inevitable Latinization of America.

Season two of Gentefied returns to Netflix Nov. 10.

GENTEFIED
Stars: Joaquín Cosio, Joseph Julian Soria, Karrie Martin , Carlos Santos, Alma Martinez, Annie Gonzalez

Featured Photo: Gentefied (Credit: Netflix)

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America Ferrera will make her feature film directorial debut with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, an adaptation of Erika L. Sánchez‘s New York Times bestseller novel by the same name, for Netflix.

The dramedy follows Julia Reyes, a strong-willed teenage daughter of Mexican immigrants with traditional values. When her sister dies in a tragic accident, Julia steps in to try and hold the family together.

Sánchez‘s award-winning novel will be adapted for the big screen by Linda Yvette Chávez who is also the co-creator and co-executive producer of Gentefied, another Netflix show.

Although this is Ferrera first time directing a feature, she has been honing her skills directing on television, including several episodes on Gentefied and Superstore, the TV series she starred in for five years.

Charles King’s Macro, the original producer of the first iteration of Gentified (as a web series) will serve as producer for I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter along with Anonymous Content. MACRO’s Greta Fuentes will also executive produce along with Aevitas Creative Management’s Michelle Brower through their first-look deal with Anonymous Content.

America Ferrara is represented by CAA. Linda Yvette Chávez is represented by WME.

— Latin Heat News Service

Featured Photo: Latin Heat Media

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Netflix’s Top Ten list has become a go-to for quality recommendations. Series with Latino participation dominated the list throughout 2020. Among Netflix’s Top 10 charts from Dec. 4, 2020, to Dec. 10, 2020 were: The Queen’s Gambit, Selena: The Series, Mr. Iglesias, and The Umbrella Academy.

Whether it was on-camera or behind the scenes, or shows with Latinos in lead roles consistently ranked high on the Netflix Top 10 lists and have remained there for weeks at a time.

The Umbrella Academy and The Queen’s Gambit are two prominent shows that lived on the Top 10 list for weeks and are Netflix’s biggest superhero series.

To put things in perspective, Nielsen reported that 3.011 billion minutes of The Umbrella Academy were watched collectively in one week, and this is with only two seasons of the superhero streaming series. David Castaneda is one of seven diverse stars on the show and season 3’s cast will expand and feature Genesis Rodriguez (Big Hero 6). 

Since its release in October 2020, The Queen’s Gambit had, according to Netflix, an impressive 62 million households watch within the first 28 days of its premiere, making it the most-watched scripted limited series on the streamer. Lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, who comes from a large Argentinian family, unlike her character Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, personally claimed the No. 8 spot on IMDb’s Top 10 Breakout Stars of 2020 list. The drama miniseries is centered around an orphaned chess prodigy.  The series has brought about a resurgence in chess. 

According to The Guardian, eBay reported that chess set sales went up by 60%  and chess accessories have climbed a whopping 215%, which correlates with the screening of The Queen’s Gambit.

Xolo Mariduena is a series regular in the Emmy nominated and fan-favorite Cobra Kai, which after two years on YouTube Red moved over to Netflix for season three.  As of Jan. 1 Cobra Kai became the most popular returning original series, taking the #2 spot on the Netflix Top 10 list on New Year’s Day.

Another hit show on Netflix is the teen dramedy On My Block which was created by Eddie Gonzalez, Lauren Iungerich, and Jeremy Haft. Last year right before season 4 was announced, On My Block was top of the Netflix Top Ten list as the highest rating series with a 94.1% rating, which is based on the week-over-week growth in episodes watched.

Then of course there are other popular series that either have a Latino-themed storyline or have Latino actors in the lead.  Included in this list are Narcos: Mexico, the freshman comedy series Gentefied about a Mexican family chasing the American Dream, already renewed for a 2nd season, however, delayed due to the pandemic. And added to the Netflix lineup beginning on January 1 is Telemundo’s  Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio, the story about the late singer Mexican singer Jenni Rivera.

Latinos continue to hold down Netflix and hopefully, we’ll have even more Latino representation in 2021. 

Featured Photo: Latin Heat Media

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Written by Roberto Leal

Since the election of our Hoax President, we certainly have been living in “interesting” times. When my kids were little, they were never allowed to criticize their mother’s cooking. It they didn’t like something that was served to them, they were only allowed to sardonically, but very politely observe:

“Oh, this is interesting.”

And so, it’s in interesting times we now find ourselves deeply mired in this worrisome pandemic. Regrettably, many of our favorite places for fun, leisure and recreation are being closed or cancelled: restaurants, bars, sporting events, and especially for a film fanatic like me, movie theaters.

Gracias a Dios for my 60-inch, flat screen TV and access to several streaming platforms. For semi-reclusive writers, like me, the internet has made it possible for me to never leave my little studio apartment. All my worldly needs; meds, food, clothes, porn, can be found on the InterWebs, and three of the four can be delivered directly to my home.

“May you live in interesting times”

Ancient Chinese Curse

Certainly, a prolonged, nation-wide, period of sheltering in place, as it’s being called, will inevitably result in extreme cases of cabin fever. Thanks to those ubiquitous streaming platforms, let me offer three Latino entertainment cures, now playing, to help alleviate those sheltering in place blues.

SIDEWALLS (Medianeras) – Hulu

There’s nothing like a good romantic comedy to lift the spirits and re-affirm the basic human need for meaningful relationships. Writer/director Gustavo Taretto’s Sidewalls tells us the story of two slightly deranged tekkies, web designer, Martín (Javier Drolas), and architect, Mariana (Pilar López de Ayala) who live right across the street from each other in high-rise apartments in Buenos Aires. Martín and Mariana are like the two proverbial ships that pass each other in the night. However, these two rudderless boats pass each other during the day, strolling down the sidewalk, swimming in the same pool and while sipping an espresso in the same coffee shop. Will these two lonely “ships” ever sail off together into the sunset? Watch this clever romantic comedy and find out. Sidewalls is currently streaming on HULU.

Extra to Stream: Trailer

GENTEFIED – Netflix

Family, food and tradition. Those are the three principal ingredients in any good Chicano comedy. Gentefied, offers all three ingredients, along with a generous side dish of laughs, served up in the usual huge portions you get in a family-owned, Mexican restaurant.

Inter-generational conflicts arise when two young cousins decide to modernize their grandfather’s Boyle Heights taco shop. It’s the age-old struggle between tradition versus trendy, igniting comedy sparks to fly in the process. Gentified, stars Kerrie Martin, Joaquín Cosío, J.J. Soría, and Carlos Santos, plus a supporting Latino cast of quirky characters adding to the fun. Gentefied is the right place to celebrate some good, old-fashioned Chicano family fun and upscale, gentrified tacos. But I’ll stick with the carne asada tacos with cilantro y cebolla and pass on the alfalfa sprouts and yogurt.

Extras to stream: Meet The Cast Behind The Season

SIX DREAMS – Amazon Prime

This pandemic has put the kibosh on all major sporting events. So now we’re stuck watching re-runs of pro basketball and football games from last year and beyond. I swear I saw Bronko Nagurski run for a touchdown the other day. I’ve even been reduced to watching the World Series of Poker and I don’t even play cards. I’m not even good with greeting cards.

But I love soccer, or more correctly fútbol. Professional soccer is the biggest international sport on the planet. It’s especially popular in all Latin America, Portugal and Spain. These Latin countries consistently produce the best teams and greatest players in the sport. It’s especially true of Spain, which won the 2010 World Cup and is always a contender.

Six Dreams, an Amazon Prime series, takes us behind the scenes to see the Spanish Football League (La Liga) through the lives of six individuals; team president, coach, sports director and athletes. From the board room, locker room, living room, to the pitch, Six Dreams is an intimate and detailed examination of the pressures and passions on and off the field of this greatest of world sports. Six Dreams scores a winning ¡GO-O-O-OL!

Six Dreams Stars: Carlos Carretero, Quinque Cárcel, Amaia Gorostiza

Extras to Stream: Trailer

Enjoy!

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Alejandro Patiño (Papi Chulo, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) is set for his upcoming new recurring role in Netflix’s Gentefied, a 10-episode half-hour dramedy, from the creators Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez, showrunner Monica Macer, America Ferrera, Teri Weinberg, and Aaliyah Williams.

Patiño will portray Chuy, the dramedy’s funny guy.

“Chuy is the comic relief of Gentefied,” Patino said. “He gets in the mix with the main characters. If there ever was a role I have played, Chuy is the closest to me personally. Marvin [E Lemus] and Linda [Yvette Chavez] creators of the show know me too well,” he laughed. “I  am that Uncle. Every youngster I  meet always say, ‘You remind me of my Uncle.’

“Playing Chuy has been a great time. To be able to play the shenanigans they write for me… [he laughed], well I can’t wait for it to air.”

Gentefied stars Karrie Martin, JJ Soria, Carlos Santos and Joaquin Cosio and rounding out the recurring roles are Julissa Calderon (WTF Baron Davis, Revenge), Annie Gonzalez (Shameless, Good Girls Revolt), Laura Patalano (Alex, Inc., Vida), Felipe Esparza (They’re Not Gonna Laugh At You, Translate This), Rafael Sigler (Ugly Betty, Cars), Jaime Alvarez (Grey’s Anatomy Shameless), Bianca Melgar, Michelle Ortiz, and Alejandro Patiño. Sigler, Alvarez and Patalano all appeared in Gente-fied: The Digital Series.

Based on the digital series, Netflix ‘s Gentefied centers on three cousins who band together to keep their Grandfather’s popular Boyle Heights taco shop in business as the neighborhood becomes more gentrified.

Currently, Patiño is co-starring in the feature film, Papi Chulo alongside Matt Bomer.

Alejandro Patiño is repped by Jaime Ferrar & Associates and The Herrera Agency (Publicist).

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