As part of its overall corporate strategy to pull back on its “Live-Action, Kids and Family Programming”, HBO Max, and parent company Warner Media Discovery, announced the cancellation of Gordita Chronicles after only 36 days streaming on their platform and despite the show, and all involved, receiving universal high critical marks. Its unquestioned popularity and a loyal and growing fan base including this reviewer seemingly disregarded. So it is a big surprise that this semi-autobiographical family comedy about a young Dominican girl’s immigrant story from the creative mind of Claudia Forestieri is unceremoniously yanked off the streaming platform stage like a contestant on The Gong Show.  Or is it?

“It’s the Same Old Song”

That classic Four Tops hit song exactly captures what all too often happens to what seem to be outstanding Latino TV series only to meet an early untimely demise. Here’s a very, very short list of Latino TV shows that had their life support plug pulled before they had a chance to get any traction.

Here are just two shows which pulled after only one season that showed promise but were not given a chance.  

The Baker and the Beauty (TV series 2020). This romantic comedy, family drama about a working- class Cuban-American family running a bakery in Miami featured a talented Latino cast with Victor Rasuk, David Del Rio, Lisa Vidal, Carlos Gomez, Dan Bucatinsky and Belisa Escobedo. The love story between the baker’s son and a famous Australian movie star, played by Natalie Kelley, was filled with so many interesting plot possibilities. But unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and ended after one season.

Cristela (TV Series 2014 – 2015). This ground-breaking TV series tells the story of a Mexican-American law student on the verge of getting an internship with a progressive law firm and her struggles to balance her career ambitions and maintain her traditional Mexican-American values. Cristela Alonzo, the hilarious stand-up comic and the pride of San Juan, Texas, was the very first Latina to create, executive produce, write and star in her own eponymous network series on ABC.

Patience is Its Own Reward

At one time, the networks allowed TV shows the chance to develop their storylines and characters. The Seinfeld Chronicles is a perfect example of the networks having patience with a fledgling TV show.  It took a couple of tough, trial-run seasons before Seinfeld found its footing and became a hit iconic TV sitcom series.

By contrast, Gordita Chronicles led by a stellar cast of newcomer Olivia Goncalves (as Cucu), , Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas (as her mother and father) and Savannah Nicole Ruiz (as her sister)hit the ground running with its fast-paced, witty, Screwball Comedy-like dialog, quirky characters struggling to navigate their way on the long and winding bumpy road to the American Dream. Gordita Chronicles didn’t require an embryonic stage of development to find itself.  Thanks to the writing talents of its creator, Claudia Forestieri, it was born fully formed.

So, how is it that this coming-of-age, rite of passage, authentic immigrant story that was humming along on all eight cylinders suddenly got handed a pink slip by Warner Media Discovery now the parent company of HBO Max? A Latin Heat March 2022 Warner Media Discovery Merger Criticized for Apparent Disregard of Latinos article featured a headline by UnidosUS, the largest advocacy Latino group which posed the question to Warner Media Discovery, “Dear Discovery: Does Diversity Include Hispanics or not?” The answer, with the summary cancellation of Gordita Chronicles, seems to be a resounding “NO”!

A Hopeful Future

Latinos make up almost 20 percent of the US population, but according to the 2021 UCLA-Hollywood Diversity TV report, they are only roughly only 5% of lead roles on broadcast, streamers and cable. 

To change the tune of that same old song with its haunting refrain of Latino shows coming and going through the turnstiles of White Hollywood, the Latino community is beginning to see the need to finance their own stories, build their own networks and streaming platforms to be able to greenlight their authentic stories, and give them a chance to stay beyond one season.

There are signs of change, of creatives taking control of the Latino narrative. Executive producers/showrunners, like Gloria Calderon Kellett. (One Day at a Time, With Love) do have creative authority and management responsibility for their television shows. And the number of Latina/o showrunners is increasing, from Tanya Saracho who created Vida which ran for 3 seasons on Starz, Steven Canals (Pose) to veteran showrunners like Cynthia Cidre (Dallas, Cane), and Gordita Chronicles’s own showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. They make sure their shows accurately reflect their experience on the many different strands of the Latino tapestry to a wider audience. But still, the question of if their shows live to see another season or not, remains in the hands of the Hollywood powers that be.

However, Latina creatives of Gordita Chronicles, that include creator Forestieri, showrunner Muñoz-Liebowitz, Eva Longoria (Executive Producer and director) and actress Zoe Saldaña who is also executive producing), are currently searching for a new home as Muñoz-Liebowitz tweeted the same day the news of the cancelation was announced. Stay tuned for more developements.

The post ‘Gordita Chronicles’ Cancelation Minimizes Latino Stories first appeared on .

Genre:  Comedy, Family

Creators:  Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit

Showrunners: Leo Chu, Eric Garcia

Cast:  Scarlet Estevez, J. R. Villareal, Marianna Burelli, Juan Alfonso, Zelia Ankrum, Lorena Jorge

REVIEW

Oh, the growing pains of a teenage apprentice Latina superhero. When Violet (Scarlet Estevez) discovers a magic luchador mask has “chosen” her to wear it and become a superhero, it sets her off on a journey to become a crime fighter. However, being the typical rebellious teenager, Violet needs adult guidance

Luckily for her, the well-known local crime fighter, Black Scorpion, just happens to be her uncle, Cruz (J.R. Villareal) which she did not know. Black Scorpion becomes her mentor and takes Ultra Violet under his wing and teaches her the time-honored ethical ways of a superhero crime-fighter in a continuing effort to suppress the irrepressible, rambunctious teen’s tendency to think and act “outside the box” of a superhero’s sacred code of conduct.

In this first season, Ultra Violet’s rite of passage, into a budding Latina superhero is bolstered by the show’s clever light, fast-paced tongue-in-cheek comedic approach to the storyline and the positively charming and winning performance of Estevez as Ultra Violet.

The show is also enhanced by a good supporting cast, great special effects and the exceptional and imaginative cinematography of Rafael Leyva. Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion is a thoroughly enjoyable Disney production action-adventure comedy family TV series that will no doubt inspire young Latinas to discover and unleash the superhero within themselves.

Producers: Ian Watermeier, Nelson soler, Lisa Parsons, Leo Chu

Production Company: Chu Garcia

Distributor: Disney Channel

Available: Disney+

Rating:

TV Series:  Gordita Chronicles

Genre: Comedy, Family

Creator: Claudia Forestieri 

Showrunner:  Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz

Cast: Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas, Olivia Goncalves, Savannah Nicole Ruiz, Cosette Hauer, Noah Cottrell, Noah Rico

REVIEW

Is there a DR in the house? Happily, yes, four of them recently arrived from the DR (Dominican Republic) to Miami, Florida in search of the elusive American Dream and into our homes in this delightfully nostalgic semi-autobiographical good-natured family comedy by the creator, Claudia Forestieri.

The Castelli family is comprised of Adela, the mother, (Diana Maria Riva), the father, Victor (Juan Javier Cardenas), his older sister, Emilia (Savannah Nicole Ruiz), and la gordita, Cucu (Olivia Goncalves). Set in the 80s, the story is narrated by the adult Cucu recalling the family’s trials and tribulations of adjusting to their new life in the United States.

The Castelli’s immediately find out their illusions of America are in stark contrast to the reality of life back home in the DR to those in the good old USA. The Gordita Chronicles has some good fun with the Castelli’s coming to grips with such unknown things as taxes, coupons, Halloween, and Sadie Hawkins dances. Adela’s misadventure with coupons is an especially funny episode.

Victor who works in the marketing department of an airline is expected by his boss to be a great softball player because “all the great baseball players come from the Dominican Republic.” Well, that’s mostly true, but not about Victor who went to an expensive European boarding school and never learned how to play baseball.

Emilia tries to fit in at school by joining up with the popular girls known as the Bubble Gums.  The Bubble Gums make the Mean Girls look like Girl Scouts.  Emilia is in the drama class and has a crush on Rigo (Noah Cottrell).

But the story principally revolves around Cucu who is trying to navigate her way through school and social life with best friends, Ashley (Cosette Hauer) and Yoshi (Noah Rico). Cucu meets every obstacle and challenge confronting her with characteristic plucky determination and an innate intelligence beyond her young years. 

Gordita Chronicles is a madcap, zany look at an immigrant family’s adjusting to life in the states through the eyes of Cucu and her battle with body image in a world where “gordita” is no longer a Latin American term of endearment. You can’t help rooting for Cucu and her family as they struggle with joyous funky spunk and good humor to realize that all too often elusive American Dream.

Producers: Brigette Muñoz-Leibowitz, Claudia Forestieri, Dan signer

Production Company: Cinestar Pictures, Unbelievable

Distributor: HBO Max

Available: HBOMax

Rating:

The post Thumbnail Reviews:  ‘Gordita Chronicles’ and ‘Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion’ first appeared on .

The Garcias is a New Cadance Production.  The sitcom and its talent both in front and behind the camera have been submitted for consideration for 29 Emmy nominations by the production Company.  Deadline to vote by Television Academy members ends on June 27.

By Roberto Leal

The HBO Max TV series, The Garcias is a carryover from its earlier incarnation, The Brothers Garcia, which ran on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2004.  It was created by Jeff Valdez, along with Gibby and Mike Cevallos and originally aired on Nickelodeon. 

InThe Brothers Garcia, we are introduced to the three brothers, Larry, George, Carlos and their sister, Lorena.  They are the typical Texican family dealing with everyday life in their San Antonio suburb. The family of six, includes their history professor father, Ray, and their mother Sonia, a hairdresser.

The Brothers Garcia made television history as the first English language sitcom with an all-Latino cast, directors, and producers. In the new reimagined storyline the kids are now grown adults with children of their own. The Garcias and their expanded family find themselves vacationing at their fancy family beach house in Mexico, with kids and parents in tow.  They are now the American Latino family in Mexico, and soon that creates a new set of modern-day family dynamics.

Living in Paradise

The Garcia family find themselves spending the summer relaxing, refreshing and recharging at their beautiful seaside resort in Mexico, still plagued by the usual family dynamics. The brother rivalry between George, (Bobby Gonzalez, Carlos (Jeffrey Licon), and Larry (Alvin Alvarez) continues unabated. Sister Lorena, (Veneza Leza Pitynski) has joined the family in Mexico after her infamous on-air quitting of her TV reporting job went viral on YouTube. 

But when the family finds themselves stranded in Mexico due to stormy weather, they settle in for a couple of months.

Meanwhile, historian dad Ray played by Carlos Lacamera, (The Mexican, Independence Day) is writing a book on the ancient Maya and annoying everyone within earshot with mundane factoids of life in the Mayan civilization. While Sonia, Ray’s wife played by Ada Maris (Mayans MC, Nurses) is restless and bored with the vacation and wants to go back to work as a hairdresser. So without telling the rest of the family, she takes a job in town at a hair salon.

As the showrunner/director, Valdez wants to see Latinos represented in television beyond subservient or demeaning caricature portrayals. The Garcias is a huge success in that regard. Their family problems, presented in a light-hearted, quirky and funny way are universally recognizable and appeal to a wide audience. However, Valdez also has some fun exploring some cultural conflicts within the Mexican and the Mexican-American communities.

To Be or Not to Be a Mexican

George is adamant about identifying as a Mexican. But his native-born Mexican wife, Ana, (Nitza Chama), who lovingly calls him Gordito (chubby), reminds him he was born in Texas and not Mexico. Meanwhile, George and Carlos meet two potential Mexican business partners who want to strike a deal with them but dismiss them as “pochos del otro lado” or Mexicans born in the United States.

And when Sonia takes the job in a local hair salon, she is immediately dubbed as la gringa (not a “real Mexican”).  However, Sonia’s excellent hair cutting skills garner her new wealthy Mexican clients who insist on only Sonia cutting their hair.  When Sonia points out the Mexican owner of the salon can cut their hair, they refuse. The owner later explains to Sonia that the new wealthy clients she has attracted would never lower themselves by allowing the hairdresser who cuts their maids and servant’s hair, to cut theirs.

Lorena lands a part in a film about the Maya, being filmed locally.  When Ray, the expert on ancient Mayas visits the set and discovers the whole cast looks very Anglo, he declares to anyone within earshot, “The Mayas didn’t look like Vikings.” Lorena becomes disenchanted with the role and the inaccurate portrayal and quits.

George discovers his neighbors in the big house next door are filming a reality show titled, Keeping Up with the Cartels. When the director says he thinks George looks like a cartel member and offers him a small part in the show, George is flattered and accepts. But that night he is awakened by a ghostly apparition who informs him that shows like Keeping Up with the Cartels reinforce every negative stereotype of Latinos as gang bangers, drug dealers, gangsters and criminals. George wakes up and realizes he can’t do the part.

Valdez avoids making these cultural points in a heavy-handed, “author’s message” way. But instead makes his points in a humorous, self-effacing manner that delivers the intended emotional impact but is neatly blended within the flow of the overall storyline.

The Tease of an Eternal Vacation

Season 1 of The Garcia’s was filmed on location in Quintana Roo, Mexico. By setting the story in this gorgeous part of Mexico, Valdez has intentionally made the location an important and very eye-pleasing character in his story. So, it was disheartening when Ray, as head of the family, announced that when summer is over, it will be time to return to San Antonio, Texas.

But a glimmer of hope was raised in the final episode of season one when Carlos announces to the family, he has secured a major business deal with some Mexican investors that will allow the Garcia clan to stay in Mexico in a new location, teased to be revealed in season 2 of The Garcia’s.

Staying in Mexico would create some interesting storylines for the Garcia family. For instance, would the Garcias hire native-born Mexicans to work as cooks, housekeepers, or gardeners in their new, large home? How will Carlos’ business success affect his relationship with his brother, George? Will Sonia open her own hair salon business?

Whatever challenges the Garcias face in season 2, through the talented vision of Valdez and head writer Joey Gutierrez, they will face it with a characteristic Mexican-American sense of humor and charm, guided by the universal Latino principle of “todo para la familia”.

Season 1 of The Garcia’s is streaming on HBO Max.

The post Emmy Contender: ‘The Garcias’ Todo Para La Familia first appeared on .

By Roberto Leal

Benjamin Bratt found himself in a number of supporting roles in the ’80s and early ‘90s in films like Juarez, Nasty Boys, One Good Cop, and a few stand-out pivotal roles in Blood In, Blood Out, Demolition Man, and A Clear and Present Danger. 

On television, Bratt landed the role of Detective Ray Curtis appearing in five seasons of the long-running NBC hit series, Law & Order. It was this role that earned him much richly deserved international recognition and critical praise. Detective Ray Curtis, as played by Bratt, was a proud Latino with smoldering passions just beneath a cool, seemingly detached demeanor that often erupted into rage and sometimes violence. Detective Curtis was not above roughing up a suspect or employing extra-legal tactics to secure justice for a victim. 

That hard-edged character he created on Law & Order became the signature persona that has served him well in all his film and TV roles.

After Law & Order

But in 1999, Bratt decided it was time to leave Law & Order. “I’ve felt like it was time to get back home to my family,” Bratt told the New York Post. “How do you walk away from the best job in the world and a group of people that you’ve grown to love? It’s not easy, and it was an extremely difficult decision that I had to make.”

Bratt didn’t stay home clipping coupons or watching telenovelas very long. Post Law & Order he put his unique acting skills into such films as, Miss Congeniality, Traffic, Catwoman, Snitch and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Most recently Bratt also used his voice acting in the animated feature, Despicable Me and the Academy Award-winning, Disney film Coco.

The Van Cleef Effect

Despite the fact Bratt has played Latinos in film and TV from all walks of life, it’s his uncanny, chilling portrayal of evil men that stands out in his resume. Currently, in the HBO Max action-adventure mini-series DMZ, he plays an especially evil hombre named Parko Delgado, opposite his co-star Rosario Dawson. Bratt plays Delgado with devilish relish and very bad intentions. It’s an intense performance that Bratt has proven himself to be especially skillful at playing. For some actors, they might fear being typecast as villains. But Bratt is on the same career trajectory as other infamous movies “bad guys.”

Legendary character actor Lee Van Cleef made a career playing bad guys in films. After all, it was Van Cleef who was “the bad” in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Van Cleef was non-other than the murderous but memorable, Angel Eyes. Lee Marvin and Jack Palance also got their start in supporting roles as villains. But eventually, this led to them becoming lead actors as heroes; Van Cleef (Escape from New York), Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen) andJack Palance (City Slickers).

Bratt recently finished filming Dead for a Dollar, a Western directed by Walter Hill.  Dead for a Dollar follows a famed bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) who runs into his sworn enemy (Willem Dafoe), a professional gambler and outlaw that he had sent to prison years before, while on a mission to find and return his wife (Rachel Brosnahan) of a successful businessman who is being held hostage in Mexico. Standing in the way is an infamous gangster (Bratt) who gets a piece of any action that happens along the Mexican border.

OMG! I’m shocked, shocked to discover Bratt has been cast as a Mexican gangster. No worries. Bratt is bound to add depth and make him a compelling, scene-stealing bad guy who will garner critical praise. 

Cultural Pride and Recognition

“On a national level,” Bratt has been quoted as saying, “There is a tendency to portray Latino culture as a monolith, which is an inaccurate way of seeing ourselves. There is as much diversity and uniqueness within the Latino culture as there is  in any other American  culture.” 

As if to prove his point, in 1996 Bratt not only starred but produced the award-winning film Follow Me Home, going against all Hollywood Latino stereotypes.  Follow me Home directed by Peter Bratt (Benjamin’s brother)  tracks the lives of four artists, one African American, one Native American, and two Chicano cousins, who embark on a cross-country road trip to paint a mural on the White House.   The film also starred Jesse Borrego, Alfre Woodard, and at that time, an unknown, Salma Hayek in a small role. An official selection at Sundance Film Festival, Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker called Follow Me Home “a work of genius”.  In 2020 the fim was re-released, streaming for a week, accompanied with panel discussions with the cast and crew.

In 2009 Bratt he starred and again produced the feature La Mission which was written and directed by his brother Peter.  A story set in the Mission district of San Francisco about a reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic working hard to redeem his life and to do right by his only son, Jesse, whom he discovers is gay.  

The Perfect Film-Noir Man

Bratt has all the physical and emotional attributes that would have made him a natural leading man in the Hollywood film noir classics of the 40s and 50s. He comes out of that rich tough guy, anti-hero tradition as Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitcham and Alan Ladd. 

It’s not too far-fetched an idea to imagine a modern-day Latino film-noir reboot of The Maltese Falcon, Out of the Past or This Gun for Hire.
Bratt was very good as a bad guy in DMZ and more than likely has an equally good performance in Dead for a Dollar. However, he has the look, attitude and style that would be perfect for an original Latino urban gritty crime drama. Picture this. Bratt is a hard-boiled, morally ambiguous private detective working in his hometown of San Francisco’s Mission District barrio, Chinatown and the Wharf and Pier in a thriller titled Fish Don’t Scream. Lots of cold, foggy exteriors laced with the aroma of seafood and the sounds of Coltrane and Thelonious Monk.  Benjamin Bratt looking very lean, mean, and stylish in a fedora and trench coat would make a cool highly sought-after grainy, black and white movie poster.

For now Bratt is currently working on

Natasha Lyonne And Rian Johnson’s Peacock Mystery Series Poker Face being produced by

Also executive producing are Maya Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behren, Ram Bergman, and Nena Rodriguez.

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After a long career in Los Angeles, rising comedian Aida Rodriguez is finally getting her first hour-long standup comedy special. Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words premieres Nov. 4 on HBO Max. 

In her show, the Afro-Latina jokester of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent is tackling current issues that dominate the headlines and talking about getting back into dating, her upbringing and family life, and embracing her Caribbean heritage.

Her trademark comedy is turning her life’s pain into humorous material. Having been the subject of two kidnappings by warring family members during childhood, her personal tragedy is not off-limits.  

Rodriguez’s HBO Max show concludes with a documentary of the Boston-born comedienne traveling to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to celebrate these two nations’ vibrant cultures. The TV special also gets serious with family matters and also acknowledges new talent. Cameras capture her reunion with her estranged father and the jokester’s effort to support up-and-coming comedians.

Misogyny, racism and other social ills afflicting humanity are also targets of this funnywoman who also happens to be a regular commentator on the political YouTube show The Young Turks.

Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words is directed by two filmmakers who hail from distinctively different genres, Kristian Mercado and Nadia Hallgren. Mercado has directed a handful of funny TV specials like HBO Max’s Phoebe Robinson: Sorry, Harriet Tubman; Hallgren directed Becoming, the Netflix doc about former First Lady Michelle Obama. Rodriguez’s special is executive produced by herself as well as Michelle Caputo and Shannon Hartman for Art & Industry.

Fighting Words arrives two years after the Latina humorist was featured on Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready, the series led by Primetime Emmy Award-winner Haddish and which aired on Netflix.

Making a living out of making people laugh wasn’t in Rodriguez’s career plans. She reportedly pursued a degree in English and law at Florida State University but dropped out after she became pregnant. She was married to a Florida State Seminoles player but divorced him before moving to Los Angeles in the early 2000s, turning to filmmaking, acting in minor roles and standup comedy. Her first film credit on her IMDb page is as second unit director in the 2006 indie horror flick VooDoo Curse: The Giddeh. The following year she got a small role in the video Black Woman’s Guide to Finding a Good Man, the first of many comedy projects at the same time that she started to delve into penning and producing humor and drama and traveling the comedy club circuit.

After several years of wearing multiple creative hats, Rodriguez joined the eighth season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, placing seventh among ten finalists and later in Fusion’s TV movie All Def Digital’s Roast of America, which she also co-wrote.

Then came the opportunity to work with Haddish in 2019, performing in six episodes of Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready, where she shared the stage with the seasoned African-American comedic star and a about a dozen up-and-coming standup talents.

Now, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Rodriguez gets ready to do what she may do best, turning her wounds into jokes about life.  

“Took this trip with some amazing people during a very complicated time. Looking forward to sharing it with you,” posted Rodriguez along with a poster promoting her cable channel’s Max Original show. 

Featured Photo: Aida Rodriguez (Courtesy: Artist)

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Few things can beat the experience of working on the set with acclaimed director Clint Eastwood, says actress Natalia Traven. She should know. The Mexican actress met multiple Academy Award-winning filmmaker during the shooting of his latest film Cry Macho. 

“He (Eastwood) is so funny, so warm, a great human being,” says Traven.

The tireless Eastwood made Cry Macho at the age of 91 during the pandemic, the 39th movie directed by the San Francisco-born filmmaker. The film tells the story of Mike Milo, a retired horse breeder and former rodeo star who drowns his sorrows in alcohol after losing his wife and son. Milo accepts a job to bring his former boss’s son back home from Mexico and away from the young man’s alcoholic mother.

However, the two men’s journey turns out to be more challenging than expected, being forced to take the back roads on their way to Texas. Mike, who was involved in the illegal business of cockfighting, must now decide if he takes a new path to redemption.

The movie is playing in movie theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

In Cry Macho, Traven plays the role of Marta, a widow who raises her extended family in a small Mexican town near the Texas border. The grandmother tries to help her grandson Mike, and herself, recover from a personal tragedy. 

In the middle of the pandemic, Traven made an audition tape for the role of Marta. “They liked it and sent it to Clint Eastwood,” she says. The director liked the recorded performance and requested that Traven meet him in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to the actress. The film was shot in nearby Belen and Polvadera, south of the Land of Enchantment’s most populous city. The actress adds she got to know Eastwood more personally. “He is one of the best directors in the history of cinema and also a great human being,” says Traven. 

Eastwood’s biggest films include Oscar winners Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven and Academy Award-nominees American Sniper, Letters from Iwo Jima and Mystic River.

Cry Macho’s central theme of self-redemption appealed to the actress. “It is a story about life, when we get to a certain age we are concerned about getting lost and getting found,” Traven says. “In life sometimes we get lost during a crisis and then we must reinvent ourselves. The older you get the better the insight you have about life. Sometimes you must adjust to find true joy and contentment.”

While the film’s story takes place in and on both sides of the U.S-Mexico border, the actress makes clear it isn’t about the current border crisis. She notes the film is set in the late 1970s. “The story was more about being strong, but we can be vulnerable and warm as well,” she says. “I see the story in terms of soul evolution. I drew from this philosophy to portray this strong woman. We tried to convey this empathy and sympathy for this human condition.” She adds that Cry Macho is a life story and not necessarily a commentary on our times. “(It’s) rather a commentary on the human condition which is universal,” states Traven.

Cry Macho’s Marta may be the biggest film role of the past few years for the Mexican actress, who has a prolific career in theatre.

Traven has performed in more than 35 plays, including The Orphan Muses and A Pornographic Relationship. She was responsible for the assembly and direction in Mexico of the Spanish-language version of the musical Spring Awakening, the winner of eight Tony Awards on Broadway. Her film credits include Bedtime Fairy Tales for Crocodiles, Collateral Damage and Trade. She has also appeared in the AMC series Soulmates and the Mexican series La Familia P. Luche and Mujer: Casos de la Vida Real. 

Traven got started in acting in her teens while seriously considering a career as a lawyer.

“I got into acting when I was in high school although I wanted to get into law,” she says. A school theatre workshop led to winning some awards in a school competition. “This is when I fell in love with acting,” states Traven. “I did go to law school first but then dropped law and started taking acting classes.” After studying acting for a few years, the actress went to the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles. “I am a method actor and believe every actor needs to have technique, because in Mexico that is not emphasized.”  

She also decided to pursue another career. 

“I like to keep well rounded,” says Traven. After studying acting, she went back to college to get a bachelor’s degree in psychology and later earned a master’s in natural linguistic programming and another in psychotherapy. “I have a private practice,” she states with pride, adding she doesn’t mix her different careers.

Featured Photo: Cry Macho (Credit: Warner Bros.)

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Winner of the Best Film award at the NY Latino Film Festival and Barcelona Film Festival last year, Amaraica premieres on HBO/HBO/MAX on September 3.  Filmed in El Paso, TX, the film is directed by Tim Sparks.  Actress Elpidia Carillo (Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Mayans MC) and Director/Writer Tom Musa (Stand and Deliver) produce.

It is an immigrant story that revolves around Roberto, an undocumented roofer on the verge of marrying a U.S. citizen, which would allow him legal status.  Plans change when his ex-girlfriend Juana comes back into his life, claiming he is her child’s father.  Reluctantly, he takes responsibility, becomes a father, and then loses his child.

Roberto is deported while Juana remains in US custody seeking asylum and the whereabouts of her infant daughter. The film climax examines the reality of a family who has been separated from their child and their difficult if not impossible struggle to be reunited.

Amaraica is Sparks’ directorial debut. The subject matter of this film came from his own extended family, where he gained first-hand experience dealing with the complexities of undocumented immigration. In addition to his personal experience, the film is also further fueled by the inhumane practice of child separation at the US/Mexico border.

“I’ve been drafted into the community of undocumented individuals who are tragically affected every day by inhumane practice and policy at the US border,” Sparks recounted. “This film is for them,” he continued. “I invite you to walk a mile in their shoes as you watch, Amaraica, a human story about a family, perhaps not unlike your own, caught in a broken system, struggling to make a better future for their children in the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Lending their experience and talents as producers are Musca, who first captured attention as the producer and co-writer of Oscar-nominated films Stand and Deliver and Carrillo.  Carillo, who became known for her performance in The Border and Predator, has amassed an impressive career in Hollywood.  She is now adding producer to her skillset.  

It’s been said that without Elpidia’s passionate resolve to bring Amaraica’s story to light, the film might not have been made. She is solely responsible for procuring the talent that stars in the movie.

When director Sparks approached Carillo with his script, it triggered the deep hurt she had carried since starring in her first film in Hollywood.

“I came to this country as a teenager, my first film The Border reflected a Hollywood view of the migrant situation. This view was racist and horrible,” Carrillo said passionately.  “We are not all prostitutes and drug dealers. We are hardworking, honest people doing their best to survive and feed their families.  I knew early on that I had to raise my voice to find and write stories that told the truth about Latinos.”

Carillo was heavily involved with the casting of Aldo Verastegui as the lead said, “I wanted to make sure our story was told from the right perspective and that the narrative remains true to real life.  When Aldo told me about his family experiences with immigration, I knew he was the right actor to bring this story to life”. 

“As a Latino/American actor, I am so proud of what we did. We didn’t make a movie just to make a movie. We wanted to tell a universal story that is not only about Mexicans but for every race of people around the world experiencing those same immigration problems,” Verastegui said.

Producer/writer Kori Sparks has worked on major films, including Inception, Angles & Daemons, and The Dark Knight Rises. Her hands-on leadership helped shape the vision and authenticity of Amaraica. 

Amaraica, a Sparkstar Production, was released last year and is now premiering on the pay cable channel HBO Latino/HBO MAX, September 3, 2021, and will be available for streaming.  Amaraica was produced in partnership with www.raisestexas.org, a non-profit advocacy group representing separated children and their families pro-bono.

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The series is loosely based on the true adventures of Stede Bonnet, a pampered aristocrat from the 18th century who abandoned his life of privilege to become a pirate, according to a press statement from the streamer. Bonnet, who became known as “The Gentleman Pirate,” will be played by the New Zealand-born L.A.-based comedy actor Rhys Darby (Yes Man, How I Met Your Mother).

Ortiz’s character is named Bonifacia but Armisen’s role has yet to be announced.

Armisen, whose mother is Venezuelan, is among the few Latinos who have joined SNL in the long history of the Emmy Award-winning late-night comedy showcase. He was nominated for various Emmys for the variety sketch series Portlandia and Documentary Now! Portandia, which he starred, directed, wrote and produced, and won him a Peabody Award. His other credits include Los Espookys, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Easy A.

Ortiz is a Puerto Rico-born Latinx, non-binary and gender-fluid rising actor who gained notoriety as Cindy in the Amazon series Transparent. She has also been featured in the series The Fosters, Lucifer and Criminal Minds. More recently, the Boricua artist has had a guest-starring role in American Horror Story: 1984 and a recurring role in the GLAAD-nominated freeform comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.

The SNL alumnus and the Vida actor are joining a cast that includes a couple of Academy Award winners, albeit in non-acting categories. Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) is cast as Blackbeard, history’s feared pirate–he won the Oscar for writing Jojo Rabbit. And Nat Faxon (HouseBroken), who won the Oscar for writing The Descendants, will also star in an as yet unspecified role.

The ensemble cast also includes Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), David Fane (The Tattooist), Nathan Foad (Listen to Bapou), Joel Fry (Game of Thrones), Leslie Jones (SNL), Samson Kayo (Famalam), Guz Khan (Four Weddings and a Funeral, series), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game), Matt Maher (Gone Baby Gone), Kristian Nairn (Game of Thrones) and Con O’Neill (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).

Armisen is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, WME and Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman.

Vico Ortiz is represented by BBA Talent and DePaz Management.

Featured Photos: Fred Armisen (Courtesy: Warner Media); Vico Ortiz (Courtesy of artist)

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The selection of that premiering date may be no accident. It’s been designated as International Day of Democracy by the United Nations.

Directed by filmmakers Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo, A la Calle follows the efforts of Venezuelans fighting the government of President Nicolás Maduro, which the opposition and critics call a dictatorship. The Latin American nation has faced extraordinary political turmoil for the past three decades, including a failed coup d’état in 1992 and an ever-deepening economic crisis that has reportedly led over 4 million Venezuelans to leave their country in what is considered one of the major migrations in the history of the Americas.

Navarrete and Caicedo worked with a network of clandestine camera crews over three years recording exclusive interviews with key opposition figures including opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Juan Guaidó, grassroots activist Nixon Leal and everyday Venezuelans. The filmmakers say they smuggled hard drives with the film out of the South American country.

The film is a production of Priority Pictures and Vitamin Productions in association with The Brakefield Company and executive produced by Greg Little, Karen Lauder and Lizzie Friedman.

The film was produced by Shawna Brakefield-Haase (Momentum Generation) and Marcus Cheek along with Navarrete and Caicedo. David Mosquera is the director of photography. The film is edited by Yesenia Higuera, with music by Venezuelan native Elik Álvarez, who includes traditional Venezuelan instrumentation and musicians in the film score.

Los Angeles-based Navarrete was born in Venezuela and holds a bachelor’s degree in cinema from San Francisco State University. He started filming Latin American hip-hop music videos on a trip back to his homeland, according to his biography. His IMDb credits list him as a second camera in the 2017 documentary Knowing Nothing Cold. 

For his part, Caicedo is a novice filmmaker who has no previous IMDb credits. He reportedly leads business development as chief marketing officer of Vitamin Productions, whose clients include HBO. A second-generation Colombian-American, he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and English literature from Tufts University and has worked as a political consultant.

A la Calle marks the directorial debut of both Navarrete and Caicedo, who also serve as producers.

The film has been screened at the Doc Nyc Film Festival, Amsterdam’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Toronto’s Hot Docs/Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Miami Film Festival, London’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival and Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival.

“It is an honor to have the film premiere on HBO Max where audiences will now have the chance to experience this beautifully told, powerful story,” says Little of Priority Pictures. “Our hope is that A la Calle raises critical awareness about the ongoing humanitarian and political crises in Venezuela.”

“OneFifty understands documentary films can be more than just art or entertainment, but a medium through which the world can learn about the most important sociopolitical issues of our time,” say Navarrete and Caicedo in a joined statement.

Endeavor Content handled domestic sales on behalf of the filmmakers. International rights to the film are still available.

The deal was negotiated by Chris Grunden, senior vice president of content acquisitions for HBO and HBO MAX.

Featured Photo: ‘A la Calle’ (Credit: Alejandro Cegarra)

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Comedian Frankie Quiñones is back on HBO Latino with a special show entitled Frankie Quiñones: Superhomies. It is an installment of the Entre Nos Presents comedy specials featuring top Latino comedians. The show will air July 9 and also be available on HBO Max.

The proudly self-proclaimed “LA made, LA raised” funny man will share stories about growing up Mexican-American in Los Angeles and the difficulties of dating. He will also feature his barrio alter-egos Creeper, from his CholoFit sketches about a fitness guru from the vecindario, and “JC” Juanita Carmelita, whom he describes as a “spicy suburban drama queen.”

This is not the first time that Quiñones (Feliz NaviDAD) is on the cable channel. He has been in episodes of Entre Nos, the series that has featured dozens of established and up-and-coming stand-up Latino talent since 2017. Now, the Angeleno comedian joins a selected group of comics who have earned their very own special, such as Erik Rivera, Shayla Rivera and Nick Guerra.

“Pumped to finally share the trailer for my comedy special,” Quiñones posted on Facebook, sharing a trailer of the show.

Quiñones has recently been featured in other TV projects. He has voiced several characters for the Cartoon Network Mexican-American animated TV series Victor & Valentino, created and starring Diego Molano, and starred in the TBS comedy series The Dress Up Gang. The comedian also appeared in Lifetime Television’s Feliz NaviDAD, a Christmas movie starring Mario Lopez.

The L.A. cómico is also set to appear in a lead role in ABC Studios/Hulu pilot Punk Ass B*tch from creator Chris Estrada. 

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