When an AI Productivity Monitoring Software deems widow Tita (Laura Patalano) no longer fit for work due to her swelling joints, she reluctantly hires an AI humanoid to fill in for her picking strawberries out in the fields. Yet, as model after model breaks down during the arduous labor, it becomes clear that no AI Humanoid the company provides is capable of executing the same back-breaking work. 

Patalano is endearing and just the right amount of tough in her role as Tita, who navigates both a humorous and heartfelt performance. She is surrounded by an equally engaging cast that convinces us that Caballero’s world in the not-too-distant future could very soon be a reality. 

Written by Luis Antonio Aldana & Miguel Angel Caballero, this film was produced by Helena Sardinha and Rafael Thomaseto, presented at the Tribeca Festival and was made as part of Indeed’s Rising Voices program – an initiative set up to discover, invest in and share stories created by BIPOC filmmakers and storytellers, and has qualified to be considered for a 2024 Academy® Award. Rising Voices was created in collaboration with Emmy® Award-winning writer, creator, and actor Lena Waithe, Hillman Grad Productions, Ventureland and 271 Films.

Miguel Angel Caballero (co-writer/director) is the son of Mexican immigrant farm workers and an award-winning Queer Mexican-American/Chicano writer, director, and producer. His short film, ACUITZERAMO, premiered at the Morelia International Film Festival, won 20 awards internationally, and is screening on MAX. Miguel Angel is an Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellow, Film Independent Project Involve fellow, and the Warner Bros. Discovery 150 Artist Grant recipient. Miguel Angel was one of ten directors selected to participate in the 2022 inaugural Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Accelerator Program and won the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship. 

STARRING

Laura Patalano

Luis Antonio Aldana

Nico Greetham 

Cheryll Umaña

Rocío Lopez

Geoffrey Rivas

Rafael Cobos Delgado

Juan Alfonso

Elia Saldana

Joan Almedilla

Arlene Santana

Christain Jaime Garcia

Kiara Bletran

David Rodriguez Estrada

PRODUCTION: Indeed, Hillman Grad Productions, 271 Flms

DIRECTOR:  Miguel Angel Caballero

WRITERS: Luis Antonio Aldana, Miguel Angel Caballero

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Lena Waite, Rishi Rajani, Doménica Castro, Constanza Castro

PRODUCERS: Helena Sardinha, Rafael Thomaseto

The post REVIEW: The Ballad of Tita and The Machines has an unorthodox hero first appeared on .

Inspired by the life and standup career of star and co-creator Chris Estrada, the 10-episode Hulu series, This Fool, centers around 30-year-old Julio (Estrada), who almost dementedly attempts to avoid conflict at all costs. Living and working in South Central Los Angeles, Julio navigates his way through a series of codependent relationships with his family Grandma Julia Vera and mother Laura Patalano, who he lives with; his girlfriend Maggie (Michelle Oritz), whom he’s been dating since high school; his older cousin Louis (Frankie Quinones), who has just gotten out of prison and is now living with Julio’s family, and his co-workers at Hugs Not Thugs, a South L.A. gang rehabilitation center. The comedic elements come from Julio’s inability to avoid dealing with his problems, punctuated immensely by the colorful portrayals of his castmates. 

In fact, the opening episode relies too much on the off-the-wall antics of the people who inhabit Julio’s world. Estrada’s adept timing happily allows the others to shine, keeping the action moving non-stop. In the process, we come to see that Julio is clearly one of the more miserable characters to be on a sitcom, while proving Estrada to be one of the most effective straight men working in television. In viewing the chaos of living in a troubled neighborhood, one wishes that Julio would try harder to rise above the situations that converge against him. But the character is often no match for the people in his life. While Julio struggles to be sane and rational with his supposed girlfriend, Maggie dominates, at one point casually taking his car, steamrolling his protests with breezy aplomb. In the meantime, Quinones’ Louis is a bombastic loudmouth who reduces his cousin to the timid little boy whom he has dominated all his life. 

What saves Julio is how he spends his days working at Hugs Not Thugs, trying to help reformed gang members and ex-cons make successful re-entries into society. He proves himself to be a worthy, insightful helpmate, even though his workdays don’t always move along smoothly, especially when dealing with his boss, the less than holy and highly unconventional minister-in-charge of Hugs Not Thugs, portrayed with dead-pan humor by Michael Imperioli. But it is at this rehab center that Julio manages to occasionally rise above the chaos of his life, even managing to outwit his cousin, using Luis’ pride and ego to cajole him into making the rehab center’s famous cupcakes for an important sale. It also shows another side of Luis, from a wisecracking joker to a man looking to improve himself. 

If the series manages in its ensuing episodes to rise above the over-abundance of gang banger sight gags and sad sack jokes, placing Julio on more of an even keel with the people in his life, then This Fool has a chance of sustaining itself. Chris Estrada is a masterful comedian, who has created an intriguing premise and a potentially worthy hero that the viewing audience should be cheering on to succeed. It can be funny when Julio falls victim, but it would be more rewarding to witness the basic decency and goodness of the man when he helps those souls around him to build better lives for themselves.    This Fool, which debuts August 12, is written and executive produced by Chris Estrada, Pat Bishop, Jake Weisman and Matt Ingebretson. Jonathan Groff and Fred Armisen also serve as executive producers on the series. The Hulu comedy is produced by ABC Signature. 

The post Chris Estrada’s ‘Fool’ Life In South Central Premieres on Hulu first appeared on .

The first time I met Laura Patalano (Alex, Inc., Vida) was in 2017 when by coincidence I ended up working on an indie film where she was one of the lead actresses. I was in awe of her natural ability to embrace her character in full mode– she portrayed a traditional Mexican mom to a modern, rebellious and independent daughter– who had come home for the annual tamalada to reveal a major secret or in the case for this traditional mother, it was more like a nuclear bomb. Since then Patalano has continued to rack up plenty of films, videos, and TV credits that only serve to increase her IMDB STARmeter. Currently, she has a recurring role on Netflix’s Latinx drama series, Gentefied, from Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chavez, and executive produced by America Ferrera.

Check out her impressive acting reel: CLICK HERE

Patalano has continued to steadily build on her acting career as if she’s following a carefully crafted blueprint. No doubt about it, she is on her way up and there is no stopping her. The little girl born in Merida, Yucatan (southeast of Mexico), and raised in Mexico City, has come a long way!

Finally, the interview I’ve wanted to conduct since the day we met!

Latin Heat: At what age did you realize you wanted to be an actress?

Laura Patalano: It was in my teenage years that I knew I wanted to be an actress. From a very young age, I was exposed to many kinds of artistic manifestations from concerts to theatre. My aunt Isabel used to take me to see plays every other weekend, and when I was a child my games were many times related to some kind of performance, but I didn’t know that one day I’d be doing it for a living. In high school, my first acting teacher was Alejandro Bichir, a well-known director. When he saw me in an improvisation class, he approached me and said, ‘You should go to drama school, you are so good.’ Later he sent me the information about El Instituto de Arte Escénico. I was fortunate enough to be the first generation from that school and studied with the best teachers. It is a challenging and prestigious acting school.

LH:  After spending 10 years building up credits in New York City, what inspired you to pick up and move to Los Angeles?

LP: A few factors that inspired me to come to Los Angeles were my professor Jorge Zepeda, the fact that I wanted to be part of a community, and a dream I had one night.  My professor from drama school back in Mexico told me that I would have more opportunities in LA. It’s funny because we were in an improvisation class one day and he cut me off in the middle of a scene and said to me ‘do you speak English? Because if you do, with your look and talent you would be working all the time in Hollywood’. Back then he was living and working as an actor in LA. I guess that stayed with me for many years. Being a Mexican actress in New York, I felt I was part of the minority, while in L.A. I am part of a larger community. And, then there’s that dream– the one in which I was very successful working as an actor in LA.

LH: Tell us about your current role on Gentefied?

LP: I play the role of Beatriz. She is a tough, single mother who is very stubborn, sarcastic and works in a sewing factory in the Fashion District. She is a loving mother who sacrifices so much to keep a roof over her girls’ heads. She is just like many other single mothers out there who for different reasons have to raise their kids on their own. She is pretty much a tough cookie. Unfortunately, Latinas, especially my age and type, don’t have many opportunities to play complex roles in Hollywood as they are constantly typecast. Beatriz, on the other hand, is a multi-dimensional character.

LH: What is it about Gentefied that you hope viewers will most appreciate?

LP: I hope it’s the authenticity of each character and the fact that people will be able to relate to the story and to the characters. Gentrification affects many people in many communities, It is complicated and painful for so many, but most especially for the most vulnerable in communities: low-income, working-class, immigrants, and POC. The show looks at gentrification [displacement] through a lens of humanity, and I really hope that viewers appreciate and learn how the characters deal with gentrification in their community. Gentefied talks about a variety of issues and portrayal of Latinos, and it speaks directly to Latinx communities. Gentefied has a lot of heart and soul, and I am so proud to be part of telling the story.

LH: You’re also currently on the animation Victor & Valentino TV series. How are you enjoying voice-over work? Tell us about Grandma Chata.

LP: Animation is a lot of fun. I love playing Grandma Chata. She is pretty much like my own Grandmother Mamá Grande. She was such a sweet lady and a second mother to me. I tried incorporating all the sweetness from my own Grandmother into Grandma Chata’s character. Victor and Valentino is a cartoon-like no other and it’s not only for a young audience but for adults as well. I’m really excited that Cartoon Network just renewed Victor and Valentino for Season 2. 

LH:  You’ve worked on so many important TV series — Mayans MC, Shameless, Alex Inc., Dexter, The Bridge, and you were even on Jimmy Kimmel playing Guillermo’s mother-in-law, which of these has been most rewarding and, why?

LP:  Each role that I played was important in one way or another. One of the most rewarding roles I played was Rosalba in Alex, Inc. The fact that I was given the opportunity to be part of the show, for such a big network like ABC as a guest star gave me the opportunity to show that I am able to do it, handle it and be good at it. Often times we are not given enough opportunities to show our talent, but I feel like that is changing. I also loved that I was part of the full episode rather than a single scene. Being on set with Zach Braff and Michael Imperioli was such a great and fun experience!

LH: What is more challenging for you—a comedic or dramatic role? 

LP: When I was young and I was studying at drama school, my teachers would give me comedic parts and I used to hate those roles. I wanted to be a dramatic actress. I didn’t know back then that comedy is one of the hardest things to play. Most of the actors can play dramatic roles but not everybody can do comedy. But I am happy [and blessed] that so far, both have come easy for me. 

LH: The late Lupe Ontiveros left a void… Is there anything in the way she worked interpreting her characters that is relatable to you?  Tell us about your own style of comedic timing. I know you’ve been compared to her, yet you’re different–

LP: Lupe Ontiveros was a very talented actress, so it’s always an honor to be compared to her. Sadly, I wasn’t lucky enough to meet her in person. I can relate to her because I have a strong personality just like she did and because she played complex characters just like I do. I believe that comedic timing is something innate and in my personal opinion,­ you either have the timing or you don’t. I feel like this is not something that can be easily learned.

LH: Where do you hope you’ll be in 5 years?

LP: I hope that in five years I will continue to be working a lot and inspiring other women through the characters I portray. Even though acting is my passion, I have an idea for a movie I want to direct about something that happened to my family related to my brother’s death back when I was a teenager. I also have a couple of scripts in mind that I would love to turn into movies as well. 

LH: What advice do you give to younger actresses who get frustrated because work isn’t coming soon enough or consistently?

LP: My best advice for future generations is going to school, learn all you can, do lots of networking and support each other. This is not an easy career. It’s not a marathon, it’s a journey, so enjoy the ride! And most important of all, if this is what you really want:  Never, ever give up!

LH: What is the most gratifying memory or experience you’ve ever had in your acting career that most definitely help reshape how you viewed the future?

LP: The movie Mosquita y Mari marked my life in a very special way. I was cast from my demo reel three days before they started shooting. When the movie screened at Outfest there was a party after the screening and a young fellow approached me and asked, ‘May I hug you? You look a lot like my mother, she passed away three years ago and she never accepted the fact that I was gay.’ That broke my heart. I am a mother of twin daughters and I can’t imagine not having them in my life. I told him, ‘I do believe that we come to this world to be happy. Your mom was raised in a very traditional household. That’s probably why she was unable to understand you. The important thing is that you are here, somebody loves you, embrace who you are!’ We said goodbye and the next day he commented on the film’s Facebook page giving thanks to the movie, and that he had the opportunity to speak to me and that he was able to have closure on his mom’s passing.

After reading his post, I realized work as an actor is very important. We are healers and with the characters that we play, we can touch people’s lives in a very special way. I guess that is what really made me look at the future in a different way.

Thank you, Laura!

Laura Patalano is repped by Daniel Rojo Management. Follow her on social media:

Instagram: @lpatalano 
Twitter: @LPatalano
Facebook: Laura Patalano
Website: www.laurapatalano.com

The post Laura Patalano: A Purpose-Driven Actor first appeared on .