Ramon Rodriguez returns to broadcast television in the title role in ABC’s upcoming crime / drama series, Will Trent, as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) special agent. The series premieres on January 3 on ABC.

Rodriguez got his star on television with his first series regular in ABC’s Day Break. From there he went on to make to short live series Charlie’s Angels and Fox’s Gang Related.  Meanwhile on film fans followed his trajectory in films such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Taking of Pelham 123 and Battle Los Angeles. 

As Rodríguez embarks on his latest television series, which he also produces, he eloquently and enthusiastically spoke to Latin Heat about his artistic journey and emotional investment in creating a unique character for the TV series. 

Discovering Will Trent

Rodríguez recalls he did not initially seek out the role of Will Trent:

“I had just done a project with Hulu. I know some of the executives and have a history with them and they wanted to do something else with me and they presented me with Will Trent.”

The TV show, Will Trent, is based on author Karen Slaughter’s popular series of novels on the Atlanta-based special agent. Will Trent, who was abandoned as a child, grew up in the Atlanta foster care system, has dyslexia but overcame those obstacles to attain the highest clearance rate in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Rodríguez admits he was not familiar with slaughter’s books but immersed himself in them and found Will Trent to be an attractive and appealing character.

He recalls, “I met with the showrunners, Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen, and we had several creative dialogs on how to approach the material, where we want to take the show, how to portray Will Trent and how to best develop a compelling character,” 

“A big part of it for me,” adds Rodríguez, “is the chance to produce and be a part of the early on dialogs about the show.”

The Puzzle Master

There were several factors that drew Rodríguez to the character of Will Trent:

“I found Will Trent to be a most interesting character,” says Rodríguez, “He had a difficult childhood growing up an abandoned orphan in the Atlanta foster care system. He experienced a lot of traumas and carries a lot of scars.  He’s dyslexic. But despite all that, Will manages to rise to the highest levels in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation earning  its highest clearance rate”

Rodríguez refers to Trent as a Puzzle Master because, despite his dyslexia, he can come onto a crime scene and see things others miss. Trent takes the puzzle pieces and creates a collage or story  to solve the hidden mystery  of a crime.

“We have created a visual language,” says Rodríguez, “to portray to the audience how Will sees things.”

Unlike Sherlock Holmes, Columbo and Hercule Poirot, who employ linear, logical geometrical deductive reasoning to solve crimes, Trent uses an unconventional, asymmetrical approach to reconstruct and deconstruct a crime scene.

Vulnerabilities

People with dyslexia are often wrongly characterized as being not very intelligent because they often have great difficulty reading. Will Trent has suffered with this all his life, but has developed coping methods to deal with it; visual aids, colors, color coded files, etc. But sometimes his dyslexia completely betrays him.

“We sometimes show Will really struggling with his dyslexia,” says Rodríguez. “There are times when he simply cannot read, and we show his frustration. Will is ashamed of his visual liability and works hard to keep it from being revealed.”

A Three-Dimensional Character in a Three-Piece Suit

According to Rodríguez, “Will is the kind of guy who loves working a crime scene. He lives for this stuff, and it sometimes creates tension between himself and the Atlanta Police Force.”

To present himself as a guy in charge and in control of the situation, he always shows up wearing a natty three-piece suit that gives him the aura of respectability, authority and being on top of things.

“I love Will’s outlook on life, his point of view and how he sees things differently than others do,” says Rodríguez. “Here’s a guy who grew up alone. Nobody helped him and yet because of his tragic childhood he is someone who cares and wants to help others in need.”

Rodríguez shares, “in the pilot we demonstrate this quality when will adopts a chihuahua dog he doesn’t like or want but can’t stand the idea of it being left alone and helpless like he was. This immediately shows the heart and I love that. This guy has a lot of heart.

Atlanta As A Character

Will Trent is shot on location in Atlanta, Georgia because as Rodríguez points out, “The novels take place in Atlanta. We shoot on location here in Atlanta, so the city is a real character. We want to capture that energy, heat and vibe,” explains Rodríguez. “Our stories are mostly Atlanta-based stories. In one episode we tell a story that takes place at a lake here that has a history that we mine for a story.”

Atlanta is rapidly becoming a center of entertainment production. Rodríguez indicates that the show is surrounded by so much talent. In addition to Rodríguez, the cast of Will Trent features Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, Jake McLaughlin and Sonja Sohn .

Executive producers are Liz Heldens, Daniel Thomsen, Karin Slaughter and Oly Obst. Ramón Rodríguez is a producer and the star of Will Trent. His tireless dedication and commitment to the character of Will Trent results in a relatable special agent who is resilient in the face of his adversities and liabilities, a relentless unorthodox crime solver but ultimately tempered and defined by his innate sense of decency and genuine humanity.

In the pilot episode of Will Trent premieres on ABC on January 3, Special Agent Will Trent relies on his keen instincts and unique experience to uncover the truth when a murder investigation reveals there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

The post Ramón Rodríguez Brings Special Agent Will Trent to Life in New ABC Series first appeared on .

Ian Lara’s comedy star continues to ascend in the wake of his highly successful and well-received HBO Special Romantic Comedy, which premiered November 11 and is currently streaming on HBO. Without question, this has been a banner year for Lara. But he is not an overnight success. The Brooklyn-born son of Dominican parents put in the hard work during his early “salad” days working a full-time day job and doing open mic gigs in the evening at various comedy clubs. All that hard work now has him poised to become a bright, shining star in the Latino comedy galaxy.

The Son of Immigrants

Born in East New York, Brooklyn, Ian grew up in a neighborhood dominated by people of Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage. Ian benefitted greatly from that proud Latino background.

“My parents were immigrants from the Dominican Republic’, recalls Ian. “From an early age, they instilled in me the immigrant work ethic. A work ethic that says as an immigrant you must work harder than everyone else in order to fit in and be accepted.”

Ian also is the beneficiary of a big humorous family that loves getting together and enjoys laughing and joking with each other.  “My parents were okay with me becoming a comic, but they insisted I had to work and earn money while trying to achieve my comedy goals,” says Lara. “I was always a fan of stand-up comedy and people suggested it to me” And wisely Lara took their advice to heart.

Perfecting His Comedy Craft

Lara’s comedy influences and role models are Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Kevin Heart. Lara’s on-stage style and persona is conversational, observational, sharp, edgy, often raunchy, hip, smart and insightful.

“My comedy,” says Lara, “comes from just living my life.” He has the unique ability to take casual encounters with friends and people he meets on the street and finds material for jokes within them. It’s a style that creates an intimacy with his audience. Even in the large 400 seat audience venue for his Romantic Comedy HBO Special, Lara’s style and delivery created an intimate energy much like that of a small comedy club.

Ian began his rise to comic stardom by way of Comedy Central and HBO Latino’s Entre Nos franchise, which spotlights the best Latino standup talent on the scene. Comedian Aida Rodriguez, also an alum of Entre Nos, directs Lara’s HBO special.

The premiere of Romantic Comedy is his second special of 2022. His first, Growing Shame, premiered on Comedy Central Digital on February 10^th as part of their series of half hours. He performed his 30-minute debut comedy special LA Meets NY for HBO Latino’s esteemed Entre Nos franchise in 2020, which did so well the streamer gave him his current special now streaming on HBO.  

His appearance on Comedy Central’s StandUP Featuring has garnered over 10 million views collectively on social media, and he was a regular on the network’s hit series This Week at the Comedy Cellar.  He is also a big favorite on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

A Dynamic Duo Team of Latino Producers Make It Happen

It was through the tireless, creative efforts of the dynamic Latino producing duo of Victor Elizalde and Edwin Licona., who in conjunction and cooperation with HBO, brought the ground-breaking Entre Nos series to life. Elizalde and Licona explain: “We wanted to create a Latino stand-up comedy show that was clever enough to attract a discerning audience that spoke both English and Spanish and was  true to the Latino experience. So, ultimately the brand was developed as Entre Nos—We Speak Comedy.

Elizalde and Licona, who also produced Romantic Comedy, point out that, “HBO programming fought hard for this show to get it placed including forcing the show to be a licensed product and not an HBO Original. They continue, “Kudos to the HBO team for leading the way whilst allowing us to own the brand we created.  This is unheard of for almost any modern-day producers”

However, the two enterprising Latino producers came up against the usual obstacles to a Latino production. According to Elizalde and Licona, “Too many platforms did not originally see the need or demand for Latino based comedy” 

Furthermore, they explained, “It wasn’t until the breakout Orlando Leyba‘s comedy special on HBO did executives start to take notice that not only was there an audience but that they had no idea who the main attractions were like Frankie Quinones, Chris Estrada, Jerry Garcia and Aida Rodriguez to name a few.  Hollywood execs did not realize that these folks are all household names, but just not in their household”.  The latest shows on HBO were with Ian Lara, Ralph Barbosa and Gwen LaRoka. Judging by the requests for comp VIP tickets to the launch parties and activations by the talent agents, managers and platform execs these obstacles are being removed quickly.

So, What’s Next for Ian Lara?

When Lara was asked where he saw himself in five years — doing more comedy specials, a TV sitcom series, possibly a movie, Lara without hesitation answered enthusiastically, “All of the above.” Will Lara get his shot at the brass ring to become a “household name” like Frankie Quinones, Chris Estrada, Jerry Garcia and Aida Rodriguez?

Producers Elizalde and Lacona have demonstrated their passionate commitment to showcasing the wide diversity, shapes, sizes in authentic, relatable programs that highlight the best of our culture. The opportunities for Lara will certainly be there and for this rising comedy star, the sky is the limit.

To find out about Ian’s upcoming tour dates, check out his website: www.IanLaraLive.com. Romantic Comedy is now streaming on HBO.

The post Stand-up Ian Lara is a Hit in HBOs ‘Romantic Comedy’ first appeared on .

TV Series – Rosie’s Rules

Genre: Animation, Family

Creator: Jennifer Hamburg

Cast: Ellora Lopez, Carlos diaz, Ana sofia Ferrer, Gabby Clarke, Amanda Martínez

REVIEW

A young Latina solving the mysteries of life on her own terms. In this pre-school animated comedy series, we follow the hilarious adventures of 5-year-old Rosie Fuentes (voice of Ellora Lopez). This curious, independent kid has many questions about the world outside of her family and neighborhood. No worries. Rosie is a smart little kid who figures things out on her own. 

Production Company: 9 Story Media Group

Distributor:  9 Story Media Group

Rating:

TV Series Alma’s Way

Genre: Animation, Family

Creator: Sonia Monzana

Writer: Jorge Aguirre

Cast: Summer Rose Castillo, Maya Shoken, Neo Vela, Jacob Crispo, Jesus E. Martinez

REVIEW

“Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king” —Ecclesiastes 4:13. Alma Rivera (voice of Summer Rose Castillo ), is the proud six year old Puerto Rican living in the Bronx embodiment of the  Biblical saying. 

In every episode, Alma’s Way aims to model self-awareness, responsible decision making, and empathy, encouraging kids to generate and value their own ideas and questions. As she uses “Think-Through” moments to stop, listen, and process in the face of a tough decision, Alma reflects and takes action while demonstrating social awareness.

Production Company: Fred Rogers Productions

Distributor: PBS Kids

Rating:

Rosie’s Rules and Alma’s Way are two great animated educational series that highlight and portray positive images of young Latinas who are smart, curious, thoughtful and wonderful role models for young Latina viewers.

Rosie’s Rules and Alma’s way can be seen on PBS Kids.

The post Thumbnail Reviews: Rosie´s Rules and Almas Way first appeared on .

Written by Roberto Leal

“The problem with Marilyn playing dumb blonde roles is she’s not dumb or a blonde” —Arthur Miller, Playwright

Ana de Armas has clearly and undeniably nailed down the coveted pole position for the for Oscar race for Best Actress. The talented, beautiful, Cuban-born de Armas delivers a stunning portrayal of Marilyn Monroe that is at once harrowing, compassionate, heart-breaking, nuanced, at times painful to watch and emotionally courageous. Ana de Armas has laid the foundation for this ground-breaking and controversial performance with critically acclaimed roles in her previous films, Knives Out, in which she plays a humble caregiver, the latest Bond girl in No Time to Die and a tough, kickass CIA agent in The Gray Man. But in Blonde, de Armas not only carries the film on her slender shoulders, she elevates the entire film to award-winning heights which in turn required her to extend her emotional acting range to newer, deeper and darker regions.

The Film Auteur’s Vision

The great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, who gave us classic films like Persona, The 7^th Seal, and Wild Strawberries, observed that sitting in a darkened theater and watching the mesmerizing flickering images dance on a movie screen is the closest thing to the dream state. Andrew Dominik, the director of Blonde and noted for his avant-garde film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Bob Ford, masterfully applies his auteurship skills to his vision of Blonde, which is based on the highly fictionalized, 1999 novel of Marilyn’s life by the author, Joyce Carol Oates.

In Blonde Dominik has created a surreal journey through the catacombs of Marilyn Monroe’s tortured inner psyche, as Norma Jean Baker struggles with the manufactured Hollywood identity of Marilyn Monroe that inhabits her body, mind and soul. In de Armas, Dominik has found the perfect vessel to bring his vision to life on the screen.

Dominik uses dark, muted light and shadows to convey an ethereal, dream-like tone that pervades the film often blending and mixing reality and nightmarish sequences with delusional fantasies.

Netflix, in a rare move, gave Dominik carte blanche to realize his vision of the material which contains some strong sexual content that resulted in Netflix getting its first NC-17 rating. But while the sexual content is disturbing, it is not especially graphic and as experienced through the vulnerable eyes of de Armas as Marilyn, it comes across more like pathos than porn. Ana de Armas uses her eyes, face, and inner dialogs between Norma Jean and Marilyn to paint a very textured portrait of the legendary Blonde Bombshell as a complicated, conflicted and misunderstood human being who became a Hollywood myth.

A Fine Supporting Cast

Blonde features an excellent supporting cast, all of whom turn in notable acting performances. However, Lily Fisher (Station 19, Life & Death)) as young Norma Jean and Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County, Black Mass) as Gladys Baker, Marilyn’s mentally unstable, delusional and often abusive mother, deserve a special shout-out for their fine work in the opening scenes of Blonde that depict, with often unsettling detail, the genesis of Norma Jean /Marilyn Monroe’s journey.

Fisher has a very unforgettable and poignant scene when she is shuffled off to an orphanage and protests in a quiet, haunting, plaintive voice: “But I’m not n orphan.”  Nicholson’s riveting performance of Gladys’s descent into utter and complete madness is a disquieting and viscerally frightening experience to behold.

A Cinematic Triumph for Ana de Armas

But in the final analysis, Blonde is all Ana de Armas. Her performance is like a great concert pianist playing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.  She commands the attention of the camera. You can’t take your eyes off of her. She draws you into the story and demands you watch, listen and try to understand her pain. The camera loves de Armas in much the same way it loved Marilyn Monroe, who was beyond a doubt the most photogenic Hollywood movie star of all time. 

Ana de Armas’s physical resemblance to Monroe is obvious. She worked diligently with an accent coach to diffuse her lovely Cuban accent and recreate Marilyn’s speaking voice. Her Cuban accent slightly betrays her only once or twice on certain words and did not detract from her performance at all.

In fact, it was a bit of unintentional irony that de armas, a Latina, was cast to play Marilyn Monroe. In real life, Monroe kept her Mexican birth heritage (her mother, Gladys, was born in Mexico) a professional secret because of pressure from the Hollywood studio executives who did not want their valuable All-American “product” to be tainted with a Hispanic background. So, in a karmic twist of fate, de Armas is in reality the perfect actress to portray Marilyn Monroe.

Ana de Armas’s star power keeps intensifying with each new challenging role. After her brilliant star turn in Blonde the only question remaining for de Armas is what designer dress this gorgeous and talented Latina will be wearing during her red-carpet interviews on her way to receiving her many well-earned and richly deserved acting awards for her role in this film.

BLONDE

Director: Andrew Dominik

Stars: Ana de Armas, Lily fisher, Julianne Nicholson

Distributor: Netflix

Blonde is currently streaming on Netflix.

The post Ana de Armas Gives an Oscar Worthy Performance in Netflix´s ‘Blonde’ first appeared on .

Film The Gray Man

Genre: Action, Thriller

Directors: Anthony russo, Joe Russo

Writers: Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Cast:  Ryan gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush

REVIEW

Fact: Behind every bad ass white guy is an equally bad ass Latina. When the CIA’s most skilled operative code named Six, played by Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Dune) inadvertently uncovers dark agency secrets a nutso evil looney tunes former colleague, Lloyd Hansen, played with demonic over-the-top glee by Chris Evans (The Avengers, Captain America: Civil war) puts a bounty on Six’s head setting off a world-wide manhunt by international assassins.

But coming to protect Six’s head as well as his “six” (behind) is Agent Dani Miranda played by Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time to Die). Miranda is every bit as capable and tough an agent as Six which is handy since the two get involved in more furious, fever-pitched gun battles with Lloyd’s hired goons than the Marines in the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. Fortunately for Six and Miranda the paid pistoleros are either myopic or just terrible shots because despite all the firepower aimed at Six and Miranda, they never seem to hit anything and come off looking more like the Keystone Kops than stone-cold killers.

The Gray Man is one of those large-scale action-adventure movies that is meant to be seen in a theater with appropriate booming deafening sound system. But now that The Gray Man is streaming on Netflix in order to fully appreciate the powerful visual impact of the film the bare minimum of a 60-inch flat screen TV with surround sound is required to get the full effect.

However, no particular screen size is required to enjoy watching Ana’s exploits as Agent Miranda in The Gray Man as she shoots, fights, kicks but and escapes danger side-by-side with Six as they battle the seemingly overwhelming and endless killer, heavily armed enemy forces of Lloyd Hansen. Ana de Armas is on the verge of becoming a superstar in Hollywood. Her star power gets closer and closer to supernova brilliance with every movie.

Ana de Amras has proven her acting versatility in different genre films like Blade Runner 2049 and Knives Out. She was the “Bond” girl in No time to Die and soon will be seen in Netflix’s highly anticipated biopic of Marilyn Monroe, Blonde. The Gray Man is a crowd-pleasing high-octane action-adventure movie that could turn into a franchise like The Bourne Identity or Mission Impossible which will give us the pleasure of watching Ana de Armas’s future exploits as Agent Dani Miranda either in the theaters or on a streaming platform near you.

Producers: Chris Castaldi, Jeff Krischenbaum, Mike Laroca

Production Company: AGBO

Distributor: Netflix

Available: Netflix

Rating:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Film: The Valet

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Director: Richard Wong

Writers: Bob fisher, Rob Greenberg, Francis Veber

Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Samara Weaving, Max Greenfield, Betsy Brandt,  Carmen Salinas, Amaury Nolasco

REVIEW

A Mexican character actor puts on a Master Class in light comedy.  The Valet, a sweet, charming romantic comedy becomes the perfect vehicle to showcase the comedic acting talents of Eugenio Derbez (Acapulco, CODA). Derbaz plays Antonio, a parking valet for a swank Beverly Hills restaurant. His life takes a convoluted turn for the weird when a beautiful movie star, Olivia, played by Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Guns Akimbo), talks Antonio into posing as her boyfriend to cover up her relationship with a married man. Antonio is offered a lot of money for the gig and he needs it, so he agrees.

This theme of a famous  gorgeous female superstar celebrity getting romantically involved with a regular guy was used successfully in the hit movie, Marry Me with Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson and sadly all too briefly in the short-lived TV series, The Baker and the Beauty featuring Victor Rasuk and Natalie Kelley. In all three stories the Hollywood star is transformed by her relationship with her  “down to earth” working-class romantic interest. In The Valet, Olivia not only is smitten with the irresistible good-natured charms of Antonio, but also finds herself accepted into his Mexican family, especially by his mother, Cecilia, played by the late veteran Mexican actress, Carmen Salinas (Man on Fire, Carnival Nights) in a lovely supporting role.

But it’s Derb az’s effortless comedic performance that is the linchpin of The Valet. Light comedy acting is an underappreciated art in Hollywood. Performing light comedy at a high level like Derbez does in The Valet is not only underappreciated but often overlooked when it comes to getting nominations during award season.

Such was the case this year as the Emmys looked past Derbaz’s comedic performances in both The Valet and his bi-lingual comedy TV series, Acapulco. But Derbez is in good company. Cary Grant, another master of light comedy roles, never won an Oscar (except an Honorary one toward the end of his life)and was only nominated twice. Whether Derbez ever wins any acting awards for his unique light comedy gifts, his on-screen persona will continue to warm our hearts and bring a smile to our faces.

Producers: Eugenio Derbez, Ben Odell

Production Company: 3Pas Studios

Distributor: Hulu

Available: Hulu

Rating:

The post Thumbnail Reviews: ‘The Gray Man.,’ ‘The Valet.’ first appeared on .

William Frey’s seminal work on the changing future demographics of the United States, The Browning of America has it all right, except for the title. The book should be titled, The Re-Browning of America. 

How soon we forget. The pre-Columbian Americas from Canada down to Patagonia were flush with brown people long before the first seasick pasty white Pilgrim set foot on Plymouth Rock.

Frey predicts by 2030 most of the West Coast, the Southwest, the Deep South, and some East Coast states will become minority-majority states with Latinos of all fifty shades of brown, accents, music and food making up a huge percentage of the population in those areas.

California is already a minority-majority state. So we can assume that Los Angeles with its massive Chicano community and the home of Latino Hollywood is the place where diversity and inclusivity are a slam dunk in film and TV, right? Well not so fast Speedy (insert your favorite Spanish surname).

Fear and Loathing in LA

“They’re singing songs of diversity, but not for me” is a tune many in Latino Hollywood find themselves singing these days. And in the face of so many reported gains in diversity and inclusion for women and other minorities for opportunities in front of and behind the camera, the question has to be asked why Latinos haven’t benefitted from these improvements?

An article about the recent WarnerMedia Discovery merger in a Latin Heat article, cited the public criticism by several Latino advocacy groups for inviting minority groups to their corporate board table. Rather the message to the Latino entertainment community was not to bother attending, but that they were more than welcome to come and bus the tables.

A similar UCLA study showed that even though Latinos make up almost 19 percent of the US population, they only have a 7 percent representation in film and TV.  Why such a wide gap in the disparity of representation in comparison to women and other minorities? Could it be fear?

The City of Los Angeles and the Latino community have had a troubled relationship ever since the city became part of the United States. The Anglo incursion into the city resulted in Latinos moving into barrios where they increasingly became objects of scorn and suspicion.  The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 only underscored the image of the Latino as a criminal to be feared.

The Chicano Movement of the ‘60’s was a wake-up call to the “establishment” that we were unified by an identity of pride and were now a force to be reckoned with. And now there is enough star power in the Latino entertainment galaxy with countless brilliantly talented producers, directors, writers, actors, musicians, cinematographers and craft technicians to light up a whole city. A city like LA. Could it be there are leftover vestiges of that old Latino dread that still linger in the big studio boardrooms and they feel threatened of losing their power in the oncoming, unstoppable cultural tsunami of The Browning of Hollywood?

What Do We Need?

In 2020, over 270 Latino writers and showrunners wrote the “Dear Hollywood” open letter demanding action on inclusivity. The letter’s signatories included such luminaries as Gloria Calderón-Kellett (One Day at a Time), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Encanto) Steven Canals (Pose), Tanaya Saracho (Vida), and John Leguizamo.  In the letter, the group lays out a list of five points of action they deem necessary for change: 

• Hire Latino writers to tell Latino stories
• Greenlight more projects from Latino creators
• Represent all aspects of Latino life and culture
• Do away with writers repeating low-level positions
• Hire Latino writers for projects about other groups.

That was two years ago and from all indications as the song says: “The beat goes on.” So, what do we need to make things change? When will Othello be played by Edward James Olmos rather than James Earl Jones? When will the next reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen be about a blended Mexican-American family of 12. Mom is a retired Air force helicopter pilot who is now running for political office. Dad is a doctor who runs a free clinic in their small Texas border town. The kids divide their time volunteering for Mom and helping out Dad at the clinic.

Who’s going to greenlight these projects from Latino creators?

Bel Hernandez, publisher of the influential trade journal, Latin Heat Entertainment, has been tracking Latino Hollywood since 1992. They don’t call Bel the Godmother of Latino Hollywood for nothing.  “In my opinion having Latino showrunners is essential,” she said. “But what we also need is studios and networks executives to greenlight our projects.” Adding, “And just as important, we need Latinos with deep pockets to invest in our stories like the African American community has done in theirs.”

Impatiently Waiting at the Railway Station

Latino Hollywood has been sitting in the railway station holding a ticket for its inevitable inclusive destination long enough.  That diversity train should have already arrived a long time ago. Well, the damn trains never run-on time, do they? But it won’t be long before we hear the roaring down the tracks of a fast-approaching train.

The post Why is the Hollywood Diversity Train Leaving Latinos Behind at the Station?? first appeared on .

November 3, 2020 was supposed to be “the day.” This was supposed to be the year that the shifting demographics in Texas would assert itself and achieve the long-awaited miracle feat of political alchemy and change Ruby Red Texas into a Cool Azul Tejas. It was supposed to be a tectonic plate shift that would change the national, electoral landscape for countless election cycles. It was supposed to be a tipping point. But it did not happen here in Texas. It fell flat on its face, again. Why?

Death Valley Daze

My ancestral roots, mis raices run deep in the Rio Grande Valley, from Harlingen, through Corpus Christi and Brownsville and over to South Padre Island. El valle is where both sides of my family are from. They grew up good FDR, pro-union, New Deal Democrats, and they, like many other Mexican Americans from South Texas, migrated to California after World War II to escape racism and seek new opportunities in the Bay Area. After being born and raised in San Jose, California, I came full circle and returned to Texas, first Austin, then McAllen, and now San Antonio, and have always felt like I have returned “home.”

But considering what is happening on the border with the inhumane policies of Donald Trump and his neo-Nazi political advisor, Stephen Miller, because of their brutal policies of child separation, “detaining” immigrant toddlers in dog cages and denying asylum seekers their constitutional rights, it was stunning to see the residents of my beloved Occupied Territories, go for Trump by a slim, but significant margin. When you factor in Trump’s hatred toward all Latinos, I am still scratching my head wondering how he got one single Latino vote in the Valley.

The Specter of Socialism

Trump tries to scare America into believing if Joe Biden, a lifelong centrist Democrat, were elected president, he would don military fatigues, grow a beard, become Fidel Castro and walk around DC with a dog-eared copy of Das Kapital tucked under his arm. It is totally absurd. Neither Trump, nor his followers would be able to recognize a socialist from a socialite, or a Trotskyite from a fox trot.

Ask any Latino military veteran in Laredo if they want their VA Benefits revoked and you will get a dirty look that will make you regret you ever asked the question. The VA Program is one of the biggest and most successful so-called “socialist”, aka government-run programs in US history.

Ask a Latino senior citizen living in Del Rio to burn their social security, Medicare or Medicaid cards and you will get the same dirty look. Social Security and Medicare are the two most popular government-run, aka “socialist” programs among the American public.

Trump and the Republicans want to dismantle or get rid of those programs and replace them with…nada, zilch, zero, zip. So why did so many Latinos, and millions of others, vote against their own interests? Is it simply because they are frightened by the specter of socialism? That scary ass specter has been an integral, popular and enduring fabric of our social safety net in this country for generations.

Much Ado About Macho

Consider a recent New York Times article titled, The Macho Appeal of Donald Trump. The article outlines why so many Latino men as well as African American males, are attracted to the “tough guy” image projected by Trump. Hard to figure. That so-called “tough guy” image is actually more like that shimmering mirage you see in the distance when you are driving on the highway.

This rich, spoiled, privileged preppie man-child is a serial philanderer, sexual predator, accused rapist, con man, pathological liar, tax cheat and Putin’s puppet. Where is the machismo in that? Trump is barely a role model for cold-blooded reptiles, much less human beings and certainly not for Latino men. For positive, strong, enlightened male role models, think Atticus Finch not Attila the Hun.

Tripping Over the Light Fantastic Tipping Point

This was supposed to be the year the Democrats would flip the Texas legislature, but they fell way short of that goal. Additionally, the gender gap was also painfully evident as several high-profile female Democratic candidates went down to defeat, including Wendy Davis, Gina Ortiz Jones and MJ Hagar.

Had the Democrats been able to win the Texas Legislature, we would be able to redraw the gerrymandered districts Tom DeLay drew up to look like a Jackson Pollock painting that favors Republicans and marginalizes and renders politically impotent Latino and other minority communities here in the Lone Star State.

A Democratic Texas Legislature would have redrawn all the Congressional Districts to reflect a more accurate representation of a Latino dominant republico de Tejas. That change would not only have had huge repercussions here in Texas, but across the country.

The tipping point was right there at our fingertips on November 3. Had Texas gone Blue, as has been predicted so often during the 22 years I have lived here, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia would have been moot footnotes to this year’s presidential election. Had Texas gone Blue on Day One of the Election, it would have been lights out, game over, adios amigo for Trump and the Republican Party.

Message in a Tequila Bottle

But it is not all bad. As a San Antonio native, political activist, Eva Longoria said recently on MSNBC, “Latinos voted in Texas in greater numbers than ever before. The Latino vote played a significant role in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia, where Latino communities are rapidly growing in numbers too big to ignore.”

Here in my adopted hometown of San Antonio, on election day we became one of a few Blue Dots in support of Biden, surrounded by a Sea of Red. But despite Biden’s win, this country is still horribly divided along racial and cultural lines.

Sometimes, I feel like Kevin McCarthy in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Every night for the past four years, I carefully check the balcony and bathroom closet for large, mysterious pods. At night, I listen intently for any telltale musical strains of Amazing Grace being played on bagpipes.

Even though I am marooned on this blue island in the middle of a red ocean, now that  old uncle Joe will be our next president, I can sleep easier and not worry so much about things that go Trump in the Night. The tantalizing aroma of those famous San Antonio puffy tacos, filled with the promise of political landscape change, is still in the air. We came close. Unfortunately, close does not count in politics.

I am sending out messages of hope, in empty tequila bottles I personally drank dry during my four years of despair, hoping they will land on some welcoming, distant shore, with this message inside: TEJAS AZUL LA PRÓXIMA VEZ.

The post Hey Baby, Que Pasó in Texas? first appeared on .