Latino Who? Latino What? Latino Where?

Oscar time and invisibility of Latinos has never been more visible. What happened to the new opportunities brought on in the 1980s and 1990s for Latino filmmaking and Latino film representation? According to the L.A. Times, “these shifts took place because of the rising cadre of Latino film professionals entering the mainstream film industry, many of whom had gotten their start in Chicano and other Latino cinemas, as well as the industry's rising interest in the Latino audience.”

So what happened?

Money. It’s about money and the lack of belief or understanding by Hollywood that Latino buying power now exceeds $1.2 trillion, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.  According to Latinalista.net, Latino buying power will be the largest multicultural market by 2012. How much richer does a demographic have to be to gain Hollywood’s respect?

The supposed know-it-all mostly white Hollywood still insist on its failed tradition of continuing to hire non-Latinos to select Latino projects (mostly written by non-Latinos) and then produce a finished product that fails with ratings or at the box-office. They’re baffled as to why “Latinos aren’t flocking to the theatres or watching their shows.” What do non-Latinos know about the Latino experience? Nada.

In 2002, when director Franc. Reyes was premiering his critically acclaimed film Empire, he was asked about the difference between his gangster movie and that of other “Latino” mafia flicks.  “What other movies?” he asked. And he was read a list: “Carlito’s Way?” Brian de Palma, he responded. “Scarface?” de Palma directed and Oliver Stone wrote it, he answered.  “Mi Vida Loca?” Allison Anders, he said. “What about Blood In and Blood Out?” Taylor Hackford. Reyes went on to say that these movies were about the Latino perspective but made by a non-Latinos. That’s why his films are unlike any other type of Latino-labeled gangster movie, unique in that it was actually 100% Latino, cast, story, everything.

Recently Black History Month was celebrated and Tyler Perry was all over the place, networks and cable. This is one smart dude who knows how to maneuver his way around white tontos.  Sure he’s highly criticized for exploiting his actors, writers and just about everyone who works for him, but hey, the networks and studio love him, so who cares who he screws on his way to the bank. I complained and my teenage smart-ass niece said something that got me thinking, “Tia, is it really THEIR fault our stories aren’t told, is it possible that we Latinos have some culpability here?” She was beginning to sound like Franc. Reyes. “Why are we still asking, begging?” I don’t know the answer, so I asked Latino Hollywood insiders–Yareli Arizmendi & Sergio Arau, Dan Guerrero, Dennis Leoni, Dyana Ortelli, Kathryn F. Galan, Bel Hernandez, Miguel Najera and Richard Yñiguez:

What would I do to improve the state of Latinos in Hollywood?

Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau

(Actor,  Director,  Producer, Writer/Day Without A Mexican,  Naco es Chido)

Sergio Arau as “El Uyuyuy” and Yareli Arizmendi as “Macuca Reina” in
NACO ES CHIDO: The story of Botellita de Jerez more or less based

on the real facts.

Hollywood has to want to change. Does it? Who is Hollywood?

What exactly do we Latinos want Hollywood to allow us to do and to be? 

Be ourselves? Who are we? What do we have to say that is different from what is already being said? Or is it that we just want to have our actors say it?

Hollywood is changing…slowly. Prior generations of decision-makers are passing on the power baton to next. And who’s next? Latinos are definitely part of next. We are part of the resisted past, we are the present and we are the future. But what do we look like now? Interracial marriages have given way to a mixed race population. Latino, Black, Asian, there are no clean lines of demarcation. We need to be aware of what those changes mean for us. This is the new audience. But who is driving the creative wave and tapping into this market? Are we? This is not a rhetorical exercise; it is time that Latino professionals discuss the important demographic/social changes that have already affected the reality of an industry we think we know.

We are now in the 21st, are we people of the 21st century? How so? The ‘traditional’ business models in Hollywood and in every industry are falling apart. After much resistance the great distribution machine has had to pay its respects to the Internet.  Original, niche product is the order of the day. The mass market is fading; not cool to be a ‘one size fits all’ anymore. People are eager to find their special vendor at the open market and pass the word when they find it; the much sought after word-of-mouth. Are we taking our handmade products to the public square for sale or waiting to be invited?   Our point is; we cannot wait for an invitation to be part of a project. We must generate millions of independent projects and call on each other to collaborate. We need to explore, risk, dare, create new genres that surprise the establishment. Let it beg to be invited to our party. And lets not forget who our friends are. Latinos don’t grow up by themselves. They live in a society with Koreans, Russians, Blacks, Iranians, Jews, Hindus, Cambodians, etc.  Our best friends, teachers, bosses have a whole array of faces and stories they bring with them to interact with ours. Don’t erase them from our narratives; including them will paint the enviable party others will want to crash.  No shortcuts, it is hard work. But hey this is our world; shape it or someone else will.  And we know what that feels like.

Dan Guerrero

(TV/Theatre/Live Producer, Director)

Photo: Luther Orrick Guzman

Sweetie, if I knew the answer as to what would improve the state of Latinos in Hollywood, I would bottle it and make more money than Sara Lee with her baked goods. 

www.danguerrero.com

Dennis Leoni

(Executive Producer, Writer, Director)

The problem is a complicated one, but to try and put it as simply as possible, the only way Latinos are going to progress in the film and television industry is if we create a strong marketplace for Latino content. The African-Americans have done it, Tyler Perry being the latest example. But until Latinos start going to Latino films and watching Latino content on TV, nothing will happen. If we don't subscribe to our own content, how can we expect others to? If just half of the forty plus million Latinos in the U.S. faithfully bought Latino content, then the powers that be would see that there is money to be made, more projects would get green lit and more Latinos would work.

Now Spanish language is a different story because they have their own marketplace. But English-speaking Latinos are so intent on assimilating, it creates a problem for anyone trying to make content for English-speaking Latinos here in the United States. Another part of the problem is that Latinos so rarely get an opportunity to get something made that the expectation for every project to so high. Every Latino project can't be everything to every Latino. Obviously, it doesn't work that way for general market content and it shouldn’t for us, either.

Having said all of this, there is another solution for Latinos who want to work in the entertainment industry and that is to forget about Latino content, completely assimilate and make general market films and television. That should probably happen too, but it's a shame that we can't have both so that Latino stories can also be told.

Dyana Ortelli

(Film and TV actor, comedian)

“Mom, you and your friends have been having the same conversation for 20 years!” That is what my son said to me a few years ago when he overheard me on the phone having a conversation about the “state” of Latinos in television and film…under-represented and subjected to the same-old stereotypes. Sadly, he was right. Not much had changed. I had written letters in industry publications pointing out the inequity; I had spoken out at numerous industry conferences; I was even at the forefront of organizing a protest when a non-Latina was offered the role of our revered Frieda Khalo back in 1992. I used my stand-up comedy routine to try and get the message heard: “If you're Mexican and you’re an actor in Hollywood, you get to play all the UN-people, UNdocumented, UNemployed, UNeducated, On-drugs!” Lots of laughs, but these types of roles for Latinos pretty much remained the same. Our outcries and protests fell on deaf ears.

I started my career 25 years ago, and the truth is that I am still waiting for the opportunity to audition for the white-collar, business professional roles…attorneys, doctors, fashion designers…and the calls I get, for the most part, continue to be the same: the Mexican nanny, the housekeeper, the suffering gang member's mother, stereotypes. Latinos are simply not seen as part of the fabric of America.

While writing, creating and developing our own projects is obviously a given in order to improve the image and numbers of Latinos in the industry, it is also worth noting that, unless and until our community leaders are willing to have an on-going dialog with casting directors and producers to educate them, and demand the casting of Latino actors in a more positive light and in greater numbers, the state of Latinos in the industry will never see a significant change.

Kathryn F. Galan

(Executive Director, NALIP)

More Latino/as in decision making positions:  creative and production VP’s and above; marketing and publicity executives from the U.S. Latino community; lawyers and distributors who know and come from our community. This will require an aggressive campaign and commitment by studios, agencies, mini-majors, production companies, and management firms to recruit and train actual Latino/a executives –not just interns and assistants. The major colleges, business and law schools have great Latino/a candidates who need persuasion to embark on careers in the entertainment industry. The initiative needs to be funded in all seriousness so that film, television, and documentary production/broadcast companies’ train, mentor, promote, and retain mid-to high-level executives who can make decisions that change media to reflect the culture and community where we live in the 21st century. www.nalip.org

Miguel Najera

(Filmmaker, film and TV actor)

We need to find a way to create funding sources for our own films. If it means pooling resources, creating entities or shooting a la brava like some of us are already doing, then so be it. The studios promised to open doors years ago but as is noted only two Latino regulars have been cast for the new season. Create our own studio that should be our aim. There are Black owned companies that have studio space and series but we don’t. We need to create writing groups where the end result is to shoot scripts not more classes or attend ‘how to’ seminars. Award ceremonies are great but do not make films or get us on primetime. Mainstream studios compete for audiences and compete for ours while we compete with each other.

Bel Hernandez

(CEO/Latin Heat Entertainment & Publisher/Latinheat.com)

Photo: Angela María Ortíz S.

We Latinos have to get out of our own way. We need to stop trying to be the “good” Latino that will not create waves and will just go along with the status quo so as not be perceived as “difficult.”  Since when have any major changes occurred by not making waves?

If the African-American community had not stirred the pot, they would not have bankable stars, or films with and all Black casts and have Hollywood begging for more.

Their projects run the gamut from the Tyler Perry broad (and some Blacks even call them stereotypical) to the Spike Lee political-leaning fare such as Malcolm X.  In addition, Black directors like Forest Whitaker have found success by teaming with mainstream projects.

We as Latino entertainment professionals need to allow for the different voices within our community to be expressed. Academia and journalist need to better understand the complexities of the entertainment industry before they rush to judgment when criticizing some of the Latino filmmaker’s choices.

Parties on both sides just need to allow the evolution of Latino Hollywood to happen without throwing a roadblock at every turn, just for the sake of a controversial article that will get you hits.

Instead of criticizing…let’s try to understand the whole picture. We all need to keep the end goal in site, that unless we are allowed to create, without censure (either by the Hollywood studios/networks or journalist, policy makers, or academia), or allowed to fail and keep trying (just like every other group in the entertainment industry) our stories, that should be seen by the world, with our perspective (which is very rare) will never get out there.

That is not to say journalist and academia should not point out when there is a major travesty, but in the past it has been simple things like “another gang movie.” Scorsese has been allowed to make many “Mafia movies” (i.e. “gang” movies) without the outcry from journalist or academia of “another Mafia movie.” Latinos need to be afforded the same courtesy. www.latinheat.com

Richard Yñiguez

(Veteran film and TV actor)

I would ask Latinos to come together and produce projects for their own community! If we do this together as a group (a force, unity is strength in numbers) and we find investors from our own community, we would be able to produce positive and unique stories about ourselves—all with a commercial thrust—and with a goal to set up our own studio facility. We can do it if we come together in the name of trust and support for each other’s creative abilities. I'm ready to work.... are you?

Readers, what do you think? Disagree? Speak up! Personally, everyone above hit it on the nail. Now, what to do about it? I’ll include your responses in a follow-up article for LatinHeat.com

The Beginning: Familia Corporation—Univision/Televisa

Welcome to LatinoWood!
After 26 years living in Los Angeles and working in Hollywood, I have accumulated memories and experiences that at times I find hard to believe. Some are fascinating, some a bit bizarre, some painful, but most are glorious. At Latinowood you will read about my personal journey into the Hollywood odyssey, the people who have impacted my life along the way, Latino writers, filmmakers, actors, and executives. I will also venture into niche and Latino PR and marketing in Hollywood providing my own expertise and interviewing leading experts in this field. 

For this first post, I share with you my initiation into Latinowood. The following is an excerpt from a book I’m writing…think Lauren Weisberger’s “The Devil Wears Prada,” loosely based on actual occurrences.

The Beginning:  Familia Corporation—Univision/Televisa

Back in 1984, Emilio Azcarraga Milmo was the lion king of the Spanish TV jungle. Names like Fernando Diez Barroso, Jaime Davila, Larry Dam and Rosita Peru, were at the forefront working with Mr. Azcarraga, out-maneuvering the competition every step of the way.

When I first started working, my immediate supervisor was a beautiful and sophisticated woman who was the personal assistant and confidante to the Azcarraga’s. I was her assistant for about one year when she left the company and I was promoted to her position. This was a big deal, not just anyone got to work closely with the family. I became the Executive Assistant to the second in command, an Azcarraga nephew, and heir to the dynasty. Prior to the company moving to the Century City high-rise, we were on West Sunset Boulevard. Our move was delayed in the late 80's because the movie “Die Hard” with Bruce Willis was being filmed, on our very floor! Each time I see the film, I recall the elegant surroundings with mixed feelings. However, my best building stories come from the Sunset Blvd. building, where I remember riding the elevator with Mickey Rooney about once a week, he was probably visiting his agent. He and I shared some lovely elevator conversations, and on several occasions, he’d miss his floor to ride up to the top suite with me. When we finally moved to Century City, we were on the top floor, the penthouse being occupied by former president Ronald Reagan. I do recall seeing Mrs. Reagan, again the elevator, on several occasions. The former Ambassador to Mexico and Hollywood movie star, John Gavin, had an office right next to mine. The film classic, “Imitation of Life,” starring Lana Turner and John Gavin is one of my favorite movies. There were days I had to pinch myself trying hard not to stare like a lovesick puppy.

My bosses, the Azcarraga family was Mexico’s richest family and the third richest (at that time) in the world. Most of the heirs were individuals with the burden of having inherited way too much money. I admit, I was in awe of some of them. Working at Univision during this time exposed me to a world I only knew existed on film or TV. The TV hit Dynasty, was as close as I ever got to this type of monumental wealth. I credit this job for so many personal improvements: I learned to throw a hell of an impressive party! I learned to speak Italian! And, I will never forget that for a few years, I had my own personal shopper at Saks 5th Avenue, a beautiful woman named Margarita. It was a time when I fit in single digit sizes! It was not uncommon for me to accompany the wives of Mexican dignitaries or VIPs to Cartier or Harry Winston where they would select pieces they liked and later the store would suggest to the husband which trinkets to purchase. Beautiful, dazzling diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, and stones I’d never even heard of before. Most of the time these jewels rarely left the vault. I always thought it was silly to spend so much money only to have the item safely stored away.

Tales of Another Time

There were so many memorable characters working during this era. There was the little man who was paid a lot of money who spent his time checking video property making sure that each tape had the appropriate copyright symbol and disclaimer. Later I found out that this strange gentleman was a person who practiced brujeria and rumor was his true function in the company was to protect one particular family member from bad spirits. The rumor was later confirmed when I received a call in the middle of night from the butler and cook, husband and wife, who worked and lived at the mansion owned by this “particular family member.” They were leaving immediately because of their devout Catholic beliefs. They insisted the little man was performing brujeria. The bosses were gone so I had to rush over to try and soothe things out. The couple showed me a tiny room under the garage area that they claimed was where the owners and brujo did their witchcraft. There was noting gory but lots of dark candles with emblems I didn’t recognize and other items that were clearly not religious. The woman kept giving herself the sign of the cross and chanting a prayer. I called the couple a taxi and they were gone.

The supposed brujo lived with his lover, a very nice young man who befriended me wanting my assistance in getting him enrolled at Santa Monica JC so that he could learn English. Well, the brujo found out about it and claimed that I was trying to steal away his lover. He made a huge brouhaha and tried to get me fired. He threatened me, and then proceeded to call my mother and threatened that he was putting a spell on me, well that was about as much as I was going to take from him. I had no choice but to go to my boss and he immediately straightened out the mess. I laugh at this now but at the time I was married and getting accused of trying to steal someone’s lover was no laughing matter. My mother fought back during one of the brujo’s phone call tirades when she threatened the brujo back by telling him she was casting a major curse on him if he dare hurt me. My mother was joking, but the brujo took the threat seriously. In the end, I had to promise to have my mother remove whatever spell she had cast on him. Ay, Diosito, this was a most interesting period during my employ.  Officially, however, he was the colorful and eccentric Copyright Verifier.

The staff that worked at the private residence and in the office was a group of hard working individuals, mostly Mexicano or Central American. The maids, cooks, butlers, drivers, and gardeners were wonderful people who performed beyond the call to duty. They bent backwards to please the jefes. At times I recall thinking that this reality was just as it is portrayed in the telenovelas. The rich stood high on the level of society while the working poor rarely ventured out of their lower level standing. I have nothing but fond memories of the domestic staff. They had more class and dignity than many of their rich bosses.

Another memory I have is being summoned to the mansion in Beverly Hills, and then was sent to Thrifty’s drug store (in a limousine) to purchase aspirin. It had to be me. It couldn’t be the butler or any other employee. I was an executive administrative assistant to the main muckety mucks with several of my own assistants, but when someone in the higher up, the wife, for instance was a little ticked off at me for some minor infraction, I would be sent on these meager errands, as sort of punishment. To remind me that I was nothing more than just another servant, a disposable hired hand. 

I remember ordering Avon for one wife…she couldn’t bring herself to ordering it herself because it was beneath her to be purchasing such a cheap product (her description not mine). But there was this one particular cream she wanted. She had sampled it during a vacation stay at the Betty Ford Center. I ordered about a dozen bottles with my next personal order.

Then there was the time when the same wife wanted to take golf lessons and she wanted me to locate a place that sold designer golf wear. Well, the only golf clothes available were whatever was sold at the sports stores. Valentino or Carolina Herrera or any other high profile designer did not have a line of golf clothes. I know because I had to call every top designer I could get a hold of. More than once I was laughed at. But it was my job even when they asked the ridiculous.

While I’m sharing the ridiculous, I remember this one time when the Avon-Designer Golf-wife was furious because there were no blooming flowers in her garden. She wanted to wake up every morning, open her elegant French doors that exposed the entire garden, and see flowers all the time. It was the dead of winter and the only flowers that bloom just about year round is a delicate plant called Impatiens. They are popular for ground coverage because they tend to bloom from summer to frost. Sometimes. The poor gardener didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t control and guarantee blooms all the time. After exhausting all possible remedies, I recall instructing the gardener that I wanted him to purchase baskets full of colorful artificial flowers and sticking them throughout the grounds, mixing them in with the delicate Impatiens. From the bedroom view, which was a distance, I was sure the wife would never notice the fake flowers. The gardener did not want to do this and it took some coaching from me to convince him. Say what you want, but when it comes to getting the job done, I am very resourceful! The wife was delighted every morning with the colorful blooms in her magnificent garden. I don’t think she ever found out.

I recall one time being told by my boss to accompany his wife during her lunch with the wife of a high profile actor. My instructions were clear: “Do not let them out of your sight.” The ladies had a tendency to wet their whistle a little too much in public and I was to basically babysit. I got in a shit load of trouble when the wife and her girlfriend ditched the limo driver and me. We spent most of the day looking for them. By the time we found them, I think both were being shipped to Betty Ford’s. I got a major scolding for losing the ladies…I had been outfoxed by a pair of rich, clever and tipsy Beverly Hills housewives!

A lot of drama, excitement and laughter happened before I left Univision but the final straw that broke the camel’s back came as a result of an incident I call, “The Day of the Flying Black Patent Leather Shoes.” It was at the end of a long day when instead of raining frogs, it was shoes being hurdled at me in rage. A very wealthy, very drunk, former movie star, wife of a VIP was upset with me for buying the wrong shoes for her butler. “Plastic!” she yelled. “You buy my butler plastic!”

“They cost $400!” I responded. “They are the best Italian leather from Italy!” But nothing I said would calm her. I had had enough. I chose to duck, run and never return.  My stay working for the family that owned Univision/Televisa had cost me a husband, had compromised my dignity and delayed my dream of becoming a writer.

The stories I’ve shared are form the personal side of my job. On the business side, I learned a lot about the business of television. I wasn’t just taking notes at important meetings, I was paying close attention and absorbing as much as I could. I recall one particular woman who made an impression on me, someone I admired and wanted to be like:  Rosita Peru, the highest-ranking woman in Spanish TV. And, as far as I’m concerned, the most talented and successful female TV executive I have ever met. I had a yearning to learn TV production and Rosita was always gracious in answering my questions. She wasn’t snobbish like so many rich Mexicans I encountered back then. I wanted to work for Rosita but it was an unspoken rule that once you worked directly with the family, transferring to another department was out of the question. Rosita eventually ventured out on her own, married another wonderful individual, Luis Nogales and through the years, I lost touch with her. But I’ve often read of the wonderful things she and Luis have done as philanthropists donating millions to worthy charities. For the record, Luis Nogales was president at Univision toward the end of my employment. I liked him very much. He was down to earth and very approachable. As was former Univision President, Jaime Davila.  Both Nogales and Davila are brilliant businessmen who went on to do very well on their own. Davila and I would often talk about his favorite singers and songs, like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin in the Wind” or Jimi Hendrix’s “Castles Made of Sand.” It was nice to converse with someone who knew American as much as Mexican.

My years at Univision, working when it was still a family-owned and operated company, taught me that money is not happiness, nor is it powerful enough to cure diseases even if you can afford the best doctors in the world. Mr. Emilio Azcarraga Milmo died before his time losing his brave battle with cancer. I read he died on his yacht off the coast of Miami in 1997.

During my tenure as crazy as it was, it was never dull and I am grateful to the many wonderful and interesting individuals I met and experiences this Mexican conglomerate brought me. It taught me a love of cultural art, languages, and I received invaluable exposure into the world of TV production of shows, newscasts, promotion and marketing. Univision was my introduction to Latinowood, USA in all its glory and complexity.

Welcome to Latinowood. After 26 years in Tinseltown, there is not much I haven’t seen, heard or experienced.