Films About Winning Spirits

1-McFarland, USA 2-Spare PartsHere’s a gallery of posters of films about high school students overcoming the odds and becoming winners!

We should support the new films like Disney’s McFarland, USA in theaters February 20 and Spare Parts in theaters now—and lets revisit the old ones.

3-When the Game Stands Tall

4-Soul Surfer 5-Freedom Writers 6-Gridiron Gang 7-The Heart of the Game 8-Friday Night Lights 9-Remember the Titans 10-Dead Poets Society 11-Stand and Deliver

Rubén Rada Performs “Solo se trata de vivir” in Studio

Rubén Rada

Rubén Rada

Rubén “Negro” Rada is an Afro-Uruguayan percussionist, composer and singer. Rada has recorded more than 30 albums, which today are considered Uruguayan classics.

Here he performs a song that makes you think. Thanks to our friend musician/artist Patricia Krebs for turning us on to this song.

We Have More New Trailers of Upcoming Films

MinionsThey are upcoming animations, thrillers, mysteries, sci fi, comedies and much more for your enjoyment in the next few weeks, spring and summer. Check out the lists and the trailers below.

SpongeBob: Sponge Out Of Water (February 6), Seventh Son (February 6), Kingsman: The Secret Service (February 13), Fifty Shades of Grey (February 14), Unfinished Business (March 6), Insurgent (March 20), Get Hard (March 27), Get Hard (March 27), Furious 7 (April 3), Spy (May 22), Tomorrowland (May 22), Minions (Summer 2015), Jurassic World (June 12), Disney•Pixar Inside Out (June 19) and Ted 2 (June 26).







Comedians Gabriel Iglesias, Jay Leno and Car Talk

Jay & GabrielGabriel Iglesias talks to Jay Leno about his love for his first car, a 1968 Volkswagen Bus. In the newest segment of Jay Leno’s Garage they hang out in Gabriel’s 1966 Volkswagen Bus.

Shot and edited by our friend Kico Velarde and his crew. Enjoy the ride.

Buen Día, Ramón A Delight of A Film

Kristyan Ferrer and Jorge Ramírez-Suárez ©2015 Angela María Ortíz S.

Kristyan Ferrer and Jorge Ramírez-Suárez
©2015 Angela María Ortíz S.

Buen Día, Ramón aka Guten Tag, Ramón (Good Day, Ramón) is a heartwarming story of a young man from a small Mexican town who travels to Germany to find work and support his family, then ends up stranded without shelter or money. Yet in the midst of all this, he finds true friendship.

Buen Dia Ramon

The film is full of wonderful characters, thanks to writer/director/producer Jorge Ramírez-Suárez. “I’ve lived in Germany for a long time, and I wanted to portray both countries in a positive light,” Jorge said. “Germans have been shown as villains in so many movies; the friendships these characters develop is a mirror of what I have seen as a foreigner in Germany.”

There are some wonderful performances in the film, especially by Kristyan Ferrer in his first lead role. The nineteen-year-old has been acting since he was six in film and theater. His expressions are just fantastic. His scenes with veteran German actress Ingeborg Schöner just make you want more. For Ferrer, “the dinner scene where my character Ramón and Ingeborg’s Ruth are talking about their lives—he in Spanish and she in German—was very touching and has stayed with me.”

Actor Kristyan Ferrer and director Jorge Ramírez-Suárez Los Angeles press junket ©2015 Angela María Ortíz S.

Actor Kristyan Ferrer and director Jorge Ramírez-Suárez
Los Angeles press junket
©2015 Angela María Ortíz S.

The collaboration between Mexico and Germany was quite an experience for all involved.

Buen Día Ramón was Mexico’s box office hit of 2013 and across Latin America. I like it so much that I think it could have been an Oscar contender.

I’ve seen seven new films already for the year and I count this one as one of my top three. The film also stars Héctor Kotsifakis, Arcelia Ramírez, Adriana Barraza, Franziska Kruse and Rüdiger Evers.

In a limited release now in the U.S.A. and will open wide across the country in a few weeks.

The Documentary Now En Español is on Its Way

NOW_KeyArt_600x889Now En Español follows five Latina actresses in Los Angeles who dub Desperate Housewives for Spanish language audiences in the U.S. The five gutsy and diverse Latinas showcased are Marabina Jaimes, Natasha Perez, Ivette Gonzales, Gabriela del Carmen and Marcela Bordes who follow their dreams against all odds.

L-R: Marcela Bordes, Marabina Jaimes, Natasha Perez, Ivette Gonzales, Gabriela del Carmen

L-R: Marcela Bordes, Marabina Jaimes, Natasha Perez, Ivette Gonzales, Gabriela del Carmen

The documentary is doing the festival circuit by premiering at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 31, then the Big Sky Documentary Film Fest in Montana in February, and in March it will be part of La Plaza de Cultura y Arte’s Spring film series in Los Angeles. Later in the year it will be part of PBS’ VOCES series.

The filmmaker behind this doc is Los Angeles based Andrea Meller, born and raised in NY after her parents emigrated from Santiago, Chile.

For more information on the documentary click here.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Fun Trailer

Hot Tub Time Machine 2They are back! Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Adam Scott and Clark Duke in Hot Tub Time Machine 2. Check out the hilarious trailer “big game” spot for the February 20th release.

Juanes and Disney’s McFarland, USA

Juanes

Juanes

We are happy to be sharing the music video of the original new song “Juntos (Together)” written and performed by Colombian rock superstar Juanes specifically for Disney’s McFarland, USA. The song will be the end title track of the film.

The film stars Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Morgan Saylor, Martha Higareda, Michael Aguero, Sergio Avelar, Hector Duran, Rafael Martinez, Johnny Ortiz, Carlos Pratts, Ramiro Rodriguez, Danny Mora, Valente Rodriguez, Vanessa Martinez, Chris Ellis, Diana Maria Riva and directed by Niki Caro.

Watch the music video and the movie trailer below. McFarland, USA comes to theaters February 20, 2015.

Al Madrigal Special: Half Like Me Funny Stuff

Half Like MeIf you are a fan of Al Madrigal like I am, you’ll enjoy his new docu-comedy where you get to meet Alessandro Liborio Madrigal who is trying to up his Latinoism but does he have to?

Fusion_TV_2013_logo

The Al Madrigal Special: Half Like Me is showing on the Fusion Cable Network now (check cable listings) and by January 30 it will be on Hulu. You can also watch an interesting discussion about being perceived has not being Latino enough here on the fusion.net.

The ABC 2015 Winter TCA was Quite Busy for Me!

I had a busy time at the ABC 2015 Winter TCA conference. There were many shows to cover and below are a few from the event. —A.O.

Angela Ortíz and Eddie Huang of Fresh Off the Boat

Angela Ortíz and Eddie Huang of Fresh Off the Boat

Fresh Off the Boat

I’m here with Eddie Huang a jack-of-all-trades. ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat is based on his book of the same name. He’s also the producer of the show.

Fresh Off the Boat cast

Fresh Off the Boat cast

“Fresh Off the Boat” takes a humorous look at the lives of immigrants in America. In the 1990s, Eddie, a hip-hop-loving 11-year-old, relocates with his parents and two brothers to suburban Orlando from the Chinatown section of Washington, D.C. As Eddie’s dad, Louis, pursues the American dream by opening a western-themed restaurant named Cattleman’s Ranch Steakhouse, Eddie and the rest of the family try to acclimate to their new, strange surroundings. The show stars Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, Ian Chen, and Chelsey Crisp.

Update: the show will be back with a season 2.

L-r: Richard Cabral, Johnny Ortiz, Benito Martinez, Elvis Nolasco, Regina King and Se Fija’s Angela Ortíz

T-b: Richard Cabral, Johnny Ortiz, Benito Martinez, Elvis Nolasco, Regina King and Se Fija’s Angela Ortíz

American Crime

I got to talk to actor Richard Cabral who is one of the main characters in ABC’s American Crime along with Johnny Ortiz, Benito Martinez, Elvis Nolasco, Regina King, Felicity Huffman, and Timothy Hutton.

Richard Cabral

Richard Cabral

Johnny Ortiz

Johnny Ortiz

The eleven episodes of American Crime is about a young couple in Modesto, California, who were attacked in their home. The case sends shock waves into the community stirring up tensions across racial lines in this gritty drama from Oscar® winner John Ridley.

Benito Martinez

Benito Martinez

Regina King

Regina King

Elvis Nolasco

Elvis Nolasco

Listen in on some of the conversations I had with a few of the actors about the show and their roles.

Update: Richard Cabral was nominated for and Emmy and the show will be back with a season 2 with most of the cast returning.

Natalie Martinez and Angela Ortíz

Natalie Martinez and Angela Ortíz

Secret and Lies

Got in on a conversation with Secret and Lies star, Natalie Martinez, where she talked about the changes in Cuba, her love for Wilmington, NC, where Under the Dome and Secret and Lies were filmed; and being born and raised in Miami. And of course her work, the current one and a few old roles.

Natalie Martinez

Natalie Martinez

Secrets and Lies, is a ten-episode American remake of a six-episode Australian original, is another crime anthology series that at the outset reveals a small boy has been found murdered, and the remaining episodes are spent trying to figure out who did the actual crime. The cast includes: Juliette Lewis, Ryan Phillippe, KaDee Strickland, Indiana Evans, Belle Shouse, and Dan Fogler.

Update: the show will be back with a season 2 with Juliette Lewis and a new cast.

L-r: writer Lea Michelle Cash, actors Terri Hoyos, Cristela Alonzo and Se Fija’s Angela Ortíz

L-r: writer Lea Michelle Cash, actors Terri Hoyos, Cristela Alonzo and Se Fija’s Angela Ortíz

Cristela

Terri Hoyos & Maria Canals Barrera

Terri Hoyos & Maria Canals Barrera

Cristela was announced as a new half-hour sitcom on ABC, and premiered on October 10. Created by Cristela Alonzo and Kevin Hench, Alonzo stars as a sixth-year law student who gets an unpaid internship at a prestigious law firm only to discover that her working class Mexican-American family isn’t entirely supportive of her upward mobility. Carlos Ponce, Terri Hoyos, Maria Canals Barrera, Andrew Leeds, and Sam McMurray co-star.

Update: the show will not be back with a season 2.

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