Tag Archive: Mabel Aragon

His Own Way, A Daughter’s Perspective on Her Brother’s Experience with Autism

“My son was diagnosed at the age of three, and when she was a little bit older I told her, you know your brother is autistic, that means he does things his own way, which is the title of the book; and she said yeah, I know dad…His sister said I’m accepting him for who he is. I’m going to accept him with the fact that he does things his own way and his timing.”

— Sergio Liden, Author and Human Rights Activist

Understanding autism can be challenging for a family. Finding the proper resources and talking to those who are facing similar experiences can be helpful. Mabel Aragon caught up with children’s author Sergio Liden, who shared his family’s journey and how they addressed autism with their children. His recent book was inspired by his daughter’s perspective of her brother who has autism.

Photo Courtesy:

* The photos of Sergio and his family, along with the images from the book were provided by Espada PR.

* The photo of the child with two adults comes from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities’ Facebook page.

*The photo of the two children comes from Tomorrow’s Child Infant and Child Development Center (found on Facebook.) 

Despair, Solace and the Unknown

By Mabel Aragon

Despair, solace and the unknown, the culprit behind what many are experiencing during this pandemic and the inspiration behind a musical collaboration between John Acevedo and Christina Linhardt, entitled The Spirit Solitude. 

Mabel Aragon spoke to these distinguished artists who shared their passion for music, dance and appreciation for words that captivate emotion, transport an audience to a particular time and place, and create a lasting memory. 

“[This piece] captures what’s going on in society right now, although it’s a very brief soliloquy of what’s happening.” — John Acevedo, Pacific Symphony Musician

“The writing part was easy–writing the poem because the way John performed it and the piece and how he arranged it just spoke immediately to me; but the painstaking part was getting it to fit right into the music because John is a virtuoso.” — Christina Linhardt, Poet, Singer and Writer

Enjoy learning more about these musical artists’ individual work by visiting John Acevedo and Christina Linhardt on YouTube.

“That Guy” Kelly Perine! Fun Interview with Mabel Aragon

Actor, producer, writer and director Kelly Perine, known for numerous roles on sitcoms and films, including The Drew Carey Show, Between Brothers, Nickelodeon’s Knight Squad and One on One, now being shown on Netflix, as well as Convincing Clooney with Rosanna Arquette and Aimee Garcia, shared with Mabel Aragon his commitment to his craft, appreciation for slapstick comedy, and what he’s known for taking while working on studio sets. 

“The physical stuff I really enjoy because I enjoy movement; and I enjoy contact and getting in there and some of the slapstick I just love. I love, you know, Jerry Lewis…If It calls for the character doing something goofy physically, I want to be able to do it.”

Sit, enjoy and relax, while Kelly also plays a game called, Truth or Dare to Reveal.

Flaco Navaja Spoken-Words with A Twist

Flaco Navaja

By Mabel Aragon

Influenced by the effect the pandemic has had worldwide, singer, poet and actor Flaco Navaja turned his perspective and experiences into a musical collaboration with close friend Latin Grammy Winner Obie Bermudez, producing and releasing his new single Cántale A La Vida (Sing a Song to Life).

“Early on during the pandemic, a melody popped into my head. It was as simple as that. And, it was the first time that a melody came in the form of the entire song…It was an organic response to what’s happening and a need to contribute to the narrative.”   

Born and raised in the Bronx, this Puerto Rican musician combines salsa and spoken word, blending classic salsa sounds with hip-hop in a manner that’s seamless to the listener. 

“Salsa music has always been a part of the soundtrack of my life, but so has hip-hop and so has classic rock and roll, and other things that I got. I’m the youngest of five, so I kind of inherited the musical tastes of my older siblings.” 

An ensemble member of Pregones Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, in 2019, Navaja performed Evolution of a Sonero to critical acclaim. This passionate performer has worked with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. His film and TV credits include Pride & Glory, Fighting, Gun Hill Road, Law & Order, CSI NY and East Willy B among other productions.                                           

Cántale A La Vida is available on all digital platforms including Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Music, Spotify and SoundCloud.

Airway: The Battle To Breathe Documentary

Emmy award-winning director and producer Ed Wiseman shares with Mabel Aragon his latest project entitled, Airway: The Battle To Breathe. The documentary follows Sydney Avis, who has been struggling with forgetfulness, lack of sleep and exhaustion since she was 2-years-old. 

Sydney’s journey has led her to many doctors and she’s endured numerous tests and procedures over the last few years. Although the experts have been helpful, she still searches for a permanent solution.

“This became part of her personal growth. It’s like I need to go through this. I need to breathe better. I need to feel better…She has become the grand coper of life.” 

Ed and his team accompany this brave young woman as she seeks an end to her ordeal and answers to a largely undiagnosed epidemic. Follow Sydney’s progress as the cameras proceed to chronicle her challenging and uplifting moments. For more information visit Airway documentary.

Allison Strong From the Garden State to Broadway and More

Raised in the Garden State, Allison Strong has been working on her craft since she was a little girl, getting an early start performing with the Park Performing Arts Center in Union City, New Jersey. 

This actress, singer/songwriter of Colombian descent is making her childhood dreams come true. At the age of 18, Allison was selected from a casting call to join the stage production of Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway. In 2014, she released her debut album, March Towards The Sun, where she sings in both English and Spanish. When asked about one of her favorite moments on screen, Allison said it was playing Adam Sandler’s daughter in the 2018 American comedy film, The Week Of, also starring Chris Rock.

“I was raised by a single parent and I always imagined, you know, what it would be like, a father-daughter dance and stuff like that. And so with him, I got to have that experience, and it was truly a genuine emotional moment for me.” 

Mabel Aragon had an entertaining virtual experience during quarantine with this performing artist as she shared more about her adventures on camera, stage and goals she has yet to achieve.

Covid19…Sins & Virtues A New Anthology

Some may call it the perfect storm; when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And, that’s exactly what Alex Mendoza, executive producer of a fourteen episode feature length anthology film entitled, COVID19…Sins & Virtues, shared with Mabel Aragon, about what he created with the collaboration of 17 different crews made up of peers, friends and family members across two countries.

The 14 episodes Anthology titled Covid19…Sins & Virtues is being produced by Mendoza and True Form Films: Yeniffer Behrens (The Way Back, Grey’s Anatomy) and Mauricio Mendoza (Resurrection Blvd, Criminal Minds). Each episode is original. Filmmakers had the freedom to choose genre, story, style and runtime. The requisites: 1) It must have been filmed with assets at hand. 2) The story must use COVID-19 forced isolation only as background. 3) The episode must relate to the randomly assigned sin/virtue as the episode’s central theme.

It took two days to get together 14 creative teams. No open call was ever issued. All episodes were written and developed in less than three weeks, with most episodes having finished principal photography as of May 15, 2020.

Participants Include: Jon Allen, Sergio Arau, Fidel Arizmendi, Wendi Bazar-Besasie, Yeniffer Behrens, Adan Bernal, Carlo Besasiem, Caroline Brethenoux, Camille Cortes, Jason Coulter, Mochi DaKat, Hernan De Beky, Kim DeVenne, Olivia DeVenne, Alejandro Edda, Jasmin Espada, César Gamiño, Frances Garcia, Emmaluna Garcia, Michael Garcia, Hugo García, Juan Gil, Falco IlCaninus, Marabina Jaimes, Arthur Koutsoumbaris, Susie Lohse, Betty Lopez, Alassandra Lopez, Eddie Martinez, Ashley Martinez, Amy Martinez, Alejandro Mendoza, Mauricio Mendoza, Julianna Mia Mendoza-Behrens, Adrian Moreira-Behrens, Miguel Paredes, Laura Patalano, Brittany Patalano, Shanay Patalano, Salim Sanchez, Jesus Schettino, Jessica Thomas-Martinez, Chuti Tiu, Alex Toedtli Mera, Oscar Torre, Savira Windyani, and Sofia Yepes. 

Look out for the second wave…

Ben DeJesus An Award-winning Documentary Filmmaker

Photo: courtesy of Ben DeJesus

Tony nominated filmmaker Ben DeJesus whose built a reputable career working on television projects, documentaries, branded and digital content, spent some time with Mabel Aragon discussing his latest project, Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage, which received an Emmy nomination as part of PBS’ American Masters. 

“I was always aware of Raul Juliá and the amazing career he had as a Puerto Rican on Broadway, and as someone who was aspiring to something similar, there was him and John Leguizamo that I really looked up to and idolized.”

Ben also talks about his work as co-founder of NGL Studios, joined by his partners John Leguizamo and David Chitel.

Ralph Rivera, A Real Dream Chaser

By Mabel Aragon

Hollywood trailblazer Rafael J. Rivera-Viruet, known in the industry as Ralph Rivera, is a movie financier, executive and author originally from Puerto Rico. His book Dream Chaser–The Business of Showbiz was nominated by the 22nd International Latino Books Awards, the largest Latino cultural awards in the United States.  

“This particular award makes me so humble because I’m almost 80 years old, you know, and I’m still fulfilling my dreams.”

He shared with Mabel Aragon his passion for the industry and desire for Latinos to have more opportunities in the development and creative process.

“Follow your dream, go with confidence and you will get there, and you will make changes.”

Hispanicize Celebrates Its Tenth Year!

The annual Hispanicize Summit will be held virtually this year. Mabel Aragon spoke to NGL Collective Founder and CEO David Chitel and event hosts Jessica Flores and Enrique Sapene, who provided a sneak peek of some of the surprises viewers can expect from this celebration.  

“We’re going to have amazing dialogue and discussions and really talk about issues that are impacting the Latinx community today, which is so important; and the fact that anybody is able to just tune in and get all this wisdom and knowledge, I think is amazing,” says Jessica Flores.

David Chitel adds, “It’s a message of unity and empowerment for the Latino community.”

List of Speakers:
Aaron Walton, Alicia Menendez, Anaid Quijada, Andrekza, Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri, Anne Vasquez, Aymee Nuviola, Bamby Salcedo, Ben Lopez, Byron Salas, Carlos Ponce, Claudia Romo Edelman, Cristela Alonzo, Dash Harris Machado, DJ Chava, Eddie Olmos, Ellen Ochoa, Father Agustino Torres, Henry R. Muñoz III, Jack Rico, Jessica Alba, Jessica Molina, Jessie Woolley-Wilson, John Henry, John Leguizamo, Julian Castro, Julissa Calderon, Kim Guerra, Laith Ashley, Marcee Martinez, Mariah Angeliq, Mario Lopez, Mario X. Carrasco, Melissa Fumero, Mexican Gueys, Mike Madrid, Monica Ramirez, Natasha Alexis Martinez, Mayra Macias, Oliver familia (Andrea, Manny, Patricia and Guac), Oscar de la Hoya, Petition, RaqC, Rebecca Antonia Rodriguez, Victor Ramos, Xolo Maridueña, Yarel Ramos, and Yvette Peña.

Hispanicize takes place October 15 from 9A – 2P PST/ 12P – 5P EST. Tune in by visiting Hispanicize. 

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