Happy Holidays

Well, there’s no sense in trying to give another apology for not updating the blog, it’s been far too long since the last entry. All I can say is do not fret, (really is anyone fretting?). Here’s the deal, Angel and I have not abandoned or given up the on the Café. Actually, we’ve been busy, working daily on the Café, researching, planning and writing up plans for the future. Due to the tremendous response we’ve received since we launched BF Café, Angel and I decided to take a step back and develop a plan that will enable us to grow and offer everything you expect in a web site that best represents Latin culture. At this point, I kindly ask for your patience until we get our plans in motion.

Before I sign off let me also mention:
CONGRATULATIONS to Wendy Rodriguez, a fellow bullfighter! She won the Pah-Fest short film for Hollywood. See the film at http://www.pahnation.com. Go to Mobiflicks, then find the short film titled “Home Depot”. Good job Wendy!

Latina Fine Artist Wanted! We are looking for Latina artists for both our virtual gallery and for a project that may prove to be great exposure. Send us a link to your web site or samples of your work. Details of the project to come soon but we need your name now!

In my last entry I said we were going to open a store, well after Angel bought and received a shirt from our vendor we put a hold on the store. Cheap ain’t going to cut it! Until we find a vendor that offers quality shirts, we’ll wait to open shop.

Have a joyous and safe holiday season my friends!

With gratitude,
Pablo Martinez

Store or bust

I know, I know… What’s the point of keeping a blog if I’m not going to update it on a regular basis! To be honest, the happenings behind the Café doors have not been very exciting. Really the biggest thing Angel and I have been doing is survive on pennies and dimes. Like everyone else, bills have become a big time pain in the ass for us. The fact is we are broke. Bone dry. We are about one month away from pushing our computer in a shopping cart with a sign reading, “Will work for electricity!”

Having to pay bills while staying true as an artist, is what Bullfighter’s Café is about, but honestly, it’s not fun writing about money problems. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if we are down on our luck on hard times. Luckily Angel and I have skill sets in an industry where we can find a job fairly easy, but the trouble is, we have become passionate about the Café and we don’t want to leave. After meeting so many tremendous people through the Café we have become hooked and want to continue building the Café to its full potential.

I mention this because, very soon, we are going to open up an online store to start selling T-shirts and other items. We are also looking into other money making ventures to help us keep the Café open, but more importantly, we’d like to start eating again - I’m starting to lose my sexy curves! Seriously, after a year of investing in the Café we can no longer fund the Café ourselves but before we close the doors we want to try everything we can to keep bringing Latino creativity to you, because we’ve only scratched the surface of what Latinos have to offer. We hope we can count on your continued support, so please visit the store and let us know what you think.

If you aren’t able to purchase anything from the store, then could you do us a favor? Could you run out an extension cord from your house and let us borrow some electricity for our computers? As Angel and I walk the streets it will be nice to get online once in awhile and check our email.

With gratitude,
Pablo

Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late!

What Is the Function of Art?

In Magu’s, In Studio interview you hear him ask the question, “What is the function of art?”. It is a good question. It’s definitely appropriate for this month’s featured artists.

First you should know that Angel primarily gets the new artist features and I usually don’t see them until it’s time to upload them. Well, after seeing Glenn’s and The Welfare Poets’ features, I told Angel that I was going to direct all the heated feedback to her (I’m kidding, please don’t, I’ll get a butt whoopin’ for it). After all, it’s said to never talk about religion and politics, but here are two artists that do just that!

Angel and I have talked endlessly on how we should handle controversial material. In fact, we had to figure this out quickly in our first few days of going live with this site. Angel had received a very hard line, pro-Latino interview, while I had an artist refuse to participate in our site for fear of being labeled as a Latino artist. They were very opposing views and we wanted to feature both of them, but we felt we were neither hard line nor a non-ethnic web site. As result, Angel and I decided that our position should remain open to all views and provide an unbiased platform for artists to express themselves. Of course there are professional and aesthetic criteria that help us determine who we feature but for the most part, our aim is to promote Latino art in all it’s magnificent shades of brown.

So what’s the answer to, “What is the function of art?”. Well, since Magu asked the question I’ll give an answer that is implied in his interview. Art is suppose to connect with people’s emotions. For this reason, we showcase artwork, written interviews and videos that let artists tell you the intention of their work. It may be political, cultural, commercial, personal, or perhaps it’s a combination of all four. It may be controversial or casual too.

Now if Glenn Stwart's short film or The Welfare Poets work shock, surprise, anger, disgust, inform or amuse you, then perhaps the artwork served its purpose. After all art is not always about pretty flowers or sunsets over the ocean horizon. Sometimes it’s about getting your attention and being thought provoking!


With gratitude,
Pablo

Art above is described as “functional art” or “art furniture” and is by Joseph Somers

Where has the time gone?

Wow. Where did the time go? The last thing I remember is getting on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. See that’s a joke, cause it’s been more than a month since my last entry and the freeway is slow moving... okay I know, I’m no comedian.

So where do I start? First, I should mention that grandmother is good and still chewing spikes and body slamming the grandkids. However, one of my aunts unexpectedly passed away and then one of my uncles got married. I’ve seen more of my family in the last month than I’ve seen in the last five years. I didn’t recognize half of my cousins; they’ve gotten bigger, grayer and have more kids. I didn’t even know some were old enough to make kids! After all the time that has past, my family is still crazy, funny and sometimes irritating. My family, I love them.

Here in the café things are getting exciting for Angel and myself. Although, the café appears to be quiet, Angel and I have been talking to people behind the scenes that we believe will help us take the café to the next level. In the next month or two I hope to give you more details on our plans but for the time being, I’m posting a few photos of art shows I went to or were sent to us by artists.

Be sure to check back soon for our next artist feature updates. Until then, call a family member, say hello and catch up on family news. You may have new baby cousins taking your grandma to the matt!

Photos are of shows by Albert Reyes, Magu Lujan and El Fantom.

as always,
pablo

Weeping Woman

Things have been tough these past few weeks. Last week the tragedy at Virginia was unbelievable. I tried to break away from the media saturation of the killings but I couldn’t help myself, I read every article I came across on the Internet. I’m not sure why I felt as if I needed to know more than the fact that thirty-three people died unnecessarily.

Then a few days ago, I received an email about how America has always had a history of tragic killings. The email described the killing of 350 Native Americans by the U.S. Cavalry. After giving a brief explanation of the slaughter at Wounded Knee Creek, the author of the original email then stated, “My intention is not to downplay the horror of what has happened this week in any way. But we have a 500-year history of mass shootings on American soil, and let's not forget it.” It’s a somber thought to think of how many people have died by evil motivations.

In addition to these readings, my grandmother has become ill and is not expected to live much longer. Needless to say I feel as if a dark cloud has drifted over my head. Death is a sad part of life, probably more so for the living. I know I’m going to miss my grandmother when she passes but I take comfort knowing that she has lived a long life and given me some wonderful memories. My best memory is of Christmas celebrations when our whole family would gather at my grandparent’s house. There were presents, laughter, food and toys from wall to wall. When I was a child, my Grandfather used to wink and hesitate to prolong my anticipation, before handing me a big, shiny Christmas present. I’ve forgotten what the presents were but I’ll never forget those times. I’m grateful for these memories, but it is a shame that the families of the slain students will not be able to experience these types of special moments. Everyone should have these memories in their heart; it gives life meaning!

I have to admit that I struggled to write this entry. At first I wanted to ask questions and respond with respect to these events, but I realized I don’t have the insight or wisdom to understand the meaning of these deaths. The only thing I can do is refer to what inspires me and expresses my emotions – and that is art! Above is a painting by Pablo Picasso and the painting says it all for me.

With gratitude,
pablo

Back on Track… again!

Yes, the Locamotion is back on track! It’s been a stressful experience but we are happy that “LocaMotion Derailed” is rolling online for Loca fans to enjoy. As you may have noticed from my previous post or the first day we launched the LocaMotion, the show didn’t go on as planned, which almost put Angel and myself in a padded room! After weeks of testing and retesting it was extremely disappointing to see the launch of the movie crash on the first day. I’ll spare you the details of what went wrong; actually I just can’t bear to relive that day. However, I do want to do a little cleanup after the wreckage and let you know that all was not lost in the experience.

After walking around in a daze the last couple of days, things don’t look so bad now. Now that we’ve been able to get the film online for free we don’t feel as if we’ve lost any ground on the project. Our goal has always been to grow the café into a full multimedia experience and I believe our first project with Stevie is a step in the right direction to make this happen. We learned from this project and we look forward to many crashes in the future, after all that’s how we roll, or try to roll!

Another thing I want clear up is on one of my previous entries, I said that we were going to have a feature on Valsartdiary, but you may have notice there’s no feature on Val. Well, as best as we try, we send out interview requests, most come through and a few don’t. We understand that artists are busy so we don’t hold any grudges; we can only promise that as soon as Val sends us her article we’ll post it. However, to replace Val’s article, I hope you read the article from El Fatom, the artist that created the cover art for Rage Against the Machine’s, “Battle of Los Angeles”. He also art directed the band’s video Bulls on Parade video, that’s in the screening room. We have been talking to El Fatom extensively and there may be collaboration between us in the future. For now I just want to thank El Fatom for coming through for us at the last moment.

Until next time, please watch and enjoy LocaMotion Derailed. God knows we paid for this one with blood, sweat and tears, …and we’d do all over again in a heartbeat!

With gratitude,
pablo

LocaMotion Derailed Again!

Well, as some of you may know we attempted to bring the LocaMotion film short to the café, but it didn’t happen. On behalf of Angel and myself we apologize to those who came to the café, and paid for a ticket, anticipating seeing the film short. Believe me, we are as disappointed as you that we couldn’t get the show on track. We do want to let you that we are making other attempts to bring the film back online as soon as possible.

Once we find another solution we’ll be sure to let you know or I’ll post more on our progress in this blog. I’ll also let you know what went wrong in the first place. I don’t want to say anything now because our service provider has some explaining to do. Until then thanks for all your support and patience!

With gratitude,
Pablo

The Blues of Being an Artist

I saw this video the other day and I just had to share it. While Bullfighter's Cafe is a Latino site, Angel and I are fans of all artistic endeavors by all people and I felt like this video deserved attention here in a corner of the Cafe. I don't want to say too much, but sometimes the call to be an artist is stronger than anything else in life.

I hope you enjoy the video.

pablo

This Month's Update

When I hijacked this blog from Angel I thought it would be interesting to talk about our current projects. For the past few months I have failed to mention our monthly updates but this month, we are excited about two fine artist interviews that we think you will find very interesting.

Ramon Ramirez is an artist that is influenced by architecture and composes his paintings with unique color combinations and brush texture. A sample of Ramon’s painting is above and is titled, “Totem The Dogs of War”. Our second artist that we plan to feature is Valsartdiary. We found her on YouTube where she shows video shorts on her painting process and concepts. You can see a video of her in our Screening Theater. We think you’ll find both of these artists very informative and unique in their approach to art. Be sure to read about them in our next update.

On a personal level, I told Angel that I had a story that I want to produce as a documentary. When I told her that since 1997 when my uncle was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in the Vietnam War there has been support from many people, including a congressman, for my Uncle to receive the Medal of Honor. It’s the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force. Today I started the project by collecting reports and letters that describe my Uncle's act of bravery. In the coming my months I’ll let you know how the project is progressing.

Thanks for your interest,
Pablo

Anonymously asked…

I see we received a little activity in the comment section on my previous entry. An anonymous person posted a reply. Angel reciprocated, but since I’ve been posting on Loca I thought I would directly reply here this one time. See the comment section for Anonymous' full comment.

(anonymous) “Yes lets all bring “Blackface” Back too –
(pablo) I have to admit I don’t fully understand this reference to Loca. I would understand it better if Stevie applied brown paint to her face and posted her video in color, then repressed Latinas from posting their own videos. In that scenario then yes it would be offensive. However, she doesn’t do that, so we may just have to agree to disagree on this point.

(anonymous) “Everyone has their own click” –
(pablo) Yes I admit I belong to a “click”. My click is filled with artists, filmmakers, writers and performers of all colors and ethnicities. In my Latino click, I’ve meet dozens of great fine artists here in LA, but through Bullfighter’s Café I’m meeting artists from New York, Chicago, Texas, San Diego and every month my click is growing! Although I have to say there is one person that I am dedicated to, and consider a mentor. His presence is evident throughout the Café and if you want to know about this person then read Mr. Magu’s Quest. Be sure to visit mentalmenduo.org and read the mission statement too. It’s a statement I take to heart.

(anonymous) How does Stevie Ryan elevate the Latino people? –
(pablo) For the sake of brievity let me address this question as a businessman as there are many reasons. Simply, LittleLoca is controversial. Controversy sells and brings attention! Controversy is a numbers game and we need numbers. It is a fact that Loca/Stevie brings more traffic to the café than all the Latin artists combined in the café. I need these numbers so I can go to advertisers and sponsors for revenue. I need revenue to pay the bills for the server, software and living costs that are currently coming out of Angels’ and my pocket. I need revenue to hire journalists, designers, animators, photographers and filmmakers that will help me build this site into a real life cafe. As many local cultural centers are closing or struggling to find funding through grants, contributions and community support, it is Angel’s and my dream that this café become a self-reliant cultural center through our commercial efforts. Will Loca alone do all this for us? No, but it’s a start. She is just one brick, of many to come, in the long road that will pave the way to our goal.

Are there Latin artists that might bring as much traffic to our site? Yes, I hope so. We have sent out invitations to artists that we hope will generate interest and we hope to bring them to the cafe as soon as possible.

As far as elevating the Latino people, we have no delusion that Stevie or us are the saviors of Latin people. Latin people are intelligent and passionate enough to elevate themselves, we just want to build and provide an additional platform (cultural center) where they can express and display their diverse ideas. Case in point is Liza Orozco, you can read about her in the art lounge.

(anonymous) “I won’t call you sellouts” –
(pablo) You can call me anything you want because it doesn’t have any effect on my self worth. I only used the term as a means to address the issue and my position on my art. In fact, I really have no animosity towards you for the label and in truth, I appreciate your passion for Latin culture. Again I’m glad to answer your questions, because I hope it shows that there is a grand plan here. If you don’t like Loca or us then that’s fine with me. However, if you do support your culture or “real” Latina’s like Nadia Rowinsky then I hope you show it by rating her film in on theLot.com or support Christina Soto by voting for her film at the Berkeley film festival or support any other artist by purchasing their artwork. If I can get you to act on your passion then my mission is accomplished; my art, my design of the Bullfighter’s café has brought a supporter to a fellow artist and that means more to me than any negative or positive label I’m given.

(anonymous) “What is the message?” –
(pablo) Again, this is a question that I’ve tried to address in these blogs but the problem is that there is a no single answer, even Angel and I see things differently on Loca. In fact, I believe Loca brings up more questions than answers and that’s what makes it art. Loca makes us question our own beliefs, perceptions and ideals. Personally I’ve questioned my belief that I had to work twice as hard to overcome the negative reputation of the cholo subculture and my hatred for that reputation that seemed to be associated to all Chicanos. It wasn’t until I examined Loca that I realized that I resented my cousins - my family for their participation in the cholo culture! I have since come to realize that I shouldn’t resent the cholo; I should hate the conditions that enabled the cholo to exist. I should hate the lack of education, job opportunities and drugs that exists in the Latin community. You may see this a stretch but like I said, ultimately the single message is for you to personally formulate.


(anonymous) …we need a white woman to explain to Cholas "The WAY to BE?" –
(pablo) I think this question is backwards, Stevie’s intent is not to teach Latina’s, rather she is exhibiting what Cholas taught her. If you read her article in the café, she says she admired the strength of her friends. She admired their beauty. Unfortunately, what is not in the article or her video blogs are additional stories she told me about her experiences living next door and being close friends with Chicano families. Basically, Loca is a reflection of her experiences. Loca is homage to her friends that helped her get through difficult times in her youth. Loca is a tribute to her best friends (note: Her chola friend did receive a BA degree, and that’s what influenced Loca to go to college).

Believe it or not I had reservations on supporting Stevie/Loca until I asked Stevie one question. I asked Stevie, “What do your chola friends think of Loca?” She said that they loved it and to keep doing it.

Now for me, Stevie’s motivation and the blessing from her friends showed me that there was an understanding between friends, between two cultures and between two ethnicities and between women. Shockingly to myself, Stevie didn’t see Cholas as I saw them. Stevie saw beauty through her friendship with them! And likewise, Stevie’s friends saw Stevie as one of their own. They didn’t see Stevie as a white girl pretending to be one of them, rather she was accepted as a sister. They saw that Stevie had assimilated into their culture by emulating their dress and speech. They understood that Loca was not a spoof because Stevie lived their culture by growing up alongside with them in their home.

Again, this made me question my own belief that the cholo subculture should be despised. After all, here is a white woman that finds beauty in Cholas. If an “outsider “ can find beauty in chola culture then how can I resent my own. How can I resent my family? Needless to say I’ve promised myself that I am not going to hate any longer especially those from my own ethnicity, no matter of social standing. Yes, there may be traits in the chola culture that can be described as abrasive and undesirable but every person has faults. Finding beauty in perfection is easy but finding beauty in imperfection is an act of will.

(anonymous) “How can you defend Little Loca?” –
(pablo) I support Stevie/Loca because she found beauty, strength and friendship in those I only saw as outcasts. She reminds me that beauty can be found and should be found in everybody; even those that we may think don’t deserve it.

You, the reader, may still disagree with Stevie and our decision to back her, I only ask that you look at the big picture and see that Stevie is just one artist we support. In the café we currently have 25 Latin artists that we showcase but many, many more are to come. I’m sure they would appreciate your support for their efforts. Also if there is a Latina (Chola or not) talent that we should support then by all means let us know, we would be happy to meet her.

Thank you for the opportunity.
Pablo

Every negative event contains within it the seed
of an equal or greater benefit-- Napoleon Hill

In Search of the Latina Goddess: Part 1

I’ve received a few emails touching on an issue that I thought would make for an interesting series of entries. The issue can be summed up with one statement, “Loca is not a role model”. Before I address this issue I thought it would be interesting to see if I could find the ideal Latina role model on public television. Being that I’m limited to a blog entry, I narrowed the experiment to characters and not actresses, after all LittleLoca is a character too.

Here’s what I found:

A. From “My Name is Earl”, Catalina is an illegal immigrant, that works as a maid for a cheap motel. In this photo, she’s working as an exotic dancer. Summation; Catalina is the hot sex vixen. Show producers are Greg Garcia, Marc Buckland and Bobby Bowman.

B. From “Desperate Housewives”, Gabriella Solis is a divorced, self-centered, adulterer. Summation; Gabriella is the hot sex vixen. The show creator is Marc Cherry.

C. From “Ugly Betty”, Betty Suarez, is a sweet, intelligent and hard-working assistant. Summation; Betty is the oversized peg in the petite round hole in the fashion industry. The show creators are Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez, James Haymanand and Marco Pennette.

D. From “Grey’s Anatomy”, Callie Torres is an orthopedic doctor. Summation; Callie is passionate, intelligent and dedicated to her profession. The show creator is Shonda Rhimes.

E. From “American Family”. I believe the show it is no longer on air.

F. From “George Lopez Show” the females are as follows: Benny, George’s mother, is a loud mouth, obnoxious mother that drinks, smoke and curses. Angie Lopez is a bit of a bubblehead and dresses in tight clothing. Show creators are Bruce Helford, Deborah Oppenheimer, Robert Borden and Sandra Bullock.

After going through the list, based on the criteria that is placed on the Loca character, all these Latina characters, except for one, should be rejected and banished by the Latin community. Here are the guidlines I gathered from Loca detractors and applied it the characters listed above. 1. The character must be portrayed by a Latina actress or created by a Latina. 2. The character should have no faults or negative behavior.

Well, as you can see that leaves one character, Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty. Here you go ladies, your role model; the image that society buys, embraces and projects across half the world. It’s hard to argue against the success of the show. It is one of the most successful show across Latin countries, as well as being Emmy worthy here in the states. I’m being political correct here by excusing the ugliness as a fault, after all Betty is a cute, ugly, if there is such a thing. For my taste, I think the show’s environment is cartoonish, the characters are cliché’s and the storylines are too over-the-top to make the characters believable and realistic. But then again, I'm not Latina so my I'm probably not the intended demographic for this show, and the show is not designed to retain my interest.

For my liking, I think there’s a better role model than Betty but I had to dismiss her according to the criteria. I’ll have to tell you who she is in my next entry. Until then, I invite you to watch and examine these characters and ask yourself, do I think these characters are role models? Are they stereotypical or not? Are they racial or not? If they are role models (like Ugly Betty), do Latinas pay attention and learn from them? If they are detrimental then why aren’t they being bashed like LittleLoca? Of course you know I have an opinion on these questions, and I promise I’ll try to be “ugly” with them.

Happy TV watching!
pm

...but is it art?

The other day I read that Angel and I are “sellouts” to our race. Angel has repeatedly warned me not to read the YouTube comments on LittleLoca but I can’t help take a peek at them every once in awhile. The jest of the comment is that we are sellouts because we made a short film with LittleLoca. You are probably thinking the same thing I thought when I read the comments, “will this discussion ever end”? Every time I think people have gotten passed the idea that Loca is a stereotype and an insult to Latinas, someone comes along, rehashes and bashes LittleLoca and her fans. It gets to the point that I wonder if it’s worth the effort to continue the Loca story.

After going to the gym and cooling my blood over the comments, I remembered an article I had read a long time ago about Steven Spielberg and the criticism he received on directing “The Color Purple”, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. The argument was that Steven was not black enough to tell this story of a black woman and should be replaced. If i remember correctly, his reply was that human suffering is colorblind. This led me to think that if Steven had listened to his “haters” or naysayers would the film have ever been made. Fortunately Steven stood up for his art and was able to transcend the black story and tell the story as a human experience for everyone to relate to and experience. Steven’s example reminded me that artists have to believe in themselves and create what is right for their art.

I wonder how many artists have given up their dream because someone told them they are stupid, untalented or not ethnic enough to express an idea? I also wondered what would have happened if Steven had stopped making films because a few people bashed him for being Jewish or a sellout.

I’m not so much concerned about my personal venture as a filmmaker. At this point in my life, I am utterly thrilled and fulfilled when I can just bring an idea to fruition. So if I am considered a sellout for taking a stance and making art then yes I am a big time sellout! I hope to always be a sellout to my ideas, creative voice and intelligence to create the right message for an art piece. I want my art to be challenging and spark debate. I might not always create good art but the only thing worse would be not to create art at all. After all I have a responsibility to my race – the human race. So I ask the question again. Is it worth it to take a stance with LittleLoca and continue her story? Yes. After all, a can of soup is a work of art too.

Thanks
Pablo

LocaMotion Derailed Trailer is online

You may have noticed that we posted a trailer for the Loca film short today. It's been a great experience working on this project with Stevie and Angel but it's also a bit of relief to put this project to bed. At least that's what I thought, until now that Angel and I are looking through film festival calendars. Being that this is my first time l never knew that a press/sales package for the film is as important as the film, and almost as much work to create. In fact, a film festival director told Angel that festivals are more about the filmmakers than the films. Funny when I've gone to festivals I go to see the films not filmmakers, but I guess it depends one which side of the camera you are sitting.

I mention this because in the next few weeks, Stevie, Angel and myself will be looking at film festivals, online festivals and other viewing opportunities that are available to us. I have no doubt that Loca will keep her fans updated and I'll try to add a few behind the scenes tidbits for hardcore Loca fans. Meanwhile let me get back to putting our glossy sales package together, after all this is show business and we still have some business to get done.

A New Year

A new year has begun… and for us it’s looks like it’s going to be an exciting year.

When Angel and I began this site we began with no real expectations. At the very least we thought it would be fun to post our animations, film shorts and maybe make a few friends along the way. To our surprise, people have responded with enthusiasm and encouragement to our efforts. We’ve also met awesome artists, filmmakers and actors that have inspired us with their stories and work.

After our first year of publishing, we’ve realized that the only thing holding us back is our ability to create and develop new content. There is an abundance of Latin talent out in the community and we are excited to bring these talented artists to our site as fast as possible.

We plan to open the art gallery, hold online film festivals and much more this year, so be sure to visit us throughout the year. We also look forward to reading your comments and suggestions to make this site the best representation of Latin art on the Internet.

Thank you to everyone for making the café a special place for us and have a great year…. and remember, be creative!!!

Angel and Paul

LocaMotion Derailed is Done!

Today I sent Stevie and email to let her know that I will be picking up the master DVD of LocaMotion Derailed tomorrow from the post house. It’s understandable that Stevie is nervous and excited about the project. Speaking for myself I am exhausted and glad that we are done.

You may have noticed that I have not posted in a few weeks. I’ve been unable to post because I’ve been working nonstop on the project. Angel and I have been shooting, editing and animating like crazy to make our deadline and I just couldn’t break away to write up an entry. In fact, I’m making this entry a short one. I plan to go to sleep until New Years, then party, and then I’ll be back to work. I promise to catch you up on the events and anxieties that almost brought the project to a halt. Fortunately, it’s done and I got a fat pillow waiting for me!

To make up for the lack of entries, the photo above is a frame from the animation in the short. I can’t say much about it, only that it took us four weeks to complete and Frankie Bones scored us some great music for the scene.

be back laters,
pm

Hollywood is Knocking?

Angel called me the other day, laughing. She was laughing at how the reporter in the Fox News referred to us as “Hollywood”. Angel said, “poor Stevie, if we are Hollywood she is going to be very disappointed.”

Earlier today, Angel and I got together to review our film short and watch a rough cut. We still have a couple of scenes to complete before we insert the music score and a few other odds and ends, nevertheless, it was good to see how the story is taking shape with Loca. Actually it’s a bit nerve racking to watch the rough cut.

When Angel first walked through my door she was excited and overwhelmed with enthusiasm for the project but by the end of the day, I think Angel was sick with nervousness. If you read my previous entries you know that Angel and I began this project as fun side project. Loca was relatively unknown. There was no pressure. Today, Stevie has blown up and been reported on by print and broadcast media, now there is pressure.

Stevie’s press has most likely gained Loca both fans and haters. The fans want to see Loca as her usual entertaining self, and the haters want to see Loca fall flat on her face. Of course, Angel and I know that no matter how good or bad the film is, some people are going to like it while others will hate it. However, our concern is how Stevie will feel about the film – that’s the pressure on us!

At the moment, Angel and I can only see the mistakes and technical errors in the film. Because we started this film with no budget we took liberties with our equipment, figuring it would suffice for an Internet film short. However, now that the film has a good chance to be shown at the Venice Beach Film Festival, Angel and I are very concerned about the limitations of our equipment. In hindsight we’ve asked ourselves if maybe we should’ve waited until we had a respectable budget to hire an audio person and additional equipment that would have helped us overcome our technical problems and enable us to focus on the story. Our answer is no. No, we couldn’t have waited because we would have missed this opportunity to work with Stevie and create this film, no matter how raw the recording.

In the spirit of our web site, Bullfighters café, we try to highlight artists that are dedicated to producing their art no matter the limitations they face. Stevie is an example such an artist. She captured the attention of mass media with a $300 camera and a consumer laptop. Her limited equipment didn’t hold her back so why should ours? After all, our goal isn’t about creating a blockbuster or entertaining the masses, like I mentioned, our biggest aim is to satisfy one person, Stevie. Not really the kind of lofty goals you see from “Hollywood”. So it’s a good thing that the real Hollywood is knocking on Stevie’s door, I’m just glad to say that Angel and I are already in Stevie’s house! We just hope that when Hollywood swings by to pick Stevie up, they leave a few things behind like some good audio equipment!

A Girl Named Stevie

…Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
Johnny Cash – A Boy Named Sue

A few weeks ago on Stevie’s myspace web page, a fan asked if anyone had ever met the real Stevie Ryan. It seems like a silly question unless you are familiar with the many faces of Stevie’s characters. Watch a video blog from any of these YouTube characters and you may be amused by The Real Paris’ imitations or perplexed by Ooolalaa’s behavior or challenged by LittleLoca’s rants or entertained by Jamie Lynn’s ramblings. After you’ve seen these characters you may be asking yourself too, what is Stevie Ryan really like?

About five months ago, after we had published our article on Stevie for bullfighters café, Angel and I arraigned to meet Stevie for lunch in a Venice restaurant. I admit I was infatuated with Loca, and although I knew better, I was anxious to meet Loca! Well, after the first minute of meeting Stevie, I realized that Loca wasn’t going to have lunch with us. Stevie is not the in your face, expressively featured, highly opinionated LittleLoca on YouTube. Rather Stevie is soft spoken, humble and cheerful like a kindergarten schoolteacher. She’s always saying thank you, and means it. She laughs and smiles every chance she gets and radiates with positive energy.

If this were a celebrity blog I could go on gushing, but the fact is, Stevie is more than just an attractive actress. Stevie is a filmmaker and an artist. She is smart, creative and dedicated to her craft to the point of being obsessive. On a Friday night, Angel and Stevie went to a “Hollywood party” to network but after an evening of plastic hob-knobbing, Stevie told Angel that she wished she had stayed home to edit her next video blog.

Stevie is focused on being creative, period. She studies, asks questions and works hard to be as entertaining as possible. Yes, she writes her own material. Yes, she shoots and edits her own video blogs. And yes, she knows her characters create controversy but she relishes knowing that her characterizations challenge people and spark debate.

The other day Stevie and I were talking about her new character Jamie Lynn and I mentioned how surprised I was that Jamie Lynn wasn’t receiving as many racial comments as Loca. As we discussed this, I was left with the impression that Stevie is not only entertaining us but she’s performing a social experiment. She is creating characters that make us (the viewers) ask questions about our social issues and personal beliefs. Stevie is like a painter that paints a cubist figure and then asks us what part of the figure we see. Some people see (Loca or Jamie Lynn) as a stereotypical, racial, nit witted character, and if this is correct, then why aren’t they both being commented with similar racial slurs? That’s a question Stevie and I could not answer at the end of our discussion, but I’m sure Stevie will continue to experiment and test our sensibilities with the characters as long as people respond to them.

Life is art for Stevie. Not only does Stevie use racial issues, she also uses her real life occurrences as fuel for her video blogs. A couple of examples are that Stevie’s car was broken into and Silent’s friend was stabbed in his head. This is what makes Stevie’s performances so compelling, at some level she is always telling the truth. I think Stevie’s ability to incorporate truth with make-believe is what frustrates viewers as to whether they should accept Stevie’s blogs as real or not. When Angel and I have casual conversations with Stevie, she’ll mention that she’ll makes notes on instances in her life that she may use later in a blog. In fact, Angel and I have become careful on what we say or do with Stevie because we know she may use some aspect of it.

There’s one more quality you should know about Stevie. This girl has guts! She is tough. It’s not easy putting yourself out there for everyone to see, especially when you get comments ranging from juvenile to evil, ugly. It’s a testament to Stevie’s courage that she continues her work and that speaks for itself.

Well, I’ve gone on too long. It just goes to show that Angel and I believe that Stevie is a multifaceted filmmaker, it’s just up to you to choose which side of Stevie you want to see. In our eyes, a girl named Stevie is a tough artist that can be amusing, perplexing, observant and challenging and that’s what makes for great talent and we are thrilled Stevie has let us come into her world of creativity.

*The photo above is from the Fox 11 (KTTV) interview with Loca and Angel. The segment will air November 25th.

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Shhhh! Silent Girl is Talking

Last week, Angel and were excited because we were going to shoot a scene with Loca and Silent Girl. We didn’t know Silent Girl’s real name, which was a little odd because we felt like we knew so much about her from the video blogs. Well, here’s what we found out it. Silent girl is really silent! She hardly talked, so I can’t tell you much. Although, I can say that Silent is as sweet in person as she appears to be in the YouTube videos. She has an innocent quality about her that is nothing short of charming. Her smile is infectious and she is just as beautiful in person as she appears in the videos.

I asked Silent how she felt about Stevie getting her involved with YouTube and she basically shrugged her shoulders and said it was fun. I thought she was going to say that she was surprised at the attention or that it was becoming bigger than she ever imagined. Instead, Silent said that when Stevie visits and if they have time they make a video, that's it! It’s nothing more than just two cousins spending fun time together.

I think Silent Girl is like Ethel Mertz to Lucille Ball, except that Silent's relationship with Stevie is real. Silent Girl is the loyal companion to Loca no matter what the circumstance that Loca creates. For instance, we had audio trouble on the shoot and it took us almost all day to get the scene shot (here’s some irony, we had audio trouble with Silent Girl’s scene!). Anyway, Silent sat in the corner patiently waiting for us to get the scene done. She never complained or asked when we would be finished. She just smiled and supported Stevie as we worked on a difficult scene. The impressive thing was, Silent had took the day off from school and work, drove to L.A. and was going to drive back home, almost a two hour drive after eight hours of shooting. Now I don’t know how many of you would do the same for a friend or family member for no pay, but that’s Silent for you, a dedicated sidekick to Loca.

Before we wrap every shoot, I take photos for this blog (also when Stevie becomes a major star I want proof that we were the first to work with Stevie). When I mentioned I wanted to take a photo, Silent seemed to get excited on spoke up and asked to be in the picture with Angel, aka Sad Girl. Now when Silent Girl speaks up you know it’s important and everybody listens, so we were only too happy to accommodate Silent Girl. You’ll notice I never appear in the photos, probably because no one gets excited to take a picture with me, but I’m not complaining, after all, I got to spend the day with the three most famous chicas of our time! Eat your heart out fellas!

Thank you Silent Girl!

PS: Yes, we know Silent’s real name now, and if you listen very carefully she might tell it to you too!
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The Little Engine That Could

BAM, Locamotion rolling all up in your face! Sorry, but Loca’s lingo is too fun to say; it just rolls off the tongue. I’m sure you’ve caught yourself repeating a few of Loca’s signature expressions.

That’s the thing about Loca, you take away the racism, stereotyping and bashing aspects associated with Loca and you’ll find that Loca is fun. She has a sense of humor, great wit and at an outrageous perspective on daily life. The trouble is some people can’t get past the negative aspects of Loca, and I have to admit, I can understand their position. The cholo culture brings up a lot of negative images; cholos are thugs, dope dealers, drug addicts and welfare recipients and there’s nothing funny about these images. I’m not going to address these issues here, but rather, I want to talk about how we developed the film’s story with these aspects in mind.

As Angel and I continuously adjust Loca’s story, I keep thinking about these two viewpoints that viewers bring to Loca. There’s Loca the comedian and Loca the hated chola. However there’s also a third side, Loca’s internal motivation. At the heart I believe Loca is like “The Little Engine That Could”, she thinks she can or as Loca might put it, “ Damn fool, get the hell out of Loca’s way!” In plain speak, Loca believes she will over come the barrio life by remaining a virgin and going to college to achieve her dream of becoming a filmmaker. It’s here on this perspective that Angel and I chose to focus our story. Loca, like any good dramatic character, is striving for a better life while overcoming difficult situations.

Now that I’ve set the stage, here’s the story. Loca is about to complete her most important project, her college video submission. Prompted by the racial comments from the YouTube board, such as “fuckin Mexicans we need to get rid of them”, Loca talks to friends, neighbors and community leaders on how to handle the discrimination she faces as the subject for her video. However, before Loca can finish her video, her camera is stolen and destroyed. As Loca looks to complete her project she tangles with a clothing stylist, two opportunistic homies (the photo above) and an eccentric woman that make her journey the more difficult. I won’t give away the ending but we believe this story finds the balance between the negative and humorous aspects of Loca, while she continues to grow as a character.

At this point we are almost half way through filming, with two very big shoot days next week. Our deadline is fast approaching and we have a lot of work to complete. As I continue to write entries about our production I’ll try to elaborate more on how we wrote the screenplay and found the balance of all the story’s perspectives. Like Loca herself, we still have to overcome some difficult obstacles to complete this film but as the little engine from the barrio would say, “Toot, Toot, can’t stop the Locamotion. Much love and respect everybody”.

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Location, Location, Location

A funny thing about making films, it’s all about location! I’ve come to realize that without a location it doesn’t matter how many actors, equipment, and crew members there are, if there’s no place to shoot, then there’s no shoot! Well, fortunately Angel knows people who know people, and today we went to visit a café owner to see if his café would be a good fit for our LittleLoca project. (The picture above is a test shot to see how the scene might be framed. I hope Angel doesn’t see this picture, she’ll kill me if she knows I used it).

The owner of the café was very cordial. He permitted us to move tables, shoot photos and he even turned the music off so we could get a gauge on the noise level in the café, which was still very noisy from exhaust fans, clanking dishes and people chatter. We talked with the owner for twenty minutes before he mentioned a fee of $200. Well, Angel and I admitted that the price was a bargain, considering that we were going to close down a section of the café for an afternoon. However, as Angel and I talked, we began to consider that we should bring in an audio professional to assist us so we could shoot the scene quickly, which brought the cost up to almost a $1,000! Again, it’s not much money if you have a budget. The trouble is we don’t have a budget.

When we began this project our plan was to show this film in segments on YouTube where production value is done on the cheap! (This by the way was in the works before the LonelyGirl15 revelation came out…just some trivia for the YouTubers). However, as we started to tell friends about our film with Stevie, the news traveled around until it reached the founders of “The Other Venice Film Festival”. As it turned out, one of the festival’s directors was familiar with LittleLoca and asked us to submit the film for the next festival. I believe my response was, “What? Wow, …what? Are you sure?” Then I fell to the floor having just realized that our small Internet film had just been called up to the big screen.

Needless to say the pressure was on. Angel and I wondered how we would shoot a film with no budget and little resources. Our answer was to shoot it guerilla style! Shoot it fast, free and creatively. In case you don’t know our meaning of the word “creatively”, it means beg, barrow and steal whatever is necessary to get the job done. If you read my first entry then you know that Angel and I are extremely experienced in being very “creative”. Well, after leaving the Café we realized that paying for a location and hiring an audio professional goes against shooting guerilla style, and after all, rules are rules. At this moment, we are rewriting the café scene to an outdoor scene that will cost us little to nothing, exactly within our budget.

I guess the real estate people are right. It’s all about location, location and location, and if the first location doesn’t work out there’s always another one just around the corner. I’ve also realized that having limited funds doesn’t mean that our project is undoable it just means we have to be more creative.

More about the story to come…stay tuned,
Paul m