HOLA Legends: ROBERTO GÓMEZ BOLAÑOS "CHESPIRITO"

Roberto Gómez Bolaños (21 February 1929 – 28 November 2014), more commonly known by his pseudonym Chespirito, was a Mexican screenwriter, actor, comedian, director, playwright, songwriter, and author. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Spanish-language comedians of the 20th century. He was internationally known for writing, directing, and starring in the "Chespirito" (1968), "El Chavo del Ocho" (1971), and "El Chapulín Colorado" (1972) television series. The character of El Chavo is one of the most iconic in the history of Latin American television.

Born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, Gómez was an amateur boxer before becoming an actor. He studied engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He wrote a number of plays, and contributed dialogue for scripts of films and television shows in Mexico, as well as some character acting work before he became famous. His stage name, "Chespirito", was given to him by a producer during Gómez Bolaños' first years as a writer, and was concocted from the diminutive form of the Spanish pronunciation of the name of William Shakespeare's surname-- Shakespearito, meaning "Little Shakespeare".

Chespirito was discovered as an actor while he was waiting in line to apply for a job as a writer, and soon he began writing and starring in his children's comedy shows. Chespirito's first show was "Los Supergenios de la Mesa Cuadrada", a sketch comedy show that premiered in 1968; the show also starred Ramón Valdés, María Antonieta de las Nieves and Rubén Aguirre. "Los Supergenios" was later renamed "Chespirito y la Mesa Cuadrada", and later "Chespirito"; characters like El Chavo, El Chapulín and Dr. Chapatín were introduced in this show (1972, 1970, and 1968, respectively).

His best known roles were in the shows El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado. Both series premiered in 1973, and were based on sketches of the same name from Los Supergenios. The shows were produced by Mexican TV network Televisa, and aired in 124 countries. Other shows produced by and starring Chespirito were the short-lived "La Chicharra" from 1979, and a second version of "Chespirito" from 1980–1995.

In El Chavo, Chespirito played an 8-year-old boy who often took refuge inside a wooden rain barrel in a Mexican neighborhood, and in El Chapulín Colorado, he played a good-hearted superhero who gets involved in humorous situations. "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has said that he created the Bumblebee Man character after watching El Chapulín Colorado in a motel on the United States–Mexico border. He also played Doctor Chapatín in his television series, a doctor who is always trying to practice surgery on patients– even if they don't need it.

El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado have become cultural icons all over Latin America and the United States, and have also aired in many countries worldwide.

Chespirito is also noted as a composer. He started writing music as a hobby, and most of his early musical work was related to his comedy work, particularly featured in occasional Chapulín Colorado or Chavo del Ocho special episodes. Later works include the theme songs for various Mexican movies and telenovelas, such as "Alguna Vez Tendremos Alas" and "La Dueña".

On 19 November 2004, after 27 years together, he married actress and longtime companion Florinda Meza, who starred as Doña Florinda in "El Chavo". After show production was stopped for his television series, both toured Mexico and the rest of Latin America and the United States with different plays, sometimes playing the characters that made them famous. He died at the age of 85 in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

QEPD  Roberto Gómez Bolaños "Chespirito"

Prime Latino Media Salón: Holiday Fiesta 2014

   

invite you to

the MADRE of all holiday parties

Holiday Fiesta 2014

New York’s only monthly network series for
Latino multimedia-makers & actors

Wednesday, December 3, 2014 from 6-10PM

A support network to advocate, promote and advance

 mainstream and Latino projects in English and Spanish

1st Annual Padrino & Madrina Awards 2014

As we wrap up 2014, we count our blessings. But as we embark on a new year we also take stock: where have we come from, where are we now, and where are we going in 2015? Heaven knows we can’t do it alone and in PRIME LATINO MEDIA we firmly believe in the power of networking and forging relationships to move forward. We know the power of having a “Padrino” and “Madrina” (Godfather & Godmother) in the industry. To that effect we highlight two individuals who on top of working successfully, they firmly believe in the artistic Latino community and supporting. No better way to kick off our prospects for 2015 in full Latino style ~ ¡Latinos Unidos!

8PM: Padrino & Madrina Awards 2014 with TÍO LOUIE

  

PADRINO 2014, actor David Zayas & MADRINA 2014, filmmaker Sonia González-Martínez

FREE ADMISSION & CASH BAR – RSVP: http://fiesta2014.eventbrite.com

Note location: Bar 13, 121 University Place, at East 13th Street (near Union Square), NYC 

David Zayas

Star of stage and screen, he was raised in the Bronx. He won raves as the terrifying and powerful prisoner Enrique Morales, from HBO's Oz. A longtime member of the LAByrinth Theater Company, he had his debut on Broadway in Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Anna in the Tropics. He was seen playing Ángel Batista in the hit Showtime series Dexter. He received the 2012 HOLA José Ferrer Tespis Award. This year alone he was in the TV series Saint George with George Lopez and Olga Merediz and recently in the breakout Fox TV series, Gotham playing the mobster, Sal Maroni. But what is most impressive about this performer is that in spite of the heights he has reached professionally, he has no qualms about acting in independent films by Latinos and first-time filmmakers. He believes that it keeps him current and immersed in innovation, as well as a belief in this is how we build community. He is a member of Latino artistic organizations believing in the power of support.

Sonia González-Martínez
A writer, director and editor, she has edited the documentaries Antonia Pantoja ¡Presente!, Soul Food Junkies, and Spies of Mississippi and two episodes of María Hinojosa's America by the Numbers for PBS. Her directing credits include the award-winning documentary feature Bragging Rights: Stickball Stories, on the history and players of the NYC game of stickball that aired nationally on PBS. She formed T&A Flicks, a comedy team with actress Tammi Cubilette and comedian Angelo Lozada, directing and writing comedy shorts. For 20 years she has been an activist working on anti-police brutality cases and she led a protest against the film The Perez Family, for casting non-Latinos in Latino roles, which inspired her to create Latinos for Positive Images (LPI) organizing panels between Latinos in media and the community to raise awareness of our collective power in media. She is co-founder of Chica Luna Productions, which was a multimedia organization dedicated to training young women of color in all aspects of video production and distribution. She was on the NY chapter and the national Board for the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

Celebrating 21 interviews conducted @
PRIME LATINO MEDIA Salón 2014:

·      Laura Gómez: Actor, Director, Producer & Screenwriter

·      Jean-Marc Berne: Songwriter, Audio Producer & Voice-Over Coach

·      Adel L. Morales: Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Web Series

·      Mónica Palmieri: Producer/Actor

·      Luis Caballero: Director/Screenwriter

·      Adrian Manzano: Director/Screenwriter/Actor

·      Jesenia: Actor & Writer

·      Jenni Ruiza: Actor, Writer & Director

·      Michael Díaz: Writer, Director, Producer, Actor

·      Jaime Fernández: Actor, Writer, Director

·      Anthony Palmini: Actor, Director, Composer, Editor

·      Olga Merediz: Tony-nominated Broadway, TV & film Actor

·      Cecilia Aldarondo: Documentary Filmmaker

·      Sonia Fritz: Narrative & Documentary Filmmaker

·      Juan Pablo Cadaveira: Documentary Filmmaker

·      Rashaad Ernesto Green: Filmmaker

·      Reinaldo Marcus Green: Filmmaker

·      Paola Mendoza: Actor, Director, Screenwriter & Author 

·      Javier Aguirre: Film Producer

·      Jorge Pupo: Theater, Film & TV Actor

·      Edward Kostakis: Producer/Creative Director Aerial Filmmaker

Louis E. Perego Moreno/TÍO LOUIE

An interactive content producer and educator who for the past 33 years has owned Skyline Features, a bilingual (English- and Spanish-language) multimedia and educational production company developing documentaries, television programming and advertising commercials featuring Latinos, Blacks, Women, Urban Youth and LGBT. Produced 70 documentary shorts with 1,500 Latino and Black Youth. Producer/Director/Writer of documentary feature, Latina Confessions (2010) and airing on PBS nationally was co-producer on American Dreams Deferred (2012-2014). Executive Producer of PRIME LATINO MEDIA Salón, metropolitan New York's only monthly gathering of Latino multimedia-makers and actors in which over 60 narrative & documentary filmmakers, programmers, casting agents, TV & digital media producers and actors have been interviewed.

Next month: PRIME LATINO MEDIA Salón, January 2015 … stay tuned!

Be part of the movement:

FACEBOOK Group: Prime Latino Media

Twitter: @PLMSalon

Instagram: PRIME_LATINO_MEDIA

Vimeo: Prime Latino Media

Join the following Professional Networking Groups:

·      Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) www.hellohola.org

·      United Latino Professionals (ULP) http://www.ulpnetwork.com

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS of the 2014 HOLAfestival

Alberto Bonilla received a BA in Theatre at Arizona State University. He also studied at The British American Dramatic Academy in Oxford, England. He continued his studies at Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts receiving an MFA in Acting under Maggie Flanagan and William Esper. Plays that he has written include  Walking To America, Nonnie, Big Black Mexican Woman, #69, El Conejo and PS 357. He is currently developing two new plays. He also wrote and developed a new play based on Medea called María with Resonance Ensemble of which he is a member. As a director, his credits include the plays Look Back in Anger, Three Points Over the Vig, Leaving Lilly, Servant of Two Masters, Raft of the Medusa, and Macbeth. He is also a fight director, teacher and the Director of Film and Television at Maggie Flanigan Studios. For more information, click here. 

Elaine Del Valle has enjoyed a lucrative voiceover and commercial career for over two decades. She studied acting under the legendary Wynn Handman, in whose studios she wrote and developed her multiple award-winning off-Broadway solo show Brownsville Bred, her true, coming-of-age story set in the tough neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn. Directed by Pamela Moller-Kareman, the show enjoyed sold out, critically acclaimed runs at Westchester's Schoolhouse Theater, before debuting off-Broadway at the prestigious 59E59 Theaters. She continues to perform the show and share its inspiring message at high schools, colleges and corporations. Recent performances include at new York's legendary Nuyorican Poets' Café, Time Warner Columbus Circle and The New York Times headquarters. She is currently penning the young adult fiction novelization of Brownsville Bred with Parachute Publishing. In addition, she also enjoys performing standup comedy and improv at places like Governor's Comedy Club, The P.I.T. and UCB. Recent film credits include Elliot Loves, Stereotypically Me, and the webseries "Los Angeles". She also writes, produces and stars in the popular webseries "Reasons Y I'm Single". Recent television appearances include "Blue Bloods", "NYC-22" and MTV's scripted comedy series, "Failosophy". She can also be heard on the Nickelodeon/CBS hit animated series "Dora The Explorer", in which she continues to be work, sing, and voice many characters since its debut in 2000. For more information, click here.   

Michael Díaz (also known as Juan Bago) originally hails from Redding, Connecticut. After attending Central Connecticut State University, he moved to NYC in hopes to pursue his dreams in acting and comedy.  In 2006, he wrote, produced and starred his first independent film, The Story of Juan Bago. The original screenplay and production was conceived from the perspective of not seeing enough roles for Latinos. The success of the slapstick-humored film led to his involvement with various projects such as Jolopeo (producer/assistant director), Sandman's Box (producer), The Tickets (director), and HBO’s “Habla Ya” campaign (actor). During the evolution of his career, he formed Heights Entertainment, a multi-service production company specializing in marketing and film production. He studied at the famed Upright Citizen Brigade (UCB) to perfect his comedy and improvisation skills. Consecutively, it led to his co-hosting “The Bochinche Bueno Show” on Urban Latino Radio for the following two years. He continued on to work on various projects ranging from producing and starring in the short film Act of Love to working on as a personality for NuvoTV; Latino101 and MTV Tr3s Chisme Club. In the late 2000’s, he founded a comedy troupe, Room 28, that performed live and filmed sketches. The group has has recently reunited and has been performing live throughout NYC. With Heights Entertainment, he created viral hit "Pan con Queso", the spoof of Wiz Khalifa’s hit song “Black and Yellow”.  The parody duo, Juan Bago and O, had comical hits have been featured in The New York Daily News, Telemundo, Yahoo! News, Billboard.com and was on rotation on mun2, MTV Tr3s and Music Choice. He is currently involved in a couple of projects including "Brisk Bodega Chat", "Studio Heads" and several web projects including hosting "123unodostres", a new digital hub for a young, multi-cultural demographic. He stars in the new webseries from The Flama (an entity owned by Univision), "#AskBago", which premiered in October 2014.

Anthony Ruiz is an actor and writer. As an actor his recent credits include Eli Moran (starring David Zayas, scheduled for release during summer 2015), Daughter of God (starring Keanu Reeves, scheduled for release during fall 2015). Last year he won the SVA/Directors Guild of America Best Actor Award for the short film Caravella. He is also a semi-regular in "The Late Show with David Letterman". As a writer he has written several sketches about "The Richest Man In The World... Carlos Slim" (with David Letterman), and Stirred Crazy: The Pryor Family Story, Part One (with Richard Pryor, Jr.), scheduled to be presented in December 2014 at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City. With Ed Trucco, he co-wrote and co-directed the short films Truth Will Out and The Game.

Ed Trucco is an actor/director who can be seen in several films and TV shows. His credits include Maria Full Of Grace, and “Law and Order”, among others. He has an extensive theatre background. He most recently acted in a production of La caída de Rafael Trujillo (The Fall of Rafael Trujillo) at Teatro Círculo in New York City. He co-wrote and co-directed with Anthony Ruiz the film Truth Will Out and the soon-to-be-released short The Game. He is currently working as director of photography on a short directed by Laura Gómez, titled The Iron Warehouse. He is also a second-generation director, as his father was Argentine film director Orestes Trucco. For more information, click here.

Vanessa Verduga is an actor, writer, singer, director, producer and lawyer committed to examining social issues for their impact on the underprivileged and disenfranchised. She is the creator and star of the popular award-winning webseries “Justice Woman”, which follows the story of an Assistant District Attorney, by day, who becomes a defender of truth and justice at night. She also stars and produces H.O.M.E., a feature film that examines the loss of communication told through the immigrant’s perspective, and is in pre-production for a comedy feature film she wrote and will star in entitled The Implications of Cohabitation. For more information, click here. 


The 2014 HOLAfestival will be presented at Teatro LATEA on Monday, December 1, 2014 at 7:30pm. Suggested Admission: $10, $5 for HOLA members. To RSVP for the evening of screenings, call either (212) 253-1015 or (888) 624-HOLA or by e-mailing here. For more information, click here.

A Latino Reboot of "All In The Family"? Perhaps According to Sony Pictures Television and Series Creator Norman Lear

Check out this article from Todd Spangler in Variety about how Sony Pictures Television approached series creator Norman Lear about doing a reboot in 2015 of his groundbreaking, critically acclaimed television series "All In The Family" (1971-1979), just this time centered around a Latino family. To read the article, click here.

[In the photo, from left to right: The cast of "All In The Family"– Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, Carroll O'Connor and Sally Struthers.]

HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Francisco Ramos, shown at right, has just booked the lead role of the Prince of Darkness (also known as the ruler of the underworld), in the upcoming horror feature film Sinister Mind (written and directed by Indira Killen). The film will be shot in February and March 2015 on location in Lima, Peru. For more information about all things Ramos, click here.

Jason Torres just started filming the short film And I Saw Her (written and directed by Josy Gonzalo), which is currently lensing in New York City.

Víctor Cruz just wrapped up production work on the feature film The Stockroom (which he wrote and directed and in which he stars, opposite Liza Colón-Zayas and Luis Antonio Ramos). He now is headed to act in the play Cocktales: Confessiones of a Nymphomaniac. Written by and starring Tjasa Ferme, the cabaret-styled show was directed by Kira Simring and will be presented by November and December at the Railroad Blues Speakeasy in Miami, Florida. For more information, click here.

Inma Heredia performed at a benefit for the short film Tú. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora. Written and directed by Francisco Lupini Basagoiti, the film will co-star Francisco Fuertes and Mauricio Pita. The benefit took place in November at The Alchemical Theatre Laboratory in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, where Lupini's previous short film Yo, la peor de todas (starring Carmen Cabrera, Basílica Bliachas and Ana Verónica Muñoz) was screened.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?