Over Hispanic Heritage Month, production company Easy Mondays and agency Arts & Letters created a film to celebrate the cultures, contributions and stories of Latinos in the US.
Months ago, the Latino community at Arts & Letters set out to find a way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month within agency walls, and they realized quickly they were all united by a shared experience. Being Immigrants or being born of Immigrants, they rallied around a common truth that is still present in Culture today: being fully and proudly Latin-American is complex, and the tug of war between assimilation and embracing your heritage is constant.
While many first-generation Latinos assimilated into American culture as a matter of survival, today, bicultural Latinos are embracing their dual identities. But sometimes, the perception persists that people with different accents, traditions, and races aren’t American. Or American enough.
América Has an Accent shows real people and communities, and gives viewers a glimpse of their stories. Produced by Easy Mondays (Asori Soto, Kristian Mercado, EPs), and directed by Carmelo “Melo” Varela in collaboration with Arts & Letters’ Geoff Castillo, América Has An Accent” was shot on location in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City. Also contributing to the project were Animal Music, Assembly, and Exile. Watch below:
REELated:
“My Grandparents immigrated from Puerto Rico (father’s side) and Guatemala (mother’s side) to East NY Brooklyn. They came here to build a life, and chase the American Dream,” said Varela, whose teen years were spent running around with a camera making documentary films and photography in downtown Manhattan. “This project was shot through the lens of a Latin perspective. It was raw and real, we met real Latinos from all across America and shared a magic moment with them. I hope that people can watch this film and see that Latinos are so diverse, and we all have an important role in society.”
“Authenticity was a big part of the film,” said Gloria Concepcion, Creative at Arts & Letters. “Our approach to production was to go into the street and capture the community as they go about their lives and their days.”
“The process was a mix of street casting and friends & family casting. I’d say about 85% of the cast were town locals that we approached and introduced the project to,” Varelo added. “Many people were happy to participate and have their video portrait taken. We did this for 2 days in every city we visited.”
The film aims to reinforce that Latin heritage is embedded in the fabric of this country. And its signals, symbols, and diverse cultural backgrounds aren’t a liability for América. They are, in fact, a source of strength.
CREDITS:
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Easy Mondays
- EP: Asori Soto
- EP: Kristian Mercado
- Line Producer: Gabrielle Durr
- Director: Carmelo “Melo” Varela (in collaboration with Geoff Castillo of Arts and Letters)
AGENCY: Arts & Letters Creative Co
- Geoff Castillo, Co-Director (with Carmelo Varela of Easy Mondays)
- Gloria Concepción, Creative
- Jon Serna, Executive Producer
- Andrea Rodriguez, Senior Producer
- Jourdan Valdes, Senior Producer
- Sean Riojas, Producer
- Adrian Mojica, Director of Operations, XYZ
- Jacob Castillo, Creative
- Ignasi Tudela, Creative Director
- Ben Surber, Editor, XYZ
- Ryan Quinn, Editor, XYZ
- Shannon Lowe, Assistant Editor XYZ
- Brenda Aguilar Schneider, Group Business Director
- Bodi Karsono, Strategist
- Lenora Cushing, Director of Business Affairs
- Charles Hodges, Founder, Executive Creative Director
- Christie Allport, Director of Communications
EDIT: Exile
- Editor: Travis Moore
- EP: Sasha Hirschfeld
- HOP: Victoria Clifton
- Assistant Editor: Juan Steck
- Assistant Editor: Burke Williams
AUDIO & MUSIC: Animal Music
- Alberto Farinas – Managing Partner/Composer
- Manuk Hovaghimian – Managing Partner/Composer
- Raul Garcia – Head of Production
- Paola Altamirano – Audio Engineer/Mixing Engineer
- Additional Instrumentalists:
- Yosmel Garceran – Trombone
- Janier – Tres Guitar
- Mariachis: Mariachi Internacional Si Señor
POST: Assembly
- Colorist: Maria Carretero
- Color Assist: Jose Font
- Flame Artist: Jeff Kyle
- Producer: Veronica Webb
- EP: Tara Holmes
HISTORICAL FOOTAGE:
Library of Congress
Leonard Nadel Photographs and Scrapbooks
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