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Now En Español follows the trials and travails of five Latina actresses in Los Angeles who dub “Desperate Housewives” for Spanish language audiences in the US.  These dynamic women struggle to pursue their Hollywood careers while balancing the responsibilities of making rent and raising children – surviving but with their dreams always out of reach. As they confront an industry that offers few balanced or compelling roles, their elusive success reveals the persistent inequities of Latino representation in American media. Now En Español is an entertaining portrait of five gutsy Latinas as they follow their dreams against all odds.

 

 

NOW EN ESPAÑOL

CAST

MARCELA BORDES

 

Originally from Mexico City and from a family of artists, including her cousin, actress Diana Bracho, and uncle, Cesar Bordes, a dancer and former director of the Teatro de Bellas Artes, Marcela started her career as a dancer, model, and singer in a rock band, soon adding actress to the list. She has worked with such notables as Veronica Castro, El Loco Valdez, Chabelo, and Enrique Cuenca “El Polivoz.” In the US, she has acted in films, soap operas, such as “Te Amara En Silencio,” and the daily tv show “Uno nunca sabe,” as well as performed as the Spanish voice of Barbie, Minnie Mouse, countless anime characters and for tv and movies. She has also worked as a dubbing director, casting director, and has had her own business coaching and teaching VO and dubbing. Marcela is also a trained massage therapist and hypnotherapist.

 

Marcela is the Spanish voice of Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives.

IVETTE GONZALEZ

 

Born in DF, Mexico, in a family of actors, musicians, dancers and singers, Ivette grew up among sets and cameras, greatly influenced by her grandfather Adalberto Martinez “Resortes.” She began her career at 10 years of age, working on a television program in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Years later, she began her theater career in Oliver Twist, with more than 600 showings in her role as Nancy. From there, she began to work on live shows, telenovelas, comedies and movies. She moved to the US in 1992 and quickly started work in Spanish language television as a host, reporter and comedian. At the same time, she entered the world of dubbing, since then participating in more than a thousand programs, such as Tom & Jerry, The Little Mermaid, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Bold & The Beautiful. In1995, she crossed over to American television and movies, with roles in programs such as Taken, Borderland, In The Flesh, The Mentalist, and 90210.

 

Ivette is the Spanish voice of Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives.

MARABINA JAIMES

 

If a road doesn't already exist where she needs to go, Marabina Jaimes will pave her own. An Emmy winner and Imagen award nominated host and actress, Marabina is of Mexirican descent, half Mexican, half Puerto Rican. Marabina won an Emmy Award for hosting the hit PBS show Storytime!, and has done over 300 commercials in English and Spanish for Payless Shoes, Ikea, and Wells Fargo among others.   She has been either seen or heard on Law & Order, Beverly Hills 90210, Fixing Paco, Melrose Place, CSI Miami, The Good Wife, Weeds, and Dexter.  Her movie credits include Machete, Crazy Heart, Wall Street, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.  She starred in the Latin-centric animated series Santo Bugito on CBS. She hosted and co-produced  “Let’s Talk,” an Internet based Latina-led talk show; she is also a vocalist and lyricist.

 

Marabina is the Spanish voice of Mary Alice Young, the narrator of

Desperate Housewives.

GABRIELA DEL CARMEN LOPETEGUI

 

In Montevideo, Uruguay, Gabriela worked professionally as a dancer and was one of the first women invited to perform in Carnival. She also starred in the hit television show Horacio y Gabriela, becoming a well-known star throughout the country. She is a huge fan of Woody Allen and while still living in Uruguay, Gabriela had visions of moving to Allen’s New York. Instead she found herself in Los Angeles, where she has lived for more than 15 years. In the US, Gabriela started performing as a stand-up and improv comedian and doing dubbing work. She dubbed Dr. Bailey on Grey’s Anatomy, Callie on CSI Miami, and Salma Hayek on Ugly Betty. Gabriela also has directed numerous dubbing and voiceover sessions, worked as a language coach, taught voiceover through AFI, and is an avid salsa dancer.

 

Gabriela is the Spanish voice of Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives.

NATASHA PEREZ

 

Natasha is the youngest of the “desperate” ladies. She's a quirky, witty, sweet and confident woman from a family of artists and advertising legends in Venezuela. She uses what she learned from them to focus on acting... and singing... and improv comedy... and traveling. Her interests are diverse and her talents are far ranging. Winner of the Best Supporting Actress Award on the WMIFF for her musical role against Steven Bauer, she played with Channing Tatum on a famous skit for the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Natasha has been a spiritual girl in Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, a gangster on The District, a patient on ER; she sings and plays guitar around the world and has written songs for Entourage, Jonny Zero and several Latin American movies. She has dubbed Kate on Lost, Violet on Private Practice, and in her free time…- What’s that? she says…she writes, surfs and plays volleyball.

 

 

Natasha is the Spanish voice of Susan Meyer on Desperate Housewives.

CREW

ANDREA MELLER, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

 

Andrea is a Chilean-American, LA based filmmaker originally from New York. Prior to Now En Español, she co-directed Emmy-nominated Hard Road Home (Independent Lens/PBS) and also directed 156 Rivington (Sundance Channel). Her films have screened at SXSW, Tribeca, SilverDocs, and NY International Latino Film Festival, among others, and by community groups internationally. Her shorter work  has screened at the New York Times, Netherlands Architecture Biennale, Museum of the City of NY, Storefront for Art and Architecture, and she has worked for National Geographic, MTV, TLC, Food, WE and Style. Her projects have received support from PBS' Latino Public Broadcasting, California Humanities, Pacific Pioneer, and the National Association of Latino Arts & Culture. Andrea is a consultant for the Sundance Institute Latino Fellowship and a fellow of the Film Independent Documentary Lab and the PBS/CPB and NALIP Latino Producers Academies and received her BA at Swarthmore College.

ONDINE RAREY, EDITOR

 

Ondine is an editor and documentary filmmaker.  Her documentary Fools and Heroes was nominated for the German equivalent of an Emmy, aired Stateside on PBS, and was an official selection at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Editing credits range from My Child: Mothers of War -- a documentary feature that took top festival honors at Cinequest and LA Femme Film Festival -- to television shows such as Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Big Ideas for a Small Planet. Ondine's recent foray into fiction filmmaking, A Portrait of Female Desperation, has been recognized with six festival awards. Ondine received a BFA in Documentary and Journalism from the Munich University for Television and Film.

CAMARA KAMBON, COMPOSER

 

In 1995, just 23 years old, Camara took home an Emmy for the music he composed for the HBO film, Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion. It was the beginning for Camara, who has lent his musical touch to an array of films, tv shows and recording artists, such as Any Given Sunday, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion. He has shared the stage or studio with performers ranging from Dizzy Gillespie to Dr. Dre, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to Mary J. Blige and Eminem. He has received two more Emmy nominations for HBO films and earned 3 Grammy nominations for co-writing the Blige no. 1 hit Family Affair and for his keyboard work on Nelly Furtado’s Whoa, Nelly! and Eve’s Scorpion.

FULL CREDITS

Starring:

MARCELA BORDES

IVETTE GONZALEZ

MARABINA JAIMES

GABRIELA LOPETEGUI

NATASHA PEREZ

 

 

Directed, Written, and Produced by ANDREA MELLER

Written and Edited by ONDINE RAREY

Music by CAMARA KAMBON

Narration by MARABINA JAIMES

Consulting Producer AARON WOOLF

Camera CHARLIE GRUET, ANDREA MELLER

Sound Recordist CALEB MOSE

Additional Editing TOVA GOODMAN

Additional Camera  AARON WOOLF, EMILY TOPPER

Post Production Consultant KRISTIN LESKO

Post Production Associate MINA SON

Field Associate Producers TALLEAH BRIDGES MCMAHON, LESLIE KANG

Gaffer PJ GAYNARD

Production Assistants JULIA EMBRY, FRANK PAULINO

Location MARY PRICKETT

 

Also Featuring:

MARIO CARDILLO

KIKEY CASTILLO

JASPER REY CLEMENT

ROCIO GALLEGOS

BEL HERNANDEZ

MARIA LANE

RAFAEL LOPEZ

DYANA ORTELLI

IRMA GABRIELA PEREZ

SAL RODRIGUEZ

BRISA SUAREZ

ANDRE SUAREZ

TERRI WAGENER

ROZ WOLF

 

Key Advisors and Contributors:

ACTIVE VOICE

CATHERINE BENAMOU

PATRICIA BOERO

LAURIE COYLE

AKIVA GOLDSMAN

ANA GRINTA

CHON NORIEGA

LUPE ONTIVEROS

MICHELLE SALCEDO

ELLEN SCHNEIDER

PEPE VARGAS

RUBEN VELOSO

 

 

Assistant Editor DENA BETANCOURT

Post Production Assistants JAMES CAMPBELL, JOSEFINE BORMANN, BRIAN FORD,ILIANA GUEVARA,DALIA NARVAEZ,ROBIN PAEZ,VIRGINIA THOMASI

Title Graphics BEN SAKAI

Narration Recording Engineers CHRIS ALLEN,MARIO CARDILLO

Narration Recorded at CCI DIGITAL

Post Production Sound BRAD DUJMOVIC

Online Editor BILL RUSSELL

HD Up-Conversion MATT RADECKI DIFFERENT BY DESIGN

 

Legal Counsel CHRIS PEREZ, DONALDSON & CALLIF & ASSOCIATES

 

With the participation of:

JORGE ALTAMIRANO

LORENA ALVARADO

ANDREW ARNOLD

AZ LOS ANGELES

BLANCA VALDEZ CASTING

KARLA  BRUK

MISHA BRUK

SUSANA CASARES

KAT CASTANEDA

KARINA CASTILLO

SAUL ESCOBAR

DENISE HEFTI LEFEBRE

CHARLES KERPER

ANGELIQUE LETTICH

ROCIO LOYA

JOE MATTIS

VALERIA MALDINI

BRYAN MORAN

REKO MORENO

RAQUEL RAMIREZ

ROBERT RENDEROS

DAVID SAMS

TONO STUDIOS

MIGUEL TORRES

GONZALO UGARTECHE

JAIME ZAPATA

 

 

Special Thanks:

CHASE ALEXANDER

KATE AMEND

DOUG BLUSH

FABIENNE BONGARD-MOSE

NIKKI BORRELLI

CHRISTIAN BRUNO

SONNY CALDERON

PAUL CARTWRIGHT

JULIA COLE

SARAH COLE

LIBBY CUENIN

SAM CULLMAN

CAMILLE DIETERLE

JEFFREY DINSMORE

RENE DURAN

KATHRYN GALAN

SUZANNE GOLDISH

DIEGO GONZALEZ

ANDREW GRACE

AMY HALPIN

APRIL HAYES

LISA HEPNER

HELEN HERNANDEZ

KATHY HUANG

BRENDAN HUGHES

ALICE JOHNSON BOHER

ROBERT KAYVON

ERIC KISSACK

SELINA LEWIS DAVIDSON

JOHN LIGHTFOOT

EMERSON MACHTUS

LORENA MANRIQUEZ

KATIA MAGUIRE

OCTAVIO MARIN

BILL MCCOMBER

DANIEL MELLER

JOSE MELLER

PATRICIA MELLER

JIM MENDIOLA

SHAUN MILLER

GUY MOSSMAN

MONIKA NAVARRO

MELISSA PAMER

MARISA PEARL

SARA PELLEGRINI

FAITH RADLE

ELI RAREY

AMANI ROLAND

SALLY RUBIN

JOE SAUNDERS

MIKE TORRES

JUDITH VECCHIONE

NATALIJA VEKIC

FRANCISCO VELASQUEZ

JOSH WELSH

TREVA WURMFELD

 

MUSIC

 

"Mambo No. 8"

by Perez Prado

(c) Peer International Corporation

o/b/o Editorial Mexicana de Musica Internacional (EMMI)

Performed by Pérez Prado Y Su Orquesta

Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

 

“Sad City”

Written by Bradley Dujmovik & Alisha Fraher

Performed by La La La Birdtime

 

“Happy Birthday To You”

Written by Mildred Hill and Patty Hill

Published by Summy-Birchard Company (ASCAP) c/o Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

 

“Tico Tico No Fubá”

Written by Zequinha de Abreu

© Irmãos Vitale S.A., administered in the US by Peer International Corporation

Performed by Pérez Prado Y Su Orquesta

Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

 

 

"Maria Bonita"

Written by Agustina Lara (c) Peer International Corporation o/b/o Promotora Hispano Americana de Musica (PHAM)

Performed by Pérez Prado Y Su Orquesta

Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

 

 

 "Mambo Jambo (Que Rico El Mambo)"

Written by Perez Prado (c) Peer International Corporation o/b/o Editorial Mexicana de Musica Internacional (EMMI)

Performed by Pérez Prado

Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

 

 

"Mambo No. 5"

Written by Perez Prado (c) Peer International Corporation o/b/o Editorial Mexicana de Musica Internacional (EMMI)

Performed by Perez Prado

Courtesy of Timeless Entertainment Corp.

 

 

This project was developed and made with the support of

CPB/PBS PRODUCERS ACADEMY

FILM INDEPENDENT

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS’ LATINO PRODUCERS ACADEMY

 

Funding provided by

CAL HUMANITIES

NALAC FUND FOR THE ARTS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ARTS AND CULTURE, THE FORD FOUNDATION AND SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

PACIFIC PIONEER FUND

 

 

A CO-PRODUCTION OF MIGRATORY PATTERNS AND LATINO PUBLIC BROADCASTING (LPB) WITH MAJOR FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

 

FOR VOCES:

SANDIE VIQUEZ PEDLOW

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

 

LUIS ORTIZ

SERIES PRODUCER

 

 

 

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