By Amie Howell
Daily Bruin Contributor
Life, love, and living in Los Angeles takes on a Latin flavor in
the new independent film “Luminarias,” which opens
today.
A project of the husband and wife team of Professor Jose Luis
Valenzuela and actor Evelina Fernandez, the movie chronicles four
contemporary Latina friends in East Los Angeles. Career savvy and
chic, these women meet to discuss family, friendship, sex,
relationships and whatever else comes up while in their favorite
nightclub: Luminarias.
Before hitting the big screen, this tale of professional women
was a stage production. Valenzuela, a professor of drama at UCLA
and the artistic director/co-founder of the Latino Theatre Company,
gets to make his film directorial debut with
“Luminarias.”
Valenzuela brings a rich theater background to his cinematic
direction. He has produced more than 20 Chicano/Latino Plays in Los
Angeles. His move from stage to screen was a newfound challenge,
compared to prior experience.
“With a play, you work on it beforehand. You put it out.
You do it. The audience comes. You close it,” Valenzuela
said.
Working with him along the way was Fernandez ““ who not
only plays a lead role in the film, but also wrote the script and
screen adaptation of “Luminarias”.
An award winning actor, Fernandez won the Nosotro Golden Eagle
Award for her work in “American Me.” Her other film and
television credits include “A Million to Juan,”
“The Larry Sanders Show” and
“Roseanne.”
The duo combined their creative efforts and talents to produce
the romantic comedy, over the years.
“It’s been an amazing, amazing journey,”
Valenzuela said.
The film often uses humor to relate its major themes, addressing
concepts of independence, sexuality, and prejudice.
Fernandez felt compelled to write “Luminarias” due
to the lack of contemporary Latin woman on the big screen and in
television.
“I wanted to explore the issues that Latinas go through on
a daily basis, such as cultural bias,” Fernandez said.
“The feeling of betraying your community when you go out with
a non-Latino.”
Delving into various societal stereotypes is a major feature of
the film. Each of the four women undergoes a personal struggle with
individual biases in their search for love and understanding in
East Los Angeles. The portrayal of the various characters also
serves to address misconceptions found in association with the
Latino community.
Rather than portray Latinos as mere background characters or
felons, they are given more depth and complexity. Fernandez sought
to give characters such as Pablo, a Mexican waiter in the film,
romantic storylines.
“You see images of Mexican men but usually they are very
insignificant to the plot in TV and film,” Fernandez said.
“You see a character like Pablo and he usually doesn’t
have much to do in the movie, except maybe mug someone or sell
drugs.”
After “Luminarias” had a successful run as a play at
The Latino Theatre company in Los Angeles, Valenzuela, Fernandez,
and actor/producer Sal Lopez joined forces to create Sleeping Giant
Productions in order to produce “Luminarias” for
theatrical release. Lopez, a long time friend of Fernandez and
Valenzuela, has had roles in such films as “American
Me” and “Selena.” The Latino community’s
growing impact on the entertainment industry is reflected in the
Production Company’s moniker.
“We had been called a sleeping giant as a community. This
is the movie that is going to awaken us,” Valenzuela said,
laughing.
“Luminarias” has been compared numerous times by
critics, to the box office hit “Waiting to Exhale,”
though this comparison is met with some objection by the
filmmakers.
Though he hopes for the success that “Waiting to
Exhale” received, Valenzuela feels that the only similarity
between the two films is that they are both targeted at women.
Unlike its predecessor, “Luminarias” focuses not only
on relationships between men and women, but society’s
influence and a grab bag of other subjects, according to the
director.
“It’s about class, race, and identity,”
Valenzuela said. “It’s a more intimate film than
“˜Waiting to Exhale.'”
When writing the script, Fernandez drew from her own life
experiences as a woman in order to gain a more realistic feel for
the story.
This female perspective is something that sets
“Luminarias” apart from other Latino film endeavors,
according to the writer.
“The females are not just playing the side-roles; (they
are) not just playing the wives, and the mothers,” Fernandez
said. “That makes it very different from other Latino films.
It’s a whole new look at who we are.”
Though the format has been altered slightly and the ending is
different from the theater version, Fernandez asserts the
re-adapted screenplay maintains the essence of
“Luminarias.” She believes the film has appeal for
people of any gender, race, or age.
“I don’t think it’s just a Latino movie. I
think it’s a movie about L.A. and all the different cultures,
and how we need to learn to live with each other. Everybody can
enjoy it,” Fernandez said. “It’s a pretty
universal story. I mean, come on, women looking for love?
That’s universal. My mom is 71 years old and she’s
still looking.”
FILM: “Luminarias” opens in Los Angeles theaters
today.