Meet the Latino Cast of ‘The Book of Life’

Source by Vanessa Erazo

The new animated film The Book of Life, directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced byGuillermo del Toro, looks like a game of Candyland exploded in Mexico during Día de Muertos. Voiced by a star studded cast of mostly Latinos, it’s steeped in Mexican culture (there’s bullfighting, churros, late-night serenatas, and Café Tacvba is on the soundtrack) but tells a charming love story that anyone can relate to.

It’s a star-crossed lovers tale, but with a feminist spin. Manolo Sánchez comes from a long line of matadors but his heart isn’t in it. He’s a sensitive fellow who can’t stand to kill a bull and just wants to sing and play his guitar. Plus, he’s too busy falling in love with a strong-willed and independent young lady named María who’s also being courted by Joaquín (who happens to be Manolo’s best friend.) When Manolo and Joaquín fight over her, she sternly tells  them, “I belong to no one.” There’s a bet over who will win María’s heart that sends Manolo on an epic journey through fantastical worlds (like the Land of the Remembered that promises all-you-can-eat churros) and his fight to get back to the Land of the Living.

It’s kind of like Romeo and Juliet except Mexican, and animated, and in 3-D. Here’s your chance to meet the cast. It’s a mix of old school stars (Plácido Domingo, Cheech Marin, and Héctor Olizondo) and new school heartthrobs (Diego Luna), plus a few awesome surprises.

HERE is the list of the cast.

[FILM REVIEW] 'The Book of Life'

Film Review by Maria G. Valdez 
Last year, I learned that Disney wanted to trademark the Día de los Muertos, a very Mexican tradition that focuses on remembering the dead, celebrating their lives and gathering family and friends to do so in a lively manner, full of color and with specific rituals. They backed off after the article I wrote exposing it (although at the time I just thought of it as a cool way for kids all over the world to learn about this), mostly because it prompted a petition online that got thousands of signatures and a lot of angry Disney fans.

Of course, I later understood that you couldn’t trademark a tradition like that. Commercializing on the folklore of a culture to benefit a major company and not precisely the country where that tradition hails from, just wasn’t right. Disney pulled back altogether and decided not to touch the subject again. Although it was a victory for the Día de los Muertos advocates, it was a great loss for Disney. Not too long after the whole situation blew up, calmed down and eventually was forgotten, Fox announced that they’re releasing an animated film based on the Día de los Muertos. READ MORE.

Zoe Saldana talks about Latinos creating opportunities in Hollywood

Source by VIVA

Zoe Saldana is a visionary - at least according to the Hispanic Heritage Awards, which recently bestowed its Vision Award on Saldana at its annual event in Washington, D.C.

The honor is the result of her high-profile roles in a string of blockbuster movies that have turned the Dominican-Puerto Rican actress into that rare Hollywood phenomenon: a bankable Latino movie star.

Read more

It's a First-Look deal for ZOE SALDANA with Lionsgate Entertainment

The 35-year-old beautiful actress Zoe Saldana has her first look deal and according to the Hollywood Reporter and Digital Spy the Saldana production company will begin to develop movies and television shows targeted to the Latino market for Lionsgate's Hispanic production company Pantelion Films.