Jesse Borrego Latino Beatz Interview 2010

Jesse Borrego was born in San Antonio, TX and started in television in 1984, starring in the NBC television version of the movie "FAME". After it went off the air, in 1987, Jesse started acting in stage plays and has had guest appearances on Miami Vice, ER, Married with Children, The Chappelle Show, CSI and CSI:Miami, 24 and as George King aka SKINNER on Showtime's hit show, DEXTER. He has also starred in movies like Mi Vida Loca, I Like it Like That, Con Air and as Cruz Candelaria in Blood In Blood Out.

In 1990 he began Lupita Productions and produced theatrical productions and concerts, including two 16mm short films: “El Sueño de Simon” (1993) by James Borrego and “Flattime” (1995) by Jimmy Santiago Baca.

He is also the co-owner of Krazy Vatos, with actor Danny De La Paz, which is located in San Antonio. The store showcases art work and crafts from San Antonio artists and also has memorabilia from the movies that Danny and Jesse have starred in through out the years. You can become a fan of Krazy Vatos on Facebook. Next time your in San Antonio make sure you cruise by Krazy Vatos because you just might run into Jesse and Danny.

This isn't the only project that Jesse has going on in San Antonio, he also created the film organization Cine Studio San Antonio in 2007. The mission of Cine Studio San Antonio is to inform and educate the San Antonio Cinema Arts Community. Cine Studio San Antonio advocates for a film and media arts industry in San Antonio. CSSA seeks to be a central resource organization for the San Antonio Cinema Arts community providing facilities, resources, networking, and technical development.

I've been waiting patiently for an opportunity to interview Jesse every since Blood In Blood Out came out. And there isn't a better time than now with the release this week of his new movie LA MISSION, which is a movie that every CHICANO, LOWRIDER, Mexican-American should see! This controversial movie deals with a subject that completely takes all thoughts and actions related to MACHISMO and turns them completely upside down. This is a movie that will cause a lot of Vatos to squirm in their seats because this movie covers a subject that is by definition the complete opposite of what being a Vato is all about.

Synbad: So tell me about your new movie, La Mission and the character you play.

Jesse: The movie was written and directed by Benjamin Bratt's brother, Peter and produced by Benjamin and his brother. It's about Benjamin's character, Che, who is an old Veterano from the Barrio, who carries a lot of the traditional Machismo values but also a lot of the pride and cultura and he's a twelve stepper so he's cleaned up his act since the old Vato Loco days and I play his best friend and we have a lowrider club together, the "Mission Boys". We take out our ranflas, which a lot of them are classicos, and we cruise every weekend with family so we show lowriding the way it's supposed to be, that it's about cultura, it's about pride and it's about familia. He's has his son, Jess, that he has raised alone played by

Jeremy Ray Valdez and Jess is getting ready to go to college, Che's really proud of him. They fix cars together but they start to grow apart and when Che finds out that Jess is gay, he can't handle it and he starts destroying this beautiful relationship that he has created with his kid. So I play Rene, the padrino, I'm Jess' Godfather, I'm the complete opposite of Che, because I'm very accepting and I don't trip about Jess and it's about familia and we are proud of him, so I'm there for him ,basically, when his father is not. And so I think between me and Ben, Ben does an incredible, incredible job, I think there should be an Academy Award nomination for this role, he really, really breaks your heart. So, we needed to balance Che with this character Rene, who comes from the same streets that Che did, but is able to actually show love for somebody who's different, for somebody who's struggling, for somebody who needs the kind of acceptance that we need in this world, when we make difficult choices. And Jeremy plays an incredible character in Che's son, because he shows a young Chicano, who's proud of who he is, but also has to deal with this other thing that's not accepted and how does he reveal it to his father. And Jess can't really believe that his father doesn't love him or doesn't act like he loves him after he finds out, Che's change is like night and day. And you can see that it's something we all deal with then we are talking about something that may be difficult for other people to accept especially in our culture.

Synbad: Why is Rene so understanding and willing to accept that Jess is gay.

Jesse: Most of the pain and understanding that comes from Rene is because he has a son who was born with a heart disease. Now when Rene tells Che the story about his son he does it to try and show him a parable about, "Hey bro, you can't really think that someone is different because of something that you did, it doesn't have nothing to do with God punishing you, God doesn't have to punish, holmes, we do that good enough on our own." And that's the line in the movie where I really let Che know that he can't really blame who his son is on what he's done in the past, because there's nothing wrong with that child. That child is who he is and he is supposed to be who he is and you have to love him for what he is, whether he has a heart problem, whether he is different, or whether he thinks different. You gotta accept him and love him for who he is, you know, because how we were was our journey and how they are is their journey and we all have to deal with challenges. So you have to be there for him as a father because you had that child. But he doesn't get it, you know, we don't get it, because we have to go through pain and suffering before we figure out that it's all about loving each other, that's all about loving our Raza no matter how different we are and accepting them as long as they have a good heart and as long as you taught them how to love, but you know our cultura has a hard time doing that and so I think that's why Peter wanted to write such an extreme character and Ben created this character that has all the things that we love, he's like the Clint Eastwood of Chicanos, he don't take nothing from nobody, he's the MAN! And in the movie, that Barrio is being gentrified and Che doesn't take nothing from nobody, it's his family's home, it's his Barrio, but how far do you go before you start to create an un-balanced world? Sure, American Stands for Freedom and Liberty but it also stands for Might Makes Right, and if you do that then you're putting somebody down. Just look at the law that happened in Arizona, you say we are the best, the freest country in the world but we are oppressing Raza, we oppressing our cousins and our brothers and sisters. So that’s kind of the theme they wanted to deal with in La Mission, but they did it through this relationship between a father and son and who's closer than a parent and their child, a daughter and mother, you know what I'm saying. So in order to talk about the "G-thang" they went to the honest thang which is right here in the streets, bam!

Synbad: Lowriding, Chicanismo & Machismo don't really go hand in hand with Homosexuality, this movie is going to make a lot of Vatos very uncomfortable. Was that a concern while making the movie?

Jesse: Ya, well you know, that's why they are gonna have to sit there and watch it and if they identify with Che, the baddest Chicano in the Barrio, then that's good because they will have to put themselves in that painful position of having to think about it and go "What if?" and even if they say "Aww Naw, Hell No!", you know what I mean, you gotta watch the movie because at the end of the movie Che has to make that choice. One of the first things that happened with this movie was that a lot of Veteranos from the Barrio stated telling Ben and Peter that, "This happened to me," and "That happened to my cousin", or "My Father didn't accept me." and, it opens up a dialogue and it gets people to really start talking about tolerance and acceptance and then they realized that you don't gotta trip, you know what I'm saying, a lot of the time the choices people have to make are hard enough to admit, much less getting pushed away by the people that are supposed to love you like your Raza, like your gente. And, so I think we are coming into a new generation now, one that understands that we all come in different shapes, colors, sizes, creeds, beliefs, philosophies and that en la ultima hora, we are all gente and we are all Raza. And everybody accepts the other person for being an individual and the different person that they are. And then you don't trip, if that ain't your lifestyle, aye, there's Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Jehovah witnesses and we all think so differently and we all act differently and you don't have to go to anybody's churches, nobody's temples or mosques. We allow each other to worship but then we come out and hang out with each other. And Raza is kinda like that, when you think about it, especially with Mestizos, some are more Espanoles, some are more indigenos, some are more Chicano, some are Americanized, some are more Latin American, some are Cubanos, you know the Boriquas from New York, the Nuyoricans a lot of time they are different from the Puerto Ricans on the island themselves, but there's always a common ground whether it's language, experiences or food, we all have the same Corazon at the end of the day. And so I think this movie challenges that, it kinda goes "Hey you know what, if you got heart and you're a person who loves and if you're a person who proud of your culture and family, then how can you hate somebody who came from your own loins, you know, who came from your own life even if they are the most different thing that you could ever think of, you know the thing you think you hate?" It's kind of like, "Blood In Blood Out", dude, I mean what was Miklos' problem? He hated being White, He couldn't accepted it, and so that made him almost like Hateful Chicano, he hated more than a Brown person could, where as Montana was trying to change everything and make Chicanos come out on top and more educated, he was betrayed by a wedo who couldn't stand himself, and that's self hatred, you know what I'm saying, and I think that Che is going through some self hatred. So Che is living in isolation if he thinks that now in the 21st century we can't still accept each other for we are, so I think that if Vatos may feel uncomfortable, GOOD! You’re supposed to see a movie to make you think and feel and if you come out of it uncomfortable at least you'll have a little more tolerance and compassion for un chavalon, maybe your son, maybe your brother, maybe your cousin, you know, their Gay and they have to deal with that and that's heavy. You know that's heavy in society already, not to mention in Latino Society that has an issue with it. But that's the beauty of our culture, we're La Raza Cosmica, the Cosmic Race, and in the 21st Century this is the time when the Sexto Sol is going to begin and so I think it's time for us to start thinking in a new way because if we are the ruling demographic and if we are going to be the most people in the world, then guess who's going to be running things it's going to be us! And it's going to be up to us to run things and to have the world change. And I think one of the reason Peter and Ben wanted to make this difficult movie was because they are trying to change things. It's not enough to have a movie that shows a slice of life that really doesn't change things. It's good for the RAZA to think, we love it! Blood In Blood Out made us think, Que No!

Synbad: What are the biggest problems we are facing as Raza?

Jesse: The biggest problem we have in our society is the self-hatred, and black society goes through the same thing and so does White society to some extent, because if you think of the way America is right now, we're pushing ourselves around and the whole perception of the straight, white, conservative Christian is only a small part of our country, but we're putting it out there like it's the whole United States and the world perceives us as a bully. Because the rest of the world thinks in browns and colors, different shapes, sizes and religions and that's the real world. Think about it, bro, look how many Latinos are in Arizona, how many Mexicanos, Chicanos, Mexican Americans, Indigenos are there, how could they even allow a law like that to be passed. So the people that are supposed to be looking out for us either don't care about us or aren't considering how strong we really are and for me, that the macrocosms that Che is dealing with in the Barrio and in his own mind. In his own mind, he still struggles to be this larger than life thing and to really matter in this world. So when he finds the only thing, he thinks, he can control, which is his own son's life, when he can't control that he reacts the only way we can, which is violently and conservatively. So, I think that's a lot of what happens in ourselves, in our cultura where we hold ourselves back, you know what I mean, cuz that's his son and when he beats down his son in front of everybody that's a reflection of what we do everyday when one Vato from this Barrio shots another chavalon from another Barrio, it's just stupid because we're the same. A lot of times they went to school together. So, I think Che is dealing with that mentality of being stuck in same bucket of crabs, you know, the Mexican crabs will always pull the one that is about to get out of the bucket and bring it back down into the bucket. So, that's kinda of that rhythm of self-hatred that Che is in. So, yea, that's what holds us back as a society. But, I think, as a cultura if we can get past that, and that's the point of this movie, to see if this Vato can actually overcome this enormous barrier to the evolution of his soul, which leads to redemption. This ultimately means having a relationship with his son because of his own ability to love, and that if he can do that....like all of us, if we can get past this time we will become so strong, bro, that they're not going to be able to pass any kid of laws, we're going to be passing the right kind of laws, we will be passing tolerant laws and not racist laws and we are gonna dictate the way Raza is treated in this world. And by the same token, we're gonna be the one to treat people good. And that what I wanna see, let's make this the mission in this world, to create a kinder, gentler Latino, a Vato that loves his world!

Synbad: What's the biggest problem for Latinos in Hollywood? Why aren't there more movies telling our stories?

Jesse: Unfortunately is a movie selling business and so it's all about dollars and cents right now, in the industry with the corporations that make money and fund the industry. So I think for them it's all about how to sell cokes, burgers, beer and whatever else. To me, as an artist, you have to do what the Bratt brothers are doing which is going out and telling real stories and if we can get them inside the "Hollywood" system, great! If we need to do it like we did with "La Mission" outside the "Hollywood" system then great! And then from there, whenever we do them outside of the "Hollywood" system, we need to do what we are doing now, you know, spread the word, spread the word, spread THE word. Go to the theater, go check it out, go see it! Support independent Latino Cinema, it won't stay in the theater next to Iron Man 2, if people don't go. So whenever you see a movie that's independent and you know it's independent and it's not a major studio project, go check it out and then that way, that ticket will lead them to think, "Hey, there's a market here and people want to see these movies." and then next time they might put a million dollars into a Latino movie. Unfortunately on that end that's all we can do. Now on the other end, what I'm involved in is continuing the technique and tradition of storytelling through film making and through creating Latino content, like you are Synbad, and taking advantage of this digital wave and trying to find different platforms and different mediums to put out that content. So keep creating, keep sharing the energy, you know I've got this non-profit called Cine Studio here in San Antonio that creates production classes for kids from the Barrios. And then Danny De La Paz and I are out here producing independently so we are trying to develope some film groups and develope our scripts and ideas to get them either funded by "Hollywood" or to get private investors to make the films we wanna make. But that's how you do it, you just keep helping each other out, if you hear about something spread the word, BAM, if you hear about something else, spread the word. The way we are doing "La Mission" is with the Facebook fan page, we are just trying to keep people informed about when it's coming out and where it's going to come out in your town. Right now it puro word of mouth and puro local love and if we keep doing it like the word is gonna spread and it's gonna grow on it's own. And the more people that watch it and support it that's the more people we will make the next movie for, you know, and we will keep telling our stories and way we can.

Synbad: So, after "La Mission" what do you plan on working on next? Do you have any other project coming out this year?

Jesse: My dream is to open a chain of Latino theaters, you know Montezuma Esparza has his Mayan Cinemas, so we're hoping that we can create more digital cinemas that are friendly to Latino films so we can keep them in the theaters for a longer period of time, because you know when they get to DVD you know everybody is gonna watch it. I just got off the third season of Dexter so people can catch me on that show, I've just been promoting "LA MISSION" and helping to get the word out there. You know, I have a store called Krazy Vatos out in San Antonio that sells memorabilia from "FAME" and a lot of the films I've done like "Con Air" and "Blood In Blood Out", we also have own line of clothing and artwork. I'm trying to come out with some of the artwork from "Blood In Blood Out" on T-Shirt, prints and posters. Armand Hernandez, who did the artwork in the movie, is from San Antonio and we are collaborating on that. And my partner in the store is Danny De La Paz, Puppet from "American Me", Chuco from "Boulevard Nights", so we've been doing business together for years and we are signing autographs at carshows and stuff, we promoting our stuff through Krazy Vatos. It's out in San Antonio and you can hit us up on Facebook and krazyvatos.com. So I'm concentrating on promoting the store and I've got a couple of scripts in development ....

(Hey this is Synbad and I'm sorry for interrupting the interview, pero I need you to pay close attention to what Jesse says next!)

.....one of them is "BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT" the sequel, so we are working on that. Now that Benjamin and I finished "La Mission" we are trying to take the thunder and energy from "La Mission" to talk about seriously doing the sequel. I also got a script about the Mexican Conquest con Benjamin Bratt, so we got a couple of project, so entre eso y eso we'll see what hits!

So you heard it here first! They are working on a sequel to "Blood In Blood Out", man I hope it happens!

"La Mission" opened here in Dallas, last week and will open in San Antonio on May 7th, with Jesse hosting a special screening in San Antonio. I saw the movie and was in awe of Benjamin Bratt's performance and like Jesse said, he deserves to be nominated for a Golden Globe and Oscar!

Much respect to these two VATOS, who have shown the world the violence and beauty of Chicanismo and Aztlan.

Check out the trailer for "La Mission" below and make sure you become a fan on Facebook or visit www.lamissionmovie.com