Our Team
Ritchie Valens - Original Music & Lyrics
Ritchie Valens was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months and abruptly ended when he died in a plane crash.
During this time, he had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement. He also had the American number 2 hit ''Donna''.
On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
Georgina Escobar - Book
Georgina Escobar is a Mexican-American playwright born & raised in Ciudad Juárez, México who specializes in genre with heart, including musical theatre, modern sci-fi, and other futurity femmetasias. Her plays have been produced in the US, México, UK, Italy, Denmark & Sweden. She is a Kilroy's List Writer, and the recipient of the inaugural Gotham & Variety Audio Honors award for groundbreaking audio storytelling. Other accolades include The National Darrell Ayers Playwriting Award, and the Outstanding Service to the Women on the Border Award. Escobar is a Rhinebeck, La MaMa Umbria, MacDowell, Djerassi, Fornés Workshop, Clubbed Thumb EWG, and Project Y writer & fellow. Musical Theatre book-writing credits include: Little Duende (National Music Theatre Conference Selection, National Alliance for Musical Theatre Selection, 2021), All Strings Considered (New York Children's Theatre) with music by Zenén Zeferino Huervo.
Louie Pérez - Music & Lyrics
Louie (born January 29,1953) is an American songwriter, percussionist, painter, prose writer and guitarist for the multiple Grammy Award-winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominated band Los Lobos. Pérez is group's principal songwriter and lyricist. His work has been showcased on every Los Lobos recording, beginning with "And A Time To Dance" (1983) and continuing through the band's most recent album, Gates of Gold (2015). Pérez also co-wrote songs with his writing partner David Hidalgo for two critically acclaimed albums by Latin Playboys, their side project. Perez also wrote songs for Tony Kushner's 1994 theatrical adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s "The Good Person of Szechwan" at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla California as well as co-writing the book for About Productions’ play “Evangeline, the Queen of Make Believe” which premiered at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles.
His songs have been covered by many artists including Waylon Jennings, Jerry Garcia and Robert Plant, His prose work has been published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, LA Weekly, Dinosaur Magazine and the New York arts journal BOMB , to name a few. Perez has also served as art director for a number of album packages including all of Los Lobos recordings to date. On the Los Lobos boxed set, "El Cancionero: Más y Más," Pérez was credited with Editorial Direction and Art Supervision; the set was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Boxed Recording Package in 2001.
As a visual artist, Perez has shown his painting and sculpture since 1975 in many prominent galleries and museums including, The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions)- Plaza De La Raza-Los Angeles, El Museo Del Barrio-New York, San Antonio Museum of Art, Museo De Arte Moderno-Mexico City, The William Grant Still Art Center-Los Angeles, The Vincent Price Art Museum- East Los Angeles.
‘Good Morning, Aztlán: The Words, Pictures and Songs of Louie Pérez” was published in October 2018 by Tia Chucha/Northwestern University Press
David Hidalgo - Music & Lyrics
David is an American singer-songwriter, and a founding member of Los Lobos, for which he wrote most songs together with Louie Pérez. Additionally, he also participated as a guest musician on albums of other artists, including David Alvin, Buckwheat Zydeco, Paul Burlison, T-Bone Burnett, Peter Case, Toni Childs, Marc Cohn, Ry Cooder, Elvis Costello, Crowded House, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, John Lee Hooker, Rickie Lee Jones, Leo Kottke, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Pierce Pettis, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Taj Mahal, Suzanne Vega, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
He is also a member of the super group, Los Super Seven and the Latin Playboys, a side project made up of some members of Los Lobos. With Mike Halby of Canned Heat, he formed another band, Houndog, as a side project. Hildalgo’s songs have been covered by the Jerry Garcia Band, Waylon Jennings, Bonnie Raitt and others. He has performed in Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival since it’s inception in 2004 and in April 2013 at Madison Square Garden. Clapton joined the band on stage for their song "Burn It Down", from their album, Tin Can Trust.
For the movie Promised Land, he contributed in 1987 the song "Will the Wolf Survive". For Dennis Hopper's film drama Colors (1988), he wrote the song "One Time, One Night". He wrote the songs "Manifold De Amour", "Forever Night Shade Mary" and "Chinese Surprize" for the 1995 action film Desperado as well as the melancholic song "La pistola y el corazón" for the movie The Mexican (2001).
LORI FINEMAN - PRODUCER
Lori is a Tony Award Winning independent theatrical producer. Broadway credits include Thoughts of a Colored Man, The Piano Lesson, Parade (Tony Award), Merrily We Roll Along and Lempicka. Off-Broadway, Lori was the Executive Director of Transport Group Theatre Company from 2007-2019. During her tenure she was the producer and general manager of more than 25 productions. Highlights include the world premiere musical, Renascence by Carmel Dean and Dick Scanlan (Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical); the first off-Broadway revival of Mary Rodgers’ Once Upon A Mattress starring Jackie Hoffman and John “Lypsinka” Epperson; Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke starring Marin Ireland and Nathan Darrow; Lysistrata Jones by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn (Tony Nomination - Best Book of a Musical); The Unsinkable Molly Brown with a new book by Dick Scanlan, directed by Kathleen Marshall and starring Beth Malone; Queen of the Mist by Michael John LaChiusa starring Mary Testa (Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical plus 5 Drama Desk Award Nominations); Hello Again by Michael John LaChiusa (Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical Revival); and Eugene O’Neill’s Strange Interlude starring David Greenspan (3 OBIE Awards including a Special Citation for outstanding achievement for Transport Group) among many others. LoriFinemanProductions.com
PERRY STREET THEATRICALS-Executive Producer and General Manager
Perry Street Theatricals is a mullti-award-winning producing and general management company in New York City run by David Elliott, Martin Platt and Victoria Weinberg. As Producers, highlights include: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Golden, Tony Award); Dames at Sea (Helen Hayes); Lend Me A Tenor the Musical (Gielgud, West End); Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose (Drama Desk Award, Davenport Theatre/Barrington Stage); Bedlam’s Hamlet and Saint Joan (Off Broadway Alliance Winner, OBIE nom); The Saintliness of Margery Kempe (Duke on 42nd Street); My Life Is A Musical (Bay Street Theatre); An Oak Tree (Barrow Street, OBIE winner); A Dangerous Personality (Women’s Project Theatre), Exits And Entrances (Assembly, Edinburgh Fringe); and at The Perry Street Theatre: In The Continuum (OBIE, Outer Critics Winner, U.S./Int’l Tour, ); Gareth Armstrong’s Shylock (Outer Critics nom, Perry Street Theatre.), and Treason (Perry Street Theatre). As General Managers, Perry Street has managed the Aquila Theatre Company: 1984/The Odyssey (2019-2020), Frankenstein/A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018-2019), Sense and Sensibility/Hamlet. Other GM credits include: Little Rock (Sheen Center); The Saintliness of Margery Kempe (Duke on 42nd Street); Georgie, My Adventures with George Rose (Davenport); Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility (The Gym at Judson); Hamlet and Saint Joan (Lynn Redgrave); New York Animals (New Ohio); Me the People (The Triad); Dear Jane (Clurman); That Golden Girls Show! (DR2); Missed Connections (New Ohio); My Life is a Musical (Bay Street); and White People (Atlantic). Upcoming: Are You There? (Off-Broadway), Raison d’Etre (Off Broadway).
Danielle De Vito - Assistant to Producers
Danielle is a creative manager equipped to tackle any project, challenge, or new idea that is thrown her way. Her interdisciplinary approach includes Production Stage Management, Video Production, and Creative Marketing.
Throughout her professional career, Danielle has worked as an Assistant Production Stage Manager at The American Dance Festival, a technical crew member at The Kennedy Center, was a PA on commercial shoots for companies such as the NBA, Oral B, and The Food Network, and is currently working as a Project Coordinator at an advertising agency based in New York City.
Danielle completed her studies in Dance Production and Film & Media Arts with a concentration in Marketing at The American University. She produced and was Director of Cinematography of the award-winning film Něco Sí Přej while in Prague. She was also the Production Stage Manager of Gallery 2019, an immersive dance experience performed at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington DC.
FERNANDO FERRO - PARTNER/PRODUCER
Fernando is a filmmaker from Caracas, Venezuela. He started his career directing national television campaigns for Yum brands, co-creating a political satire show, "The Rick Sanchez Show" for Mira T.V, and directing and producing theater for "Paseo De Las Artes", a theater company based in Miami which is co-run by Miguel Ferro. He has produced or directed over 15 plays for "Paseo" in Miami, nominated for numerous awards for his work. Most recently, Fernando wrote, produced, and filmed his theatrical directorial debut,” The Big Feed”. the film is set to debut on VOD platforms winter of 2022. Fernando has served as Vice President of Content Strategy for the film financing and production company, Foton Pictures. His work for Foton produced critically acclaimed films that were shown around the world. “Pink Skies Ahead”, starring Jessica Barden and Marcia Gay Harding was set to debut in SXSW festival this year. The other films, “Echoboomers”, starring Alex Pettyfer, Michael Shannon, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, and “The Birthday Cake”, starring Ewan MacGregor, Val Kilmer, Ashley Benson, Penn Badgley, and Shiloh Fernandez, were released in the summer of 2021.
Fernando then formed "Mini Mach Media" with his producing partner, Emerson Machtus. With over 20 years of collective experience in the entertainment industry, Mini Mach Media is a multicultural studio committed to empowering talent and delivering diverse content across all platforms.
Brad Garfield - Lead Producer
Brad is a 6-time Emmy Award winning director. He has directed, produced, filmed, written and edited a diverse variety of television productions. Brad achieved his Emmys for his directing work on the Olympics in Atlanta and Australia for NBC Sports, and for his work with CBS Sports.
He graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts from Cal State Northridge, and while working in television on the soap opera, Santa Barbara during the day, he moonlighted and produced/directed Peter Schaffer’s Black Comedy at The Whitefire Theatre in L.A. After moving to New York he directed for PBS while directing Off-Off Broadway the premieres of Alvin Ang’s “Goong Hay Kid and “Wake Me Up and Tell Me I’m Dreaming” by Jason Solomon.
He has worked on Sesame Street, The Chris Rock Show, directed the news for all the major networks and directed and designed shows for CSTV (College Sports TV.) Brad directed the pilot of “Feast Your Eyes” staring Mario Batali and Isabella Rossellini.
Brad co-produced and directed 3 years of live multi-camera debates, "The National Discussion and Debate Series" for PBS/MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour. Presently Brad’s production company, North Ridge Productions LLC is in development with a new television pilot he wrote that stars, Jim McCaffrey of, “Rescue Me.” Brad also Developed; Executive Produced, Directed and Edited both, "What Women Want to Know with Joan Lunden" from "Good Morning America," and the Fashion/Reality Project, "Busting Out with Jene Luciani.” Brad also directed a series of talk shows in Shanghai and Beijing for JWT Advertising.