¡Muy sabroso! We're currently underway on the second season of PATI'S MEXICAN TABLE, the über-popular cooking series featuring chef Pati Jinich and produced by The Cortez Brothers. Stay tuned for more mouthwatering recipes and tips on bringing authentic Mexican flavors into the American kitchen. 

The Cortez Brothers has just returned from a whirlwind but productive trip to Miami where we attended and sponsored a number of events last week at FIAP, AHAA and USH. We got to reconnect with old friends and clients -- and meet new ones -- at the industry's largest Hispanic advertising festival and awards show.

Congrats to our directing team Zac&Mac for selling its first feature, a futuristic actioner called "Law Zero," to Warner Bros.!! Variety recently broke the news: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118053082. More details to come!

Bernadette Rivero recently sat down for an interview with PRODU, encouraging Latinos in the ad industry to tell their creative stories to Hollywood. Catch more from BB at the jump!

We are pleased to announce the signing of director Fernando Livschitz for US representation. Buenos Aires-based Livschitz joins our roster on the heels of his two highly successful Web films: "Escalas New York" and "Buenos Aires Inception Park.” Inspired by the design and architecture of great cities, the runaway viral hits combine surreal imagery with the realism of the city. Both films have generated buzz across the world of advertising and visual art.

With the international attention surrounding Livschitz's short films, Ed Rivero sees promising similarities to fellow roster directors Fede Alvarez and Ricardo de Montreuil, both of whom had short films land the attention of major advertising, film and TV players in the United States. Alvarez is currently working on Sam Raimi’s "The Evil Dead." Ricardo de Montreuil, with multiple feature films in active development, is currently turning his short film, "The Raven," into a feature film with Mark Wahlberg attached.

“The addition of Fernando to our roster makes perfect sense and we’re very happy to have him aboard," remarks Rivero. "Fernando highlights the wealth of talent in Latin America, and we’re confident he’ll make a seamless transition to mainstream media just as we've seen with others like Fede and Ricardo.”

View Livschitz 's reel: http://tiny.cc/d9jfbw

“With the tradition of The Cortez Brothers and its breadth of quality projects, I’m excited about the opportunity to create more high-quality work with the company,” concludes Livschitz. “I look forward to bringing my directing aesthetic and eye for detail to the U.S. because these features express my storytelling ability to communicate in a universal language and reach millions of people from all over the world.”

Even our aquatic pets enjoy a little home movie entertainment -- and if you didn't know that already, they're happy to spell it out for you. The Cortez Brothers Director Simon Bross recently teamed up with ad agency Lopez Negrete and digital design/production studio Charlex to create an amusing Spanish-language spot for Verizon.

Entitled “Fish Tank," the :60 spot features a school of fish who simply want a better view of FiOS, Verizon's 100% fiber optic network. The fish visually express their wish by banding together and forming an arrow, followed by the spelling of the word "TV." The family gets the picture, promptly moving the fish tank to face the TV.



Produced in Mexico City, Bross worked closely with Charlex VFX Supervisor Steve Chiarello to shoot the plates for the CG fish tank.

Pati Jinich of The Cortez Brothers-produced cooking show, PATI'S MEXICAN TABLE, made a special guest appearance on ABC’s The Chew! With a basket of delectable Garibaldi's in-hand, Pati's grande entrance immediately sweetened the "Mexican Fiesta" episode. Can you say buttery mini pound cakes with a lime-apricot glaze? Wow. On to the next course, Pati invited Mario and Carla to help demonstrate how to make The Pepito, a scrumptious steak torta on rustic bread. Delicioso! Pati even dropped a little culinary wisdom for the viewers at home: It's not Mexican just because you drop a jalapeño in it. Watch clips from the episode and get all of the recipes here.

Congrats to our roster director Miguel de Olaso, the Mac portion of directing team Zac&Mac. Miguel's DP talents are exhibited in the short film “Foxes,” which makes its official premiere at SXSW 2012! If you’re heading to Austin, be sure to swing by Alamo Lamar A on Sunday, March 11 for the 1:45 p.m. screening. "Foxes" recently took home Best Short at the 9th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards. Watch the trailer here.

Synopsis:

Ellen and James are the only couple living in a ghost estate, an eerie silent maze of uniform houses populated only by spectral shrieking foxes. Ellen starts to photograph the foxes that raid the couple’s rubbish bin and her interest soon becomes an obsession. James becomes alienated by his wife’s increasingly bizarre behavior and the couple’s relationship grows ever more antagonistic. James confronts Ellen and she flees the house, vanishing into the twilight world of endless rows of gardens and empty houses. Night falls and she does not return. James awaits her return, alone, in the suburban limbo.

Our own Bernadette Rivero will speak at Digital LA's Latino Content Panel on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. She will join Lalo Alcaraz, the Mexican-American cartoonist behind the highly syndicated comic La Cucaracha (and currently the Editor-in-Chief of POCHO.com), as well as Jai Bugarin of Tutele/Maker Studios, among many others, for a panel discussion on digital creation and distribution of content for Latino audiences. The panel will also explore successful content, themes for mainstream audiences, Latino actors and language, as well as marketing and social media.

With the continued emergence of scripted content beyond traditional film and television platforms, Rivero sees unprecedented opportunity for directors of Latino content on the horizon. Keen on the new media trends currently shifting the Latino commercial production landscape, she will bring relevant insight to the discourse. The Cortez Brothers' Storytelling Department had a hand in LOVE 15, an upcoming English-language web series from WarnerBrothers 2.0, and represents directors Fede Alvarez and Ricardo de Montreuil, who both had blockbuster viral hits that led to feature film deals.

Director Fernando Arrioja recently worked on "Cold Practice," a CG-intensive spot for Coors Lights via ad agency Bromley. This involved shooting in the snowy conditions of the Rockies, as well as working with Mexico's soccer greats against greenscreen and recreating snow with salt in a studio in Mexico City. http://bit.ly/ublbXM