Telenovela stars Guy Ecker and Fernanda Romera have joined the cast of the groundbreaking new bilingual drama series HACIENDA HEIGHTS, which has completed production on the show's Pilot Episode, and is currently in production on additional episodes, it was announced today by Desmond Gumbs, the series' Creator and Executive Producer. Importantly, the series has relocated production to Southern California to better capture the essence of the community depicted in the sprawling epic drama. Film star Steven Bauer, whose film debut earned him a Golden Globe nomination for his seminal portrayal of Manny Ribero opposite Al Pacino in director Oliver Stone's classic Scarface, heads the international cast of talented actors who portray the denizens of Hacienda Heights, a fictional Southern California suburban enclave where the ongoing struggle for power, wealth and romance make Mayor Eduardo Garcia (Bauer) a target to those who would see an end to his grip on the community. Among those seeking to topple Garcia are the city's Police Captain (Eckert) and the Castillo family, longtime enemies with axes to grind. The series is the first to film in both Spanish and English, a painstaking process that allows viewers of either version to fully enjoy the series without subtitles or voice overdubbing.
In making the announcement, Gumbs said "With Guy and Fernanda joining our cast, we have a built-in audience thanks to their tremendous popularity among telenovela audiences. They are terrific actors in their own right, and we could not be happier to have them in the HACIENDA HEIGHTS family. Their presence ups our game considerably and puts us in a great position to negotiate the right home for this series."
Known throughout the world for his starring role in the hit Univision telenovela Eva Luna, Eckert is equally adept in plying his craft in both Spanish and English. He played Det. Luis Perez in the hit NBC series Las Vegas, and has starred in numerous telenovelas, including Univision's Corazon Apasionado and Televisa's La Mentira, Salomé and Heridas de Amor, among others. Eckert was born in São Paolo, and he speaks fluent Spanish, English and Portuguese.
With six feature films currently in post-production, Ms. Romero is poised to become Hollywood's newest Latin sensation. She stars in TV Azteca's Eternamente tuya, and co-starred in MUN2 Television's RPM Miami. Most recently, she was featured opposite Eva Langoria and Christian Slater in the feature film Without Men, and in the recent hit horror film Drag Me to Hell. She also appeared in the feature films The Eye, with Jessica Alba, Pendejo, starring Danny Trejo and The Burning Plain, with Charlize Theron.
Hacienda Heights Tv Show marks Bauer's return to series television in his first recurring role since the actor's critically-acclaimed turn as Michael Santana in Wiseguy. Bauer plays the current mayor of Hacienda Heights, a powerful figure in a community where power and control are everything. Joining Bauer, Ecker and Romero in the cast are Julio Iglesias, Jr., Vida Guerra, Mauricio Mendoza, Karla Zelaya, Roberto Escobar, Jasmin Morales, Alejandra Perez, Eva Tamargo, Saara Zebede, Alex Alessandro Garcia, J.R. Ramirez, Patricia Rosales, Eddy Rioseco and Claudia Rocafort, last appeared in P.J. Hogan's Confessions of a Shopaholic, as well as hit series Burn Notice and The Glades.
The new series centers on the trials and tribulations of the families who live, work and love in the fast growing city of Hacienda Heights. The conflicts that arise between the political factions, the wealthy dynasties and the working middle class families are universal and will reflect the times in which we live today. The stories are rich and compelling, filled with the conflict, drama and romance that telenovela audiences crave.
Hacienda Heights Tv Show is produced by Samuel J. Sapp for Chan Add Films, and is filmed on location in and around Los Angeles. Desmond Gumbs is Executive Producer.
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