“Through my films, I’d like to support non-profit organizations and bring attention to certain causes. Because I lost someone to suicide, mental health and suicide prevention are really important to me.

“Mario Arturo Valverde was my cousin. We were born a month apart. I’ve never been privy to the details. It’s just too much to unpack. To open that wound would be too painful. It broke me down. I was lost for a very long time. I delved into everything I could to cope. I felt a lot of complicated emotions, like ’it should have been me.’ His suicide affected our family profoundly.

“He was only 15 when it happened. I vividly remember hearing the news and driving to his house, where there were sirens and lights from the ambulance and cop cars. It felt unreal then, and it still does.

“I wasn’t as close to him when we entered high school. Our families drifted apart, and we grew apart. I regret that I wasn’t there for him. Even if it was always going to happen, I just would have wanted more time to spend with him.

“It’s affected everything in my life — who I want to be, and how I want to help others in need through films and stories. That’s what helped me understand and convey those really complex emotions, and deal with my personal mental health struggles.

“‘For You’ was the only way I really knew how to remember him and honor his memory. It will be the most important and meaningful film I will ever make.”

— Sergio Valverde

“For You,” a short film produced by Pink-Eye Pictures, features Sergio and several of his cousins.

Related:

• Movie lover inspired to make his own films

The post Cousin’s suicide changed filmmaker’s life appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve always loved movies. Growing up, I had very emotional reactions to them. Sometimes I would break down in the theater because of the way a movie ended.

“Wonderful films like ‘Interstellar,’ ‘The Shape of Water’ and ‘Her’ really resonated with me. After watching them, I felt incredibly moved. I felt like I had changed in a certain way. Like I saw things differently. I saw myself differently.

“Movies like that inspired me to think about making my own. In high school, after I did all my work in class, I would get on my phone and start writing a script. It was really terrible, but at least I was exploring something that fascinated me.

“Now I’m part of a video production studio called Pink-Eye Pictures. The idea is to tell stories through films, music videos and other projects, highlighting the talents of creative people in our area.

“Our co-founder, Nathaniel Zapata, came up with the name. I really loved the way it sounded and what it meant to me. It’s similar to how when you get pink eye, you can infect other people. It’s sort of the same idea, but in a more positive way. Where you see our work, and then you’re inspired and motivated to tell your own stories.

“There are a lot of artistic people around here who can use their talents to explore the world. I think it would be great if we could come together and bring that sort of art here. It’s definitely my passion now.”

— Sergio Valverde

Related:

• Cousin’s suicide changed filmmaker’s life

The post Movie lover inspired to make his own films appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My sister was in dancing ever since she was 6. When her instructor retired, she had to find another school. There was a private one right by us that had trampolines inside, a pool out back, and taught ballet, jazz, all kinds of dancing. Our parents enrolled us both, and we were taught by Patsy Swayze and her son, Patrick Swayze. He went to Waltrip High School in Houston like we did, but he graduated the year before I started. 

“Patsy taught Patrick how to dance. He became real good, so he was an instructor with his mom for a while. She went on to choreograph a lot of movies. The one that got her going was Urban Cowboy, where she taught John Travolta how to country dance. 

“Patrick and his mom were both real down-to-earth people. I wasn’t surprised when he went on to have a successful acting career and danced so well in the movies. You could tell he was going to be something special. When he died of pancreatic cancer, it was really sad.”

— Michael Rodgers

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• Voice from above launches long nursing career

The post They learned how to dance the Swayze way appeared first on The Baytown Project.

Occasionally, when seeking interviews for The Baytown Project, I’ll introduce myself to someone and get this response: “No speak English.”

That’s when I kick myself for never having followed up on my high school Spanish classes. Because of the communication gap, I’m probably missing out on some great stories.

When I met 28-year-old Alvaro Posse recently at Holloway Park, it was quickly apparent that we would not fully connect because of our native languages. But we gave it a good try.

I learned that he moved here from Honduras two months ago. He lives with his mother and works at the new Hilton hotel in Baytown.

He also is working hard on his English-speaking skills and plans to take classes at Lee College. What he knows so far he credits to viewing English courses on YouTube, and watching movies and listening to music from America.

“I like music. Country, rock, all kinds. Hotel California, Nirvana, Metallica.”

He is able to read signs and does OK writing in English. The big challenge is getting the right words to come out of his mouth.

“My problem is speaking English correctly. It is difficult. I need more training.”

Alvaro seems eager to learn. We talked about connecting again a year from now, when his English should be much better. Who knows what stories I’ll hear then.

The post Learning English from American movies, music appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My mom always wanted to be on The Price Is Right, so I went out to California with her last year. They ended up picking me as one of the contestants.

“I had to bid on an Xbox One and games. I knew all the prices because I had worked at Best Buy for three years. Then I had to guess the price for a TV and two leather seats. I knew how much the TV cost because I used to sell those, too, and I also won the chairs. I got to spin the big wheel, but I didn’t make it to the final showcase.

“It was a lot of fun. It was my first time on national TV. I’ve also been an extra, someone in the crowd, on a Gatorade commercial. My goal is to be a film actor. One day I want to walk into a movie theater and see my face up there on the big screen. It’s a really tough business to break into, but I plan to keep working at it as long as I can.”

— Robert Richard

Robert hosts his own talk show on YouTube, which features local entertainers.

The post He wants to be an actor on the ‘big screen’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve always been into comics, collectibles, games, movies, art. I’ve also delved into graphic design. I’d like to do comic book covers or movie posters. That would be a dream job.

“But if I were going to do what I really love, I’d work with sharks. I grew up with my dad in Corpus Christi, and we would go fishing and catch little blacktip sharks in the bay. Since then, I’ve always loved sharks.

“Maybe I could combine those two career paths. I would love to do work for the “Sharknado” movie franchise. If I could hop on that train, that would be great.”

The post Visions of ‘Sharknado’ dance in his head appeared first on The Baytown Project.