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Latinos in a good light. The Canberra Times (Australia)

February 9, 2008 Saturday

Eduardo Verastegui is not a big Hollywood star, but that might change very soon. The 33-year-old Mexican singer and actor, a big star in his home country, went to the United States to expand his career and, with two friends, formed a film production company. Their first feature, Bella, starring Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard, was made for $3USmillion ($A3.36million), and won the People's Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.

From there, it's become a sleeper success, grossing more than $8.96million so far. It opens in Canberra on February 28.

Set in New York, Bella is the story of two people who come together at a difficult time. Jose (Verastegui) was an international soccer star until his career was brought to an abrupt end. Now, he works quietly as a chef in his uptight brother Manny's (Manny Perez) restaurant.

One day Nina, a waitress (Blanchard), is fired for being late once too often. As she leaves, Jose follows her to find out what happened. She tells him she was late because she found out she is pregnant and, alone and now jobless, she does not know what to do. So begins a day together that will change both their lives.

For Verastegui, the success of the film is especially sweet in presenting a positive view of Latinos that, he says, has been neglected in Hollywood.

"Most people in America haven't realised that Latinos, from the '40s till today, have been stereotyped in a very negative way in the media criminals, prostitutes. There are very few types that you hear about every day here ... like you would see in my family."

Such negative depictions are derogatory of Latinos and of men and women in general, he believes.

"What comes from the heart, goes to the heart."

All this, he says, was the motivation behind Bella, which was produced by Metanoia Films, in which he and the film's director and co-writer, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, are two of the partners. "It was a low-budget, little film, made by heart," he says.

"When we entered it into the Toronto Film Festival we were happy only to enter it so we could get the logo on the poster. We never thought in a million years we were going to get in.

"Nine days later we won! It was a miracle, really."

Verastegui was born in a small town in northern Mexico and says his father wanted him to be a lawyer.

"I went to law school to please him but by second semester I realised it was not my vocation and went to Mexico City to pursue my dream of acting and singing."

In 1994 he became a member of the Mexican pop group Kairo. In 1997 he began acting in Mexican soap operas "all day, every day for four years" but ultimately found the career opportunities in Mexico limited and went to Miami to record his first solo album in 2001.

Then he had a stroke of luck.

"I was flying to Los Angeles," he recalls, "and on the plane I met someone from 20th Century Fox who invited me to audition for a film, Chasing Papi."

Verastegui admitted he didn't know how to speak much English and was told to memorise the five pages of audition dialogue and give it a try.

"I got the part," he says, "and immersed myself in learning. Now, I have only spoken English for five years."

Chasing Papi was a success but he says, "After 10 years, there was still something missing: success, fame, the lifestyle I was living were unfulfilling. I needed to use my talents in an unselfish way.

" Hence, the formation of the production company and a promise, he says, "never to use my talents to do anything that would offend my family".

It's not without its sacrifices. He has received many offers of work as an actor "negative stereotypes that I would never do" and says it cost four years of his life not working in anything.

But he found what he was looking for with Bella.

"I read that script and loved the story," he says. Bella, he says, is about how "one moment can change your life forever".

Although overseas there has been some controversy about the film's meaning and message (Is it pro-life? Or pro-choice?) Verastegui downplays this in favour of positive messages.

"This movie is about love, feelings, relationships, moving on after tragedy, and hope ... My character Jose never tells Nina what to do."

As for Verastegui himself, for the foreseeable future, as he says, "My life is Bella". There are more interviews to do and the film's distribution and box office performance to keep track of and then the film's DVD launch in May before he can think about what is next. But whatever he ends up doing, it seems likely he won't sell out for success - a laudable thing in an industry not noted for its principles.