Alberto Ferreras on capturing the U.S. Latino experience with HBO’s ‘Habla’

Back in those pre-social-media days, U.S. Latinos were hardly ever on the screens. There were only a handful of Latino celebrities who had “crossed over” to the mainstream, and the Hispanic networks relied mostly on shows imported from Latin America. It was hard to find media spaces for those who lived between two cultures and two languages. People who were often told that they were not American enough or not Latino enough. That’s what “Habla” focused on. 

Our production was minimal—just a white background and a bunch of Latinos talking about their lives in the U.S. The stories were fresh, new, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. “Habla” might be the first non-scripted campaign where speaking Spanglish was not only allowed, but encouraged. That same year we strung the testimonials together to create our first TV special, “Habla,” and then every year—sometimes every other year—we created a new one. “Habla Loud” was the latest one, premiering on HBO Max in 2022.

source

from Digital Marketing Education https://ift.tt/ZPBpTGw