The American Dream: Thank You Valerie and Baldev

I Have Amazing Friends: How They Made The American Dream

I’m Elevated By The People Around Me

I wrote this off beat, deeply personal sketch about my life from the perspective of my dad as a young man about to cross the border.

There’s no gimmicks to it. It’s just brutally honest.

I read it for Moonshot (our Pack Theater House Sketch Team based out of Los Angeles) and to my surprise, they liked it. Not that they wouldn’t. It’s just because this sketch is intimate and revelatory, I was vulnerable and nervous about their response.

We put it up at the Pack Theater in front of a live audience. I didn’t know what to expect. Mike Hughes, our Moonshot team mate, came out as Mr.Richards, a coyote, and said, “Alright, Mexicans…” The laughs came in like drizzle before rain – the sketch hit.

And it was electric. Probably the best stage experience of my life. I couldn’t keep it together. I was breaking. The energy between Victor Lopez, Giuseppe Restrepo,  (two other Moonshot team mates) and I with the room was amazing.

After that amazing experience, Valerie Vasilas volunteered to produce a filmed version of it. I was hesitant at first because I had personal doubts about me, but her passion and selflessness convinced me to say yes.

We needed a director. I thought of Baldev Sandhu because he had become the defacto Moonshot video sketch director. Luckily, he said yes, and now we could launch this project.

And then Valerie and Baldev took care of all the details. I just had to worry about being an actor. They literally handled every detail to make this shoot happen, along with the great crew they recruited for the shoot.

I was elevated by them like no other team before. I’m very lucky to know them and call them friends. They saw my idea and believed in it, and more importantly, they believed in me, and that’s a gift I’m never going to be able to pay back because of how generous it is.

Thank you Valerie and Baldev, Moonshot, and everybody who believed in this film. Iove you all.

Well, anyways, this winning awards and that’s cool.

#moonshot #shortfilm #americandream #sketchcomedy #poc #bipoc #winner #latinx #diversity #inclusivity #packtheater #latimxcomedypachanga