SAN ANTONIO – Director Eva Longoria and cast members of the movie “Flamin’ Hot” talk about how the film shows the obstacles many face and how they beat stereotypes.
The film details the story of Mexican-born immigrant Richard Montañez and his career-launching invention of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos that landed him the role of executive vice-president of multicultural sales at PepsiCo.
While in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Longoria said the film showcases the power of culture and its impacts on success.
“A lot of people don’t understand Chicano identity or Mexican American struggles in this country. So, I wanted to set the table a little bit for like, these are the obstacles we face... and then show the movie of how Richard overcame those obstacles and beat the system and he beat protocol... his superpower was his culture,” Longoria said.
During an interview with SA Live on the red carpet event at SXSW, Longoria reflected on how she didn’t know who Montañez was when initially reading the script but shared how she was inspired by the true story and the urge to share it with the world.
“There’s such pride in being Mexican American. When I read this script, I didn’t know this story, and I was like, ‘how do I not know this story... Everybody should know this story, especially our community.’ We don’t have a lot of heroes or stories told about our heroes in our community. So for me, I knew I wanted to bring it to the big screen, and I wanna do it in the biggest way possible, and I think everybody is gonna be inspired by this story,” Longoria said.
Jesse Garcia, the actor who plays Montañez, discussed with Entertainment Tonight how despite Montañez’s lack of a formal education it didn’t stop him from breaking barriers.
“Because he is such a charismatic guy. He’s quirky and funny and really smart for not having like a traditional education. He’s super, super smart,” Garcia said.
Bobby Soto, the actor who plays Tony Romero in the film, went on to share how he believes the film unionized the culture.
“Regardless of where you come from. Regardless of what we have been stereotyped as. This picture, this film shows that we have... the multitude,” Soto said.
Also in an interview with SA Live, Soto also discussed how he related to his character by speaking on personal experiences and what he loved about the film.
“I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. So I was around a lot of people who I would consider survivors. You know, they had to do what they had to do because it was the only thing they knew. School is not a thing. Dreams are usually not accomplished. It’s like the far and few between, and when they do, and you hear about them and stories like this [are] beautiful, and they can really affect the world and inspire everyone in those communities and tell them don’t forget about your dream,” Soto said.
FULL SA LIVE INTERVIEW WITH EVA LONGORIA AND FLAMIN’ HOT CAST ON THE RED CARPET AT SXSW