POLLO (L.A/Mexico ) (EDUARDO LECUONA) Creative Director Founder of Lola Mezcal

So you got an eye for exploring the upper class of Mexico in your latest film, your showing a side most people who dont live in Mexico wouldn’t even imagine. Yet you make it appealing to a larger audience. How important is it to you to make a film truthful to what you know but at the same time include a story line that could be understood by lets say anybody?

For me, the most import part of telling stories is being sincere, and by that I mean writing about people and places you care about. Even if you don’t know them to start off, your honest passion will make you explore a concept or a story and the whole processes becomes a learning experience for the artist.

In my latest film, “Andrés,” I started with something I knew very well, upper class Mexico. I wanted to make a film that felt very natural about the mannerisms and moral decay of that society and show a side of Mexico that the world doesn’t really know.

Anyone will understand and relate to any storyline that shows a very honest human struggle. Andrés in “Andrés” isn’t a likable guy really, he is misogynistic, drunk, stubborn, rude, violent; but his struggle in love, his vulnerability in front of the girl he is obsessed with, feels genuinely human, and an audience understands that struggle. You can see that in many other stories and films. Martin Scorsese’s films come to mind, he usually works with shitty characters that the audience ends up rooting for, think about “Wolf of Wall Street,” just because they are relating to the idea of the human struggle, not the character itself.

How do you come up with an idea for a film? Who are some of the new directors and screen writers you admire the most? Your favorite film? How does this film reflect your cinematic personality?

For “Andrés” the idea came from my desire to make a depiction of my reality in Mexico. It’s a very specific Mexico. I wanted to tell a story of a country divided by social classes, that’s my Mexico, the one that I grew up in and that had me so confused and conflicted since I was a kid.

My favorite films/filmmakers change very often. Right now I’m obsessed with the films of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. But I guess in general I like films that show me an aspect of a culture I didn’t know about before. A big inspiration for me is Portuguese director Pedro Costa who made a series of films in the slums of Lisbon, using people from the slums to act and minimal film equipment. I also really admire Werner Herzog, I recently watched the documentary “Burden of Dreams” about his struggle to make the film “Fitzcarraldo,” if Herzog managed to finish that movie then anyone can accomplish anything in this life.

Besides film you also have a Mezcal brand: Lola; why mezcal? how did it come together this project? You use a very youthful and sexy way of marketing for Lola , What is Lola Mezcal to you ?

Why mezcal? I felt it was a part of Mexico that the world didn’t know about. Abroad it’s all about tequila, which has become a symbol of glamour or getting disgustingly wasted in Spring Break. But for me, mezcal is so much richer and elegant. Most mezcals are more aromatic and flavorful, yet smoother than tequila. I always felt it was a sexier drink and that’s what I wanted to sell - the provocative, hidden, sensual side of Mexico: Lola Mezcal. But I always keep it classy, not pornographic, because the most erotic you can get is when something keeps you wanting more, just like a night of drinking mezcal.

What other projects do you have in mind? What other areas do you want to explore ? You are a very active guy you travel a lot , but where would you say you have found the most inspiration?

Bring Lola Mezcal into the USA, starting off with California and the West Coast. Sponsor more collaborations between Lola Mezcal and artists in all mediums. And I’m producing a new short film that I will be directing. It’s called “Bea, Acapulco” and it’s a love story within the glamorous, excessive nightlife and the social unrest of the beach city of Acapulco. Check it out at www.fondeadora.mx/projects/bea-acapulco.

I’ve found the most inspiration in Mexico definitely. The stories I want to tell, whether in film or in a product like Lola Mezcal, are all about my country and culture and aspect of it only I could tell. Inspiration comes to me best not out of nowhere but with constant, organized work.

Lastly what piece of advice could you give to anyone reading? What is something you find to be the most important thing to do when you embark in a new project?

Go for it. If you have something in your mind you want to create, don’t doubt it, just take the first step and with hard work everything will come together. Sure there are always many obstacles along the way, but cleaning up the mess is the fun part. Once I’m done with a project I feel terrible, like empty, useless, it’s when I’m trying to solve problems to get my projects off the ground that I feel the most fulfilled. Never doubt yourself, that’s my advice.

www.lolamezcal.com

www.andresfilm.com

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