Let's see if we can relate to this? You are eight years old and you live with your mother, father, grandmother and sister. Your barrio has its share of good and bad, and you're just trying to deal with it. You're in a middle-class income and you do little jobs here and there to get what you want so you don't bug mom or dad for money. With that money you slowly fix up your bike and cruise the streets just having fun. As you cruise on by an alley, you spot a few guys causing problems with your neighborhood friends. What do you do? Well, you could always give a yell to the newest up and coming super-hero to hit the TV screen, The Adventures of Pachuco Boy.
The title character rolls on his 20-inch lowrider bike named "Lowrider" and foils the cruel dudes. The trick is that even though homeboy is only eight years old, he's a baaad dude and the streets are a lot safer since he showed up. This new show is in the works, and is a product of Montijo Entertainment and Red Grant Enterprises. The cool characters are the ink works from long-time artist/animator/lecturer/designer Phil Ortiz.
The cartoon will be directed to the youth in the Hispanic community and will show them that determination is the key to reaching their goals. It will also show that the obstacles they face in everyday life can be pushed aside and beaten. Today's TV is all about shootings, killings, war and children dying from a stray bullet, plus the fact that they have to deal with this in school, trying to get an education while everything seems to be against them. Kids are afraid now; they have no one to give them hope.
Our young gente have no heroes to look up to and they need a sense of security. What is out there now is good, but it doesn't seem to grasp the soul of a kid or the epics of their daily lives. Montijo Entertainment and Red Grant Enterprises are trying to get the simple message out to the kids that education, respect and determination are all of the super-powers that they need to get them ahead in life. Through the episodes of Pachuco Boy, the kids will be able to laugh at their problems and relate to the characters.
The real characters in this story are a team of go-getters dedicated to making a difference, starting with creator J. Michael Montijo and co-creator Red Grant, as well as character designer Phil Ortiz and main writer Noe Gonzales. Considering the marketing needs, Montijo Entertainment hired Ryan Reeves to be vice president for marketing and advertising. The team is completed by Dr. Steve Ornales, PhD in Psychology. Steve helped to define the characters' personalities and traits more clearly.
These guys put their heads together to take advantage of the TV and print option to help kids work through their daily adventures and remove the stereotypes. Not every kid with a pair of baggy pants or a long shirt is a hood and this story is out to prove it. The list of characters goes as follows: Mr. Lopez, Mother Lopez, Nana the grandmother, Carmen and Jose. Of course, every boy has to have a four-legged friend and Jose has "Chili," a beanie-wearing Chihuahua dog that is always ready to help fight crime alongside Jose AKA "Pachuco Boy."
Jose is the main star of this story, but he isn't just a little dude with dreams of being a super-hero. He is one. Jose has ambitions and his family comes first. He's a normal little dude, until the cry of duty calls and then he becomes the super-hero of the neighborhood. Jose has the technique and the skills, but every great hero has an ace in his pocket. In this story, it's his sister Carmen. She is the voice of reason, she holds the group together and with her intelligence and creative inventions. She's just cool. The next set of characters include Ignacio, Clown and Gordo, the mischievous boys of the barrio. They're cool, but have a little bit of the devil in them. Then you have the stylish Roberto "Bean Burrito" Chavez, another cool guy, and "Chapo," the little guy of the neighborhood.
One other character is pretty cool, too. Jose worked hard to fix up his bike and his two-wheeled co-star has the ability to talk and help out fighting crime. Gary Sackin, owner of Bicycledesigner.com, was asked to develop and produce lowrider bikes for some of the characters in the series. Cartoon renderings of each bike will be in the series. Gary and the crew at Bicycledesigner.com are hard at work building these cool two-wheeled wonders and they will be making and supplying the actual lowrider bikes for sale online through www.lovelylowrider.com.
Stay tuned for a new Mexicano to hit the TV screens in the near future, and tell los chiquitos to never worry, never fear, Pachuco Boy will soon be here. If you want a preview, check out the website www.pachucoboy.com and be part of a safer barrio.