EXPORTING PASSION AND CREATIVITY - gob.mxThe Far Side of the World, by Peter Weir or Apocalypto by...
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january 2009 Youth helping lead the way destination Mexican Filming Locations EXPORTING PASSION AND CREATIVITY Korea A Strong Business Partner natio nal airlines Soaring to great heights youth helping lead the way Their commitment to make a better world 5 Mexican Films & TV
Transcript of EXPORTING PASSION AND CREATIVITY - gob.mxThe Far Side of the World, by Peter Weir or Apocalypto by...
jan
ua
ry
20
09
Youth helping
lead the way
destination Mexican Filming Locations
EXPORTING PASSION AND CREATIVITY
KoreaA Strong
Business Partnernational airlines Soaring to great heights
youth helping lead the way Their commitment to make a better world
5Mexican Films & TV
26 Youth helping
lead the way Their commitment
to making the worlda better place
Contents.
2 Negocios
8 Table of names
14 Mexico’s Partner
9 Briefs
40 Figures
21Telmex,
The STory of a TelecommunicaTion
GianTExpanding its services
throughout North, Central and South America
Firms 6Mexico: A Live Set for World Entertainment IndustryBy Bruno Ferrari
12 Business tips: souht korea, a strong new business partner
32
mexican tv, exporting passion and creativitynational programming has not only entertained but also offered the rest of the globe a chance to experience the country’s passionate and colorful culture
NatioNal airliNes, soariNg to great heights Every year, Mexican airlines multiply their domestic and international destinations
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Directory
ProMéxico is not responsible for inaccurate information or omissions that might exist in the information provided by the participant companies nor of their economic solvency. title certificate of lawfulness 008404. text certificate of lawfulness 5017. Number of title reserve 04-2005-11292235400-102. Postal registry PP09-0044. responsible editor: manager in turn of the publications department. Printing: cía impresora el Universal, s.a. de c.V. Distribution: ProMéxico camino a sta teresa 1679, México D.F., 01900. Phone: +52 (55) 5447 7000. Negocios is an open space where diverse opinions can be expressed. the institution might or might not agree with an author’s statements; therefore the responsibility of each text falls on the writers, not on the institution, except when it states otherwise. although this magazine verifies all the information printed on its pages, it will not accept responsability derived from any omissions, inaccuracies or mistakes.
The lifestyle Contents.
42 Interview:
sami hayekDesigning his
enviromental success
Cinema:
guillermodel toro
A new king for Middle Earth
50
proméxico ceo Bruno Ferrari proméxico image and communications director ricardo rojo proméxico managing coordinatorandrés tamariz
proméxico advertising and suscriptionsMiguel Ángel [email protected]
proméxico copy editinggabriela Mejan ganem
puBlisheralejandro serratos [email protected]
general manageremmilú lópez [email protected]
taller méxico copy editing Felipe Zúñiga [email protected]
senior writeremmanuel lópez-ló[email protected]
design directorJorge silva [email protected]
design Ma. elena ló[email protected] Juan Pablo [email protected]
staFF writersKarla [email protected] orlando santamarí[email protected] sá[email protected]
editorial assistantVanessa [email protected]
prooF reading and translationlozano translations
oFFice manager Naty ramos [email protected]
advertising managerFernando Bolañ[email protected]
marketing manageradriana [email protected]
this is an editorial project for ProMéxico by taller México
Juana de arco 29a, col. Vallarta Norte. 44690. guadalajara, Jal. México. t +52 (33) 3336.5218 +52 (33) 3336.7478
www.tallermexico.com
4 Negocios
58 Cinemamovie Festival
A growing market
45 The Lifestyle Briefs
48 FeedbackFundación teletón
Broadcasting hope
61 Cinemalights, camera, location!From competitive costs to amazing
natural and historical locations
oFFices aBroad
ProMéxico Headquarters+ 52 (55) 544 77070
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from the CEO
6 Negocios6 Negocios
Mexicoa live set for world entertainment industry
F ilms like Titanic by James Cameron; Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World, by Peter Weir or Apocalypto by Mel
Gibson, have traveled around the world and remain in the
memory of millions of moviegoers. These productions have
in common more than just their box office success: their
main scenes were filmed in Mexico using local resources and national talents.
Moreover, Mexican films like Amores perros and Y tu mamá también have won the
critics’ and public’s recognition worldwide. Through innovative storytelling and
their ability to depict national cinema with a particular aesthetic and unique
personality, these Mexican movies have contributed to the makeover of the
country’s film industry.
Our first 2009 Negocios is dedicated to national entertainment and media industry
and its great potential. Within this sector, film and television stand out for their
dynamism and constant evolution.
Mexico has it all for the development of this industry: unique locations for some of
the most amazing scenes in world cinematography, talented technicians and qualified
professionals, the biggest broadcasting corporations and movie theater chains –the
most important in Latin America. All these factors have contributed to the box-office
success of Mexican and foreign movies as well as national tv-show exports, creating
countless business opportunities in the entertainment and media industry.
The possibility of productions at competitive costs, state-of-the-art technology, human
resources that stand out for their creativity and training and forefront infrastructure,
make media in Mexico a mighty industry with great growing potential.
In Negocios we have immersed in this industry. This is only a scene of a story that
can be told in a million ways. However, its ending summarizes in one single word:
opportunity.
Once again, welcome to Mexico.
Sincerely,
Bruno Ferrari, ProMéxico CEO
A Competitive Country
is a country of young people. Within the next 30 years, the economically ac-tive population will rise to 69 million.
This is how Mexico molds competitive, highly qualified professionals, so it can attend to the needs of the different productive sectors within the country.
Advantages of Investing in Mexico: Access to the North American market, which shares the same time zone.
Qualified personnel in English and Spanish, two of the three most spoken lenguajes in the world.
Mexico
8 Negocios8 Negocios8 Negocios
table of names.ABC NETWORKS 34
AEROMÉXICO 16
AIRBUS 11
ALAMEDA FILMS 54
Allan Poe, Edgar 50
ALTAVISTA FILMS 54
AMÉRICA MÓVIL 19
AMERICAN STANDARD 10
ÁNIMA ESTUDIOS 22
ANIMEX 22
APPLE 50
ARGOS COMUNICACIÓN 36, 56
Arnaiz, Ricardo 22
Astorga, Paula 58
AT&T 19
BANCO COMPARTAMOS 31
BATZ 11
Bava, Mario 50
Beckman Legorreta, Juan
Domingo 26
BIOPROCESSORS CORP. 31
Bloom, Orlando 62
BOENING 11
Brosnan, Pierce 62
Buñuel, Luis 61
CABLE PACIFICO 20
CABLECENTRO 20
Calderón Hinojosa, Felipe 30
Cameron, James 62
CAMPARI 10
CANANA FILMS 54
Carrera, Carlos 22, 54
CARSO GLOBAL TELECOM 19
Castillo, René 22
CBS NETWORKS 34
Cetto, Luis Alberto 47
CHA CHA CHA FILMS 52
Chang, Yung 59
Chávez, JC 57
CHILESAT 20
CIBER FILMS 24
CINEMEX 58
CINÉPOLIS 26
COMCEL 20
COMPAÑÍA MEXICANA
DE AVIACIÓN 16
Costner, Kevin 62
Couturier, Andrés 25
Cruz Garza, Idalia 31
Cruz, Pablo 56
Cruz, Penélope 62
CTI MÓVIL 20
Cuarón, Alfonso 52, 61
DAKSH BUILDERS AND
DEVELOPERS PRIVATE LTD. 14
Danel, Carlos 31
De Nicolás, Gerardo 14
Del Toro, Guillermo 50, 54, 61
DESTILADORA SAN
NICOLÁS 10
DISNEY 22
DREAMWORKS 22
ECUTEL 20
EDMISTON 45
EMBRATEL 19
ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS 24
EQUITY INTERNATIONAL
PROPERTIES LTD. 14
ERICSSON 19
Fernández González, Carlos 31
Fernández, Emilio “El indio“ 54
FOCUS FEATURES 57
Fons, Jorge 54
FORGES DE BOLOGNE 11
FOX NETWORKS 34
FRANCE TELECOM 19
García Márquez, Gabriel 52
García, Gael 54
García, José Carlos 24
García, Rodrigo 52
GENERAL MOTORS 11
Gibson, Mel 62
Glocer, Thomas H. 31
González Iñárritu, Alejandro 52, 61
GRUPO CARSO 19
GRUPO CONCORD 45
GRUPO MODELO 31
GRUPO TELEVISA 26, 34, 48
Guisa Koetsinger, Pablo 58
Gutiérrez, Javier 24
Hayek, Salma 34, 42, 62
Hayek, Sami 42
HOMEX 14
Huston, John 61
INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO
AUTÓNOMO DE MÉXICO 28
INTERJET 16
IUSACELL 19
Jobs, Steve 50
JOSE CUERVO 26
Juárez, Raymundo 24
Kreutzberger, Mario 48
L.A. CETTO 47
LEMON FILMS 54
LG 12
Loret de Mola, Carlos 26
Luhrman, Baz 62
Luna, Diego 54
Luppi, Federico 52
MANOIR INDUSTRIES 11
Mar, Alberto 25
Martínez Staines, Javier 31
MCI 20
MERRILL LYNCH 9
Michel, Daniela 59
Mignola, Mike 52
Mori, Bárbara 52
Navarrete, Enrique 22
NBC NETWORKS 34
Neranjo, Gerardo 56
Newman, Paul 61
Nolan, Christopher 50
Obama, Barack 50
OMNILIFE 54
OMPI OF AMERICA 10
Paredes, Marisa 52
Peckinpah, Sam 61
Peña Nieto, Enrique 31
Perlman, Ron 52
Petersen, Wolfgang 62
Pitt, Brad 62
PIXAR 22
Player, Gary 45
PORCHLIGHT
ENTERTAINMENT 24
PORTA 20
POSCO 12
PRICEWATERHOUSECOO
PERS 24
Prieto, Carlos Miguel 31
PRODIGY
COMMUNICATIONS CORP. 19
PRUDENTIAL REAL STATE 45
RADIO MÓVIL DIPSA 19
Ramírez, Alejandro 26
Ripstein, Alfredo 54
Ripstein, Arturo 54
Riva Palacio, Gabriel 22
Riva Palacio, Rodolfo 22
Rodríguez, Álvaro 31
Rodríguez, Salvador 24
Rossi-Hansberg, Esteban 31
Salinas de Gortari, Carlos 19
SAMSUNG 12
Sandoval, Isaac 25
SANTO DOMINGO
FILMS 24
SATELCARIBE 20
Schwab, Klaus 30
Singer, Bryan 50
Slim, Carlos 19, 54
SONY
ENTERTAINMENT 36
Sorvino, Mira 50
SOUTHWESTERN BELL
CORP. 19
Starr, Ringo 62
STEVANATO GROUP 10
Sulzberger, Arthur 31
TECHTEL 20
TELECOM PORTUGAL 20
TELGUA 19
TELMEX 19
TEQUILA GANG 54
Tolkiens, J. R. R. 50
Travis, Peter 62
Trehy, Kevin 63
TV AZTECA 31, 36
TV CABLE 20
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL
AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
(UNAM) 28
UNIVISION 34
Valdés Orozco, Mauricio 46
Vergara, Jorge 54
VERIZON 20
VOLARIS 18
Volpi, Jorge 31
WARNER BROS.
PRODUCTIONS 22, 63
Wayne, John 61
Welles, Orson 62
Werner, Alejandro 26
Zarur, Andrey 31
economy
brieFs.
Merrill Lynch: Mexico among the 10 safest economies
Mexico is one of 10 least risky economies amid the current global financial crisis, accor-ding to an analysis by Merrill Lynch on economic and fi-nancial vulnerabilities within 44 countries. In contrast, the economies of Australia, the Euro Zone, the United King-dom and the United States are among the most vulnerable.
www.ml.com
Italy toasts: ¡Salud! Italian drink company Campari has bought Mexico-based Destiladora San Nicolás, whose assets include a distillery and te-quila brands, for around 27.5 million usd. With this purchase, the famous Italian beverages producer will strengthen its presence in North America. According to data from the Distilled Spirits Council, during 2007 tequila sales rea-ched 1.6 billion usd in the United States.
www.campari.com
10 Negocios10 Negocios phoToS: courtesy of american standard/campari
winery pharmaceutical
Furniture
shoWeriNgiNVestMeNts
Despite the turbulence shaking interna-tional markets, bathroom furniture ma-nufacturer American Standard will invest 20 million usd to expand operations in Mexico. In 2007, the company had sa-les totaling 35 million usd and reaching nearly 12% of the total market. Ameri-can Standard exports around 80% of its production in Mexico to the United Sta-tes and Canada from five plants located in Monterrey, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes and Estado de México.
www.americanstandard.com
Italian company Stevanato Group, one of the world’s three biggest producers of glass tube containers for the pharmaceuti-cal industry, has opened a new production plant in the state of Nuevo León. The faci-lity, run by subsidiary Ompi of America, will produce around 370 million glass cartrid-ges and 160 million vials each year.
www.stevanato.it
Looking through the glass
brieFs.automotive
aerospacestrategy
24 hour customs
Starting in December 2008, Mexican Customs in Juárez, Chihuahua and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas will be open 24 hours a day from Monday through Friday as part of a pilot program within the framework of the Bilateral Customs Strategic Plan between Mexico and the United States. The program, which will initially last for six months, intends to speed up the processing of commercial cargo and increasing competitiveness between both countries.
batz: Another step in its global strategyAs part of an agreement with General Mo-tors, the Spanish automotive parts com-pany Batz opened a new plant in the state of San Luis Potosí. It will produce pedals and levers for various models manufactu-red in the US. Currently, the company ope-rates in Spain, China and Czech Republic and has also established joint ventures in Brazil, Korea and Turkey. Its Mexican subsi-diary is made up of 80% Spanish interests and 20% local capital.
www.batz.com
Forges de Bologne:A new player in Mexico’saerospace industry
With a totaling investment of 8.9 million usd, Forges de Bologne, the aerospace subsi-diary of French company Manoir Industries, started operations during the last quarter of 2008 in the state of Chihuahua. The firm provides parts for commercial and private planes for such companies as Airbus and
Boeing. Forges de Bologne sums to the multiple international companies wor-king in the growing aerospace industry in Mexico, which has gained a leading role globally.
www.manoir-industries.com
usd in 2000 to 12.6 billion usd in 2007, an increase of 228%.
Both nations have created mecha-nisms to promote and fortify the develop-ment of commercial partnerships. Some of those are the 21st Century Mexico-Korea Commission, the Mexico-Korea IT
Center and the Mexico-Korea Group of Experts. Both countries are now consid-ering creating a free trade agreement. On the other hand, Korea is the third-largest investor in Mexico among Asian-Pacific countries, only behind Japan and Singa-pore. Between January 1999 and Decem-
12 Negocios
Korea, a strongnew business partner Mexico and South Korea are forging a robuSt buSineSS relationShip aS trade between both countrieS KeepS growing at incredible rateS and the aSian-pacific country expandS itS preSence in latin aMerica.
The history of South Korea’s economy in the last 50 years is probably one of the most accelerated economic growth experiences. South Korea’s economy is currently the 13th largest in the world and third biggest in Eastern Asia.
Between 2002 and 2007, the Korean economy grew at an annual rate of 4.9%, a very notable expansion considering Korean residents’ small income growth. Among East Asian countries, Korea is second in average income per resident -19,751 usd- coming in after Japan -34,312 usd- according to International Monetary Fund estimates for 2007.
A growing relationKorea and Mexico maintain tight commer-cial relations that make the Asiatic country Mexico’s third-largest Asian-Pacific trading partner and sixth-largest in the world (23rd as buyer and 4th as supplier).
Mexico is Korea’s main commercial partner in Latin America, accounting for 19% of Korea’s commerce in the region.
Trade between both countries grew 230% between 2000 and 2007, going from 4 billion usd to 13.3 billion usd. Mexi-can exports to Korea during this period increased 262% -from 189 million usd to 684 million usd. Imports of South Korean products to Mexico went from 3.8 billion
ber 2007, Korean companies established in Mexico invested 378.2 million usd. Six-ty-two percent of those investments were in the manufacturing industry, followed by commerce (36%) and the service industry, hotels and restaurants (2%).
Some of the Korean enterprises estab-lished in Mexico include: Samsung, LG and most recently Posco –one of the main iron and steel companies in the world. Posco built a plant in the northern state of Tamau-lipas to process automobile steel.
Mexico, a strategic partnerBusiness relations between Korea en Latin America are fortifying as well as those be-tween the Asiatic country and the United States, thanks to the Free Trade Agree-ment signed by the nations in June 2007.
In the middle of this trend, Mexico could become a strategic ally to Korea.
The country’s geographical location, its network of free trade agreements with Latin America’s main economies and the notorious development reached in such industries as automotive, aerospace and IT are the main attraction for South Korean firms. These companies seek to increase both their presence in the region and busi-ness opportunities that can provide the Korean industry with world-class products and services. n
The country’s geographical location, its network of free trade agreements
with Latin America’s main economies and the notorious development reached in such
industries as automotive, aerospace and IT are the main attraction for South
Korean firms.
Business tips
Opportunities
Korea is an importer of raw materials and consumer products. The countryimports an average of 70% of the food it consumes –which opens a window of opportunity for Mexico regarding food exports.
Mexico has consolidated into one of the world’s main producers of autoparts, while Korea is the 5th largest producer of automobiles. There are good opportunities for Mexico to export autoparts to the Korean automobile industry –which has an important presence in the American continent with several assembly plants in the United States.
Other sectors with opportunities include: construction materials, the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology, IT and the aerospace industry.
14 Negocios14 Negocios phoToS: courtesy of homex
Homex’s first brick was laid in 1989 in Culiacán, Sinaloa –northwest Mexico– when De Nicolás family started an inno-
vative home construction business. Two years after, things were getting in shape: the company focused on design, construc-tion and the house commercialization. By 1997, they were operating in 10 different cities across the country.
A key factor in the company’s growth and development has been the interest shown by foreign investors in Mexico’s home construction industry. For instance, in 2002, Equity International Properties, Ltd. (EIP) –a private company specialized in real estate businesses– invested in Homex; such infusion of capital positioned it among the top firms in the home construction sec-tor targeting the middle class. By 2004, Homex was listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange and later on it also became the first Mexican firm from this sector listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
In 2005, Gerardo De Nicolás, head of the firm, was named General Director of the Year by the business magazine Latin Trade. Since then, the company has won other recognitions; such as the 2006 Garrigues-Affinitas Award for best corporate gover-nance in Latin America as well as a mem-bership in the Round Table of Corporate Governance, part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Today, more than 190,000 Mexican fam-ilies inhabit homes with the Homex seal. The firm has put up the walls and roofs under which 870,000 Mexicans live, in 33 cities located in 21 of the country’s states.
In order to keep on growing, the company opened a division for tourist developments this year and its planned to strengthen it during 2009. coordination
Continuous constructionIn the last five years, Homex has grown 77.2%, turning into the fastest growing national home construction company. The firm currently owns lands to construct ap-proximately 326,000 homes for more than 1.4 million people. With this, Homex has secured its operation with sustained sales for about the next decade.
In addition Homex’s walls are expanding beyond Mexico. Last summer, the firm an-nounced it would begin constructing 400 homes in India.
According to a report published by the company: “After several months of specu-lation over its ambitions abroad, Homex agreed to build homes for low-middle in-come people in the Indian states of Jam-mu and Kashmir with Daksh Builders and Developers Private Ltd. in a venture called Homex India”. The Asian country faces a deficit of approximately 20 million homes. This has opened an opportunity for the Mexican builder to expand internationally.
Social commitmentFive years ago, Homex was certified as a Socially Responsible Company. It par-ticipates in diverse programs focused on education, health, sports and culture and it gives back a portion of its profits to or-ganizations located where it operates. Currently, it has a program called Homex High School, which runs in conjunction
with the National Institute for Adult Educa-tion (INEA). The program has helped 5,000 analphabetic adults across the country to develop reading and learning skills.
Also, due to such programs as the Model for Human Equity, Homex has won on four different occasions the Great Place to Work distiction.
Today, Homex directly employs 20,000 people and throughout its history has gener-ated more than 460,000 indirect jobs.
New families, new homesThe housing market in Mexico had histori-cally been neglected, according to Gerardo de Nicolás, Homex general director: “There were new families without new homes. That is why we want to make sure that the num-ber of new homes is similar to the number of new families” he said.
This vision has been one of the keys to Homex’s success. During 2009 Homex’s general director projects a large increase in public housing. De Nicolás asserts that the company’s model can be reproduced in other countries. Today, the firm is inves-tigating markets in developing countries that have such traits as low inflation and a sound economy.
At the start of 2008, Homex entered a new market: tourist homes. “It is a new di-vision that understands the development of homes for foreigners visiting the coun-try,” De Nicolás added. Even though this project’s first homes are still being built, buyers in the United States, Canada and Europe have already paid for residences in such locations as Los Cabos, Puerto Val-larta and Cancún. n
A giant built brick by brick A decade ago Homex commenced its construction business. Having erected houses for nearly 1 million residents, this is the first Mexican homebuilder to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange.
By MaUricio Ferrer
mexico’s partner: hoMex
Homex is the first Mexican home construction firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company has grown 77.2% in the past five years.
1.4 million people will live in one of the homes that Homex builds in the next three years.
33 cities are part of the company’s operations network across the country.
Homex currently generates 20,000 direct jobs.
a middle class home from La Alborada division,
located in Estado de México.
one oF the houses
inside the residential complexColinas del Roble, in Jalisco.
16 Negocios
national airlines, soaring to greatheights Every year, Mexican airlines multiply their domestic and international destinations.
By eMMaNUel lóPeZ-lóPeZ
With Mexico’s economic, cultural and tourism re-lations growing rapidly, commercial aviation ser-
vices keep their demand on the rise. Aero-méxico, Interjet, Mexicana de Aviación are some of the companies at the forefront of the relentless expansion.
mexico’s partner: airliNes
Commercial aviation service keep their
demand on the rise.
18 Negocios phoToS: courtesy of aeroméxico/mexicana
Mexicana de Aviación, up-to-date veteran With nearly 90 years in business, Mexi-cana is one of the world’s oldest airlines. It offers 50 destinations within the American Continent and ranks number 1 in routes between Mexico and the United States.
The airline will be soon facilitating a di-rect flight between San Francisco, Califor-nia and Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. This new route is planned to satisfy the large amount of international tourists seeking a sunny spot in one of the biggest beach destina-tions in the country.
In order to reinforce its presence in the Canadian market, the airline also created new routes from Mexico City to Calgary and Edmonton, which add to its existing itiner-aries to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
Mexicana owns 61 airplanes that make about 300 daily flights and transport 9 mil-lion passengers each year.
Interjet: ready for take offInterjet, a budget airline that had only op-
Aeroméxico lands in Asia and EuropeIn order to offer better services to the Latin American and Spanish business communi-ties, Aeroméxico started operating direct flights to Barcelona in December 2007 and only seven months later, the company opened a twice a week route to Rome. The airline also flies to other European cities like Madrid and Paris.
As for Asia, Aaeroméxico also created routes to Narita Airport in Tokyo and Shang-hai, this last flight being the shortest and most practical itinerary between China and Latin America, passengers flying from countries like Chile, Brazil and Peru no longer have to lay over in the United States or Canada.
Headquartered in Mexico City, Aero-méxico is a member of the SkyTeam Alli-ance. It operates a fleet of 70 airplanes and offers around 300 daily flights worldwide. With 22.3% of the national market, the air-line flew 2.7 million passengers during the first semesters of 2008. The company is in charge of nearly 33% of Mexican passen-gers traveling abroad.
erated out of Toluca, in the State of Mexi-co, started flying from Mexico City Interna-tional Terminal in summer 2008. Interjet is currently the only airline offering services from both airports to the country’s main destinations and it will soon start operat-ing flights to Guatemala. During the next decade, Interjet plans to offer an additional international destination per year.
Volaris, fast growing networkThe airline flies from Toluca International Airport –few kilometers away from Mexico City– offering lower rates in airfares and increasing efficiency in their services. The company provides a shuttle bus service at most of its destinations.
With an initial schedule to Tijuana, Volaris flew for the first time in March 2006. The airline has now 34 national routes in 21 Mexican cit-ies, their destination network keeps on grow-ing. In October, for instance, the airline started flying from Guadalajara to Los Cabos.
From its inception to the first half of 2008, Volaris has flown 4.5 million passengers. n
The STory of a TelecommunicaTionS
GianTTELMEX, among the largest telephone companies, has grown
from a floundering state owned monopoly into flourishing, multi-billion dollar enterprise expanding its services and reaching throughout
North, Central and South America.
By MariaNa leaños PéreZ
TELMEX (Teléfonos de México), the largest telephone service provider in the country, is seriously committed to the communication business. Recently, TELMEX has broadened its reach, expanding into Central and South America and the United States. There is a step-by-step chronicle for the company’s successful strategy.
The BeginningIn 1947, a group of Mexican inves-tors bought L.M. Ericsson’s telephone company in the country and founded TELMEX. Three years later, the same investors bought ITT Corp.’s Mexican subsidiary and TELMEX became the only telephone provider in the coun-try. In 1972, the Mexican government bought the company, turning it into a state controlled monopoly.
Then in 1990, Mexican former Presi-dent Carlos Salinas de Gortari decided to sell some state owned companies includ-ing TELMEX that was promptly bought by a group of investors lead by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, France Télé-com & Southwestern Bell Corp. As a pri-vate company, TELMEX invested in new and modern infrastructure and created a
nationwide fiber optic network, making it possible to offer service to practically the entire country. A year later, the government sold its remaining stock.
Cell phone and Internet ServiceIn the 1990s, when mobile phones gained popularity all throughout the country, the
market leader was Iusacell. This prompted TELMEX to form a subsidiary: Radio Móvil Dipsa, to provide mobile phone communi-cation under the brand name Telcel. This division was a distant second to Iusacell. Nevertheless in 1995, during the Mexican currency crisis, Telcel began taking over the market by offering the first prepaid mobile phone plans.
In 2000, TELMEX spun off their mobile phone unit, creating América Móvil, which took control of Radio Móvil Dipsa and would be free to develop as its own business. But compa-nies belong to Carso Global Telecom, which is itself a sister conglomerate of Grupo Carso.
Even though TELMEX started to provide Internet service by the 1990s, it wasn’t un-
til 1996 that its owner, Carlos Slim, bought Prodigy Communications Corp. and introduced the brand to Mexico as Prodigy Internet by TELMEX, becoming the leading na-tional Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Expansion After launching America Móvil, TELMEX started an expansion plan, purchasing Guatemala’s Telgua. The next step was buying state owned
phone companies in Central America and began operations in the United States. In 2004, TELMEX bought undervalued provid-ers in South America, including AT&T’s Latin American operations, giving it a presence in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bra-zil, and Uruguay. That same year, TELMEX bought from MCI Brazil’s largest and most important long distance operator -Embratel.
Nevertheless in 1995, during the Mexican currency
crisis, Telcel began taking over the market by offering the
first prepaid mobile phone plans.
mexico’s partner: telMex
20 Negocios phoTo: courtesy of miguel bernal
It also acquired Chile’s Chilesat, took control of Techtel -operating in Argentina and Uru-guay- and purchased Argentinian Metrored. In the United States, the Mexican company acquired 13.4 percent of bankrupt MCI. In 2005, TELMEX sold its holdings in MCI to Verizon and a year later it also bought TV
Cable and Cable Pacifico, companies that serve around 264,000 homes in Colombia.
America Móvil developed a similar strat-egy buying the following cellular operators:
CTI Móvil- Argentina and Uruguay•Claro- Brazil and Peru•Porta- Ecuador•Comcel- Colombia•Verizon- Puerto Rico•
In 2007, TELMEX launched Prodigy Media,
the first step in offering triple play services (tele-phone, Internet and television) to the Mexican market. TELMEX started then the first Wi-Max network in Chile offering local, long distance and Internet services to 98 percent of the Chil-ean population. That same year, the company
TELMEX supports 55,806 direct jobs and an estimated of 230,000 indirect jobs in Mexico.
purchased Ecutel, a small telecommunications operator in Ecuador, as well as CABLECEN-TRO and SATELCARIBE, both companies of-fering cable TV and Internet services in Colom-bia. In addition, TELMEX has a 3.41 percent stake in Telecom Portugal.
Telmex in shortSince its privatization, TELMEX has invested more than 30 billion usd in Mexico. The total amount of investment in the telecommunica-tions sector between 1990 and 2007 was more than 45 billion usd.
In order to assure growth and moderniza-tion of its infrastructure, TELMEX developed a 100% digital technology platform. It oper-ates one of the worlds most advanced fiber optic networks, which is longer than 80,000 kilometers and includes submarine commu-nication cables with 39 different countries.
According to the Federal Commission of Telecommunications (COFETEL), the telecom-munications industry in 2007 grew 27.9%, which is nearly 9 times more than the growth of the entire national economy -3.8%. n
in 2007 telmex
launched Prodigy Media,
the first step in offering
triple play services (telephone,
internet and television).
mexico’s partner: telMex
22 Negocios22 Negocios phoTo: courtesy of roberto gómez bolaños/ánima estudios
Animation has become more than just an expression of art. After winning prizes around the world and having their produc-
tions shown in international film festivals, Mexican filmmakers can say that produc-ing an animated movie and having it fill movie theaters is no longer an exclusive achievement of Pixar or Disney.
Director Carlos Carrera made his first animated short film in 1984 - El Hijo Pró-digo (The Prodigal Son) -since then he has made 10 other movies. The most popular was El Héroe (Hero), which won the Golden Palm for Short Film at Cannes Film Festival 1994 and was shown around the world.
But that was nothing compared to what Una Película de Huevos (A Movie About Eggs) was able to achieve. Although consid-ered a Mexican movie, most of the anima-tion was made in Argentina. According to Canacine (National Association of Film and Video Making) the movie ranked seventh at Mexican box office in 2006. It had more than 4 million viewers –higher than some Holly-wood productions like Mission Impossible 3. The film, directed by brothers Gabriel and Rodolfo Palacio, premiered in 460 theaters, less than half the screens so-called “block-buster” movies open on. During its first
aNiMatioN taKes a NeW DiMeNsioNMany of the latest Mexican animated movies have been blockbusters -evidence that the industry is becoming strong enough to conquer moviegoers around the world.
By FraNcisco VerNis
weekend, the film made 11.5 million usd. A year later La Leyenda de la Nahuala
(Nahuala’s Legend) directed by Ricardo Arnaiz, showed that Mexican-made ani-mation is capable of filling up movie the-aters. In its first weekend in theaters, the film made 1.2 million usd at the box office, almost recouping what Animex spent to make it -1.3 million usd. The industry is al-ready putting its engine to work. In 2009, Gabriel and Rodolfo Palacio will release Otra película de huevos y un pollo (Anoth-er Movie About Eggs and a Chicken) while Animex will launch a film named Nikté.
Jumping to the Big ScreenBefore the box office revealed whether making feature length animated movies in Mexico was profitable, the industry had already followed its own way through two different paths: short films and advertis-ing.
The work of animators like Carlos Car-rera and René Castillo, whose short films were shown in international festivals, turned into a reference of creativity, quality and innovation. Both filmmakers are cur-rently working on feature length films.
For Carrera, also director of live ac-tion movies like Un Embrujo (A Spell) and El Crimen del Padre Amaro (The Crime
of Padre Amaro), filming his 3D animated project, Ana, co-directed by Enrique Na-varrete, was the coming to life of a long-time wish. Navarrete has also worked for Dreamworks in productions like The Prince of Egypt, Antz and Shrek 1 and 2.
Castillo, whose acclaimed short films Sin sostén (No Bra) and Hasta los hue-sos (To the Bones) received international awards –including a Golden Palm nomina-tion for first film– is now working on Pon-cho Balón, based on a TV show aired in Latin America during World Cup 2006. So far, Warner Productions has taken an inter-est in it.
“The most complicated part comes with scales ” Castillo asserts, “We can make a little doll and make it act, but we need to make 90 minutes of it. Many people take part in the animation process. Technology-wise we aren’t bad. What we need are the means to buy equipment, software and get people together; but when it comes to technology we are ready to compete with Disney and Pixar.”
Castillo is producing Poncho Balón with Ánima Estudios, responsible of movies that have revived the animation film industry in Mexico such as Los Supersabios (The Super-wise) in 1978, Magos y gigantes (Magicians and Giants) in 2003 and Imaginum in 2005.
product: aNiMatioN
24 Negocios24 Negocios phoTo: courtesy of roberto gómez bolaños/ánima estudios
Ánima decided to conquer the big screen when most animation companies were doing advertising. The company bet its money in a market valued at 65 billion usd that was unexplored in the country, commented José Carlos García, vice pres-ident for production and development.
According to a report lead by Price-waterhouseCoopers, between 2006 and 2012, the global market for media and en-tertainment will grow at an annual rate of 5.6%, being Latin America the region with the biggest expected growth.
Ánima Estudios recently announced two important collaborations to make feature length animated movies in English: Kung Fu Magoo in alliance with Santo Domingo Films and Entertainment Rights, the film is based on the character of Mr. Magoo; and A Martian Christmas a co-production with Porchlight Entertainment.
Funding Most animators have succeeded thanks to the support of Imcine (Mexican Institute of Cinematography) which is financed by the Fund for Film Investment and Stimulus. Since its creation in 2001, the fund has sup-ported 95 movies, 5 of them animated.
The Ministry of Economy, through its recently created Promedia (Program for the Development of the Interactive Media Industry) allocated 3.6 million USD for 14 interactive media related projects in 2008.
Canieti (National Chamber of Electron-ic, Telecommunications and IT Industries)
is trying to turn the state of Jalisco into the country’s animation hub, with two projects. The first one will be the building of a multi-media park along Chapala Lake (about 40 kilometers from the state capital, Guada-lajara). The 200 million USD project in a 10 hectare space will have the necessary infrastructure and equipment for develop-ing animation, videogames, entertainment content and sci-fi. The second project will be the Creanimex Festival, an event dedi-cated to animation and videogames that is currently in its third edition.
Human Resources: A ChallengeMost animation houses in Mexico started off with little personnel and with only the experience of their founders, usually edu-cated in the United States. Javier Gutiér-rez, Ciber Films Director comments: “At some point along the way, there was a decision to make: remaining abroad and joining a big studio or opening our own production company in México, I took the second option,” said the animator of sev-eral tv ads and Voodoo Bayou a short film about to be turned into a long lenght mov-ie. “The studios here were struggling with the technical side. There really wasn’t any-one with the specialized knowledge in that area. I noticed there wasn’t an animation production company in Mexico that really cared about the creativity of an animated ad without ignoring its artistic quality.”
Ciber Films started in 2000 with a busi-ness plan that prioritized quality. They have
received at least five Pantalla de Cristal Awards (an annual award for digital ads, documentaries, short films and news ar-ticles) and one Silver Lion that Gutiérrez received in Cannes in 2006 for the Red Cross commercial “Killing Death.”
Because of the lack of schools offer-ing a degree in animation, Ciber Films and other production companies decided to create their own courses.
“Nowadays there are universities and schools with several animation programs. That means that in 10 or 15 years we will have a huge amount of human resources dedicated to animation, and they will be greatly trained” said Raymundo Juárez owner of Animación 2D, a studio that is now working on the production of Nezahuálcoy-otl a feature length film about an Aztec hero. The film will cost 2.5 million usd dollars, 35% of that contributed by Fidecine.
The film, animated by Salvador Rodríguez, intends to compete at an inter-national level and in order to achieve the required quality it was necessary to train about 50 people that are now working on the film.
Many young people working in produc-tion companies already have an academic background, after universities like Tec de Monterrey created programs in animation and others offered more courses for their college students as well as continuing education seminars. All these schools are motivated by the high demand for anima-tors in the movie industry but also in the videogame and advertising markets. n
product: aNiMatioN
Movieseats moving up
d“Magos y Gigantes” (Magicians and Giants)Year: 2003Producer: Ánima EstudiosDirector: Andrés CouturierBudget: 930,000 usd
Gross: 659,000 usd
Spectators: 102,000
“Imaginum”Year: 2005Producer: Ánima EstudiosDirector: Alberto Mar and Isaac SandovalBudget: 1.2 million usd
Gross: 604,000 usd
Spectators: 240,000
“Una Película de Huevos” (An egg movie)Year: 2006Producer: IndependentDirector: Rodolfo and Gabriel Riva PalacioGross: 11.2 million usd
Budget: 1.4 million usd
Spectators: 4 millions
“La Leyenda de la Nahuala” (Nahuala’s Legend)Year: 2007Producer: AnimexDirector: Ricardo ArnáizBudget: 1.3 million usd
Gross: 3.3 million usd
Spectators: 1.2 million
Sources: Imcine and distributors.
ánima estudios
has also worked in
the animated series
El Chavo.
26 Negocios
youth helping lead the wayA select group of Mexican business leaders and professionals have been honored as Young Global Leaders -individuals who while young in age are mature in their commitment to making the world a better place.
By xaVier Villegas
Leaders aren’t necessarily the ones who’ve been around the longest. The Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL), a multi-stakeholder community that is
part of the World Economic Forum, each year recognizes the best and the brightest who are under 40 and are ready to make a difference in the world.
In recent years Mexico has had its share of individuals recognized as Young Global Leaders. Among those honored in 2008 were Alejandro Werner, undersecretary of the Finance Ministry; Carlos Loret de Mola, anchor and a newscast director for Mexico’s top broadcaster, Grupo Televisa; and Juan Domingo Beckmann Legorreta, executive general director of Jose Cuervo, the largest tequila producer in Mexico and the world.
Each year, the World Economic Fo-rum recognizes around 200-300 leaders,
drawn from every region in the world and a myriad of disciplines and sectors, and invites them to join the YGL community as active members.
Of the Mexicans honored in 2008, only Loret de Mola is an active member of the forum. Among other prominent Mexicans who have been recognized in previous years is Alejandro Ramírez, CEO of Cinépolis, Latin America’s largest movie theater chain.
Journalist extraordinaireCarlos Loret de Mola is the anchor and di-rector of Grupo Televisa’s morning news-cast, Primero Noticias. He also has a news program called Contraportada on Radio Fórmula station.
Loret de Mola, who was born in 1976 in the southern state of Yucatán, has been a war correspondent in Afghanistan and Haiti and covered natural disasters like the Indonesian Tsunami.
phoTo: courtesy of proméxico
special report: yoUNg leaDers
Calderon once honored as young leader
SFrom a young age, Mexican President Felipe Cal-deron had a clear idea of what he needed to do for his country and how he should do it. In his mid-30s, Calderon became president of political party Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) in 1996. One year later, he was nominated as Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT), the predecessor event to Young Global Leaders (YGL), which started back in 2004.
Calderon, who was born August 18, 1962 in Morelia, Michoacán, the youngest of five broth-ers, was only 35 years old when he joined the GLT community, he was a memeber from 1997 through 2000.
He has been an active participant in the WEF. In April 2008, during the Latin America WEF the President asserted: “I have always seen in the World Economic Forum, and particularly in [WEF Founder] Klaus Schwab, a vision that anticipates the challenges and the problems of the world”.
phoToS: courtesy of alejandro ramirez28 Negocios i The Lifestyle
This young journalist is also a published au-thor, having written El Negocio. La economía de México atrapada por el narcotráfico (The Business. How Mexico’s Economy Has Been Trapped by Drug Trafficking).
His professional honors include a spe-cial mention in the 2001 National Award of Journalism, the National Journalism Contest Award in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and awards from the National Anchor As-sociation in 2002 and 2003.
Loret de Mola has a bachelor’s de-gree in Economics from the Instituto Tec-nológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and studied law at the Universidad Na-cional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
Tequila and traditionChanging the world is a lifestyle for Jose Cu-ervo’s Juan Domingo Beckmann Legorreta, executive director of one of the major selling liquor brands in the world.
According to the World Economic Forum, in 1986 the businessman became a member of the group Generación Empresarial Mexi-cana (Mexican Entrepreneurial Generation), which promotes and supports new projects of upcoming entrepreneurs.
He has also been a board member of a government sponsored council that pro-motes integrity and honesty in Mexico.
Economic stabilityAs Mexico’s deputy finance minister, Ale-jandro Werner, has a strong influence on the country’s financial future.
Werner knows that his position in the Fi-nance Ministry contributes to a stable eco-nomic environment in Mexico and helps the country weather any financial crisis, just like the one the world is currently experiencing.
Werner believes leaders should also know how to be team players: “Having a capable team allows for an appropriate
working environment and to be able to face pressure” he asserts.
The deputy finance minister recog-nizes that different fiscal laws which have been passed and the early ap-proval of the federal budget are ex-amples of such team effort.
Werner has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Instituto Tec-nológico Autónomo de México and a doctorate from the Massachusetts In-stitute of Technology.
He has been in the Finance Minis-try since 2006.
Now playingSince 2004, Alejandro Ramírez has been the director of the largest movie theater chain in Latin America, Cinépolis.
The company owns more than 200 movie theaters in 60 regional cities and it is studying how to grow in the South Ameri-can market. In Mexico the firm owns 212 movie theaters and 1,982 movie screens in 27 different states.
According to a survey by the World Economic Forum of its Young Global Leaders,
59% believe global warming will be the most pressing
issue by 2030, followed by depletion of resources
(37%) and asymmetric warfare (27%).
SOURCE: Forum of Young Global Leaders.
special report: yoUNg leaDers
since 2004
Alejandro Ramírez has
been the Director of the
largest movie theater chain
in Latin America.
30 Negocios
carlos loret de mola
anchor and director of Grupo
Televisa’s morning newscast,
Primero Noticias.
phoTo: courtesy of proméxico
special report: yoUNg leaDers
Ramírez, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA from Harvard Uni-versity, has also been a representative of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He has been part of Mexico’s Human and Social Development Cabinet; an economic analyst for the Unit-ed Nations; and an economic consultant for the World Bank and the World Institute for Development Economics Research.
Ramírez, honored as young leader in 2005, is no longer an active member of the organization.
Among the awardedLoret de Mola, Beckmann Legorreta and Ramírez were chosen from a 5,000 candidates pool by a selection commit-tee of 31 eminent international media leaders, including Thomas H. Glocer, CEO of Reuters, and Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times.
Those recognized in 2008 represent-ed more than 65 countries.
Other Mexican citizens who have won the honor in the last few years include:
2007Idalia Cruz Garza, TV Azteca’s Market-ing Director; Carlos Fernández González, Grupo Modelo’s CEO; Enrique Peña Nieto, governor of the Estado de México; and Es-
teban Rossi-Hansberg, assistant professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Survey respondents also predicted China would
be the leading nation by 2030, followed by the United States, India and Russia. Germany, France and the
United Kingdom were expected to significantly
lose power.
SOURCE: Forum of Young Global Leaders.
2006Carlos Miguel Prieto, Xalapa Symphony Or-chestra music director; writer Jorge Volpi; and Andrey Zarur, president and CEO of biotechnology and pharmaceutical company
BioProcessors Corp.
2005Carlos Danel, co-CEO of Financiera Compartamos (now Banco Compar-tamos); Javier Martínez Staines, Tele-visa’s general editorial director; Álvaro Rodríguez, chairman of the board of di-rectors at the not-for-profit microfinance organization Acción Internacional; as well as Cinepolis CEO Ramirez.
YGLs are nominated for a five-year pe-
riod and each year the World Economic Forum must have 1,111 members. Those chosen have the right to participate ac-tively in the annual summit; collaborate with other YGLs to initiate and implement
projects; participate in initiatives and selected activities of the forum; and engage in the activi-ties and initiatives of the community. n
32 Negocios phoTo: archive
Mexican TV, Exporting Passion and Creativity Mexico has given the world TV successful shows like Chespirito, but its biggest entertainment exports remain soap operas. Translated into more than 80 languages, national programming has not only entertained but also offered the rest of the globe a chance to experience the country’s passionate and colorful culture.
By yara sÁNcheZ De la BarqUera ViDal
cover Feature: exPort tV
mexico has Been
exporting tv shows
for over 40 years.
34 Negocios phoToS: courtesy of mediamates
Mexican TV and movie entertainment has been embraced by the rest of the world with as much passion and devotion as
that found on the country’s wildly popular soap operas.
Mexico has been exporting movies and television shows for over 40 years. Some of its most successful programs have included “La Fea Más Bella” (The Most Beautiful Ugly Girl) and programs such as “El Chavo del 8”.
The most important exporter of Mexican television content is Grupo Televisa, the larg-est media conglomerate in Latin America. Its diverse media activities include television production and broadcasting, programming for pay television, direct-to-home satellite services, radio production and broadcast-ing, editorial and publishing divisions, show business promotions, film production, dub-bing, distribution and operation-generation of exclusive content for the Internet.
The company’s pay television channels reach subscribers throughout Latin Ameri-ca, the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific. As of December 2007, it ex-ported over 60,300 hours of programming to over 60 countries.1 (NY Stock Exchange, December 2007) Net sales of programming exports represented 5.4 and 5.3% of the company’s total net sales for 2006 and 2007, respectively. That was 182 million usd for 2006 and 188 million usd for 2007.2 (Televisa’s annual report, 2007)
The most important market for Televisa’s TV exports is the United States’ Hispanic population, which is projected to account
for 15% of the country’s population by 2010. Televisa exports about 15 hours of prime-time programming to the North American country each week through Univision –the largest Spanish speaking television network in the US. This means that 80 to 90 % of the American company’s prime-time programs are supplied by Televisa.
Since 1993, when the two enterprises reached an agreement, Univision’s prime-time audience has tripled, translating into a revenue increase from 210 million usd to more than 2 billion usd. At the same time, Televisa’s royalties went from 15 million usd in 1993 to 130 million usd in 2006. 3 (Law.com, April 2008.) But their partnership has been rocky at times. Their agreement has been modified twice and Televisa has sued Univision to end their distribution deal. But the nasty, 10-month old lawsuit is expected to be settled by the end of the year. The deal expires in 2017.
Besides its partnership with Univision, Televisa’s content constituted 15% of the Telefutura Network and almost all of Ga-lavision Network’s non-repeat broadcast hours. (Televisa’s annual report, 2007) This has given Televisa an important presence all across the US and not only among Spanish speaking viewers.
Televisa is currently expanding its reach ever more, trying to follow the footsteps of taco chains and other Mexican businesses into China. In May 2007, Televisa signed a deal with the Chinese government to adapt versions of its most successful program-ming, including various soap operas and the reality show “Dancing for a Dream.”
The company’s most important TV ex-port remains the telenovela (soap opera). Literally, telenovelas are seen all over the world, having been dubbed among others in English, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Ro-manian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Turkish and even Mandarin.
According to the New York Times, the final episode of the soap opera Rubí (2004) was the top rated program in the US among 18 to 34 year-olds, beating shows on all the major networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Its broadcast reached a little more than 55 million viewers across the country.
Another soap opera, “La Fea Más Bella” (2006-2007), starring Angélica Vale and Jaime Camil, was the top rated program among 18-to-49-year-olds when its final episode aired. (Nielsen NTI Fast Affiliate Ratings) Mexican actress Salma Hayek is one of the executive producers of “Ugly Betty,” the US version of this show.
“Los Ricos También Lloran” (Rich People Cry Too) enjoyed great success through-out the former Soviet Union in 1992, when the 249-episode soap opera from the late 1970s broke rating records, at times reach-ing up to 200 million viewers. (Andrew Pax-man, Global Media Journal, Volume 2, Is-sue 2, Spring 2003, Article 4)
The other jewel in the crown of Tele-visa’s exports is “El Chavo del 8.” This comedy show features several adult ac-tors in children’s roles; inhabitants of a low-income neighborhood where the main character, Chavo –a young orphan– and his friends hold dialogues characterized by
cover Feature: exPort tV
FeatUre-FilM ProDUctioN aND DistriBUtioN
5Televisa produces and co-produces Spanish-language feature films and distributes national and international films throughout Mexico. It co-produced “Divina Confusión” (Divine Confusion, which aired in 2008. In addition, it distributed 30 films, including “Fuera del Cielo” (Out From the Sky), “KM31”, “Colorín, Colorado”, “Mr. Brooks”, and “Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo” (Even the Wind is Afraid).
Televisa’s growth has found no limits, until now. Its president, Emil-io Azcárraga, tried to expand Televisa’s reach in the US market by buy-ing more shares of Univision so he could have a controlling stake in the network. But United States law prevents a foreigner from owning more than 25 percent of a broadcaster.
Grupo Televisa also owns an unconsolidated equity stake in La Sexta, a free-to-air television channel in Spain. (NY Stock exchange, December 2007)
36 Negocios phoToS: courtesy of mediamates
ingenious riddles. The program is still very popular not only throughout Latin America, but also in the United States and Spain in reruns. It’s been part of the TV schedule in some South American countries for so long that some of the show’s phrases have blended into everyday language. In Peru for instance, to refer to someone who has no money, you say: “Estoy más miso que el Chavo del 8” (I’m poorer than Chavo del 8); if you want to say you’re hungry in Ar-gentina, you could use: “Tengo más ham-bre que el Chavo del 8” (I’m hungrier than Chavo del 8); and if someone or something is missing in Colombia, its: “más perdido que la mamá del Chavo” (even more lost than Chavo’s mother).
This comedy show has turned into a clas-sic and is still running in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, the Unit-ed States, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Portugal, Panama, Puerto Rico,
Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, France and Italy. In Brazil, video games of the show have been produced.
Although “Chavo del 8’ stopped being produced decades ago, its popularity has resurged thanks to its new animated series, acclaimed as one of the best ever created by Mexican artists. This popular cartoon is currently being exported to more than 10 countries including Spain, the US and sev-eral Latin American nations.
TV Azteca is the second largest Mexi-can television network and enjoys near nationwide coverage mostly via open TV, cable TV, Direct Broadcast Satellite and Free-To-Air television. It also operates dig-ital television stations Azteca 24 HD and Azteca 25 HD as well as the US network Azteca America, through which much of its content is exported. Among TV Azteca’s other businesses, its sister mobile com-munications company Iusacell will produce content directly for cell phones. Through
its Web site Todito.com, TV Azteca is also producing on-line-only content tied to its television programs.
Just like Televisa, TV Azteca’s telenove-las are seen all over the world, especially in Central and South America through Azteca 13 International, and in the United States through Telemundo, a North American Span-ish language television network. Telemundo is an entertainment and news source for His-panics worldwide with a presence in more than 70 countries. Unfortunately, TV Azteca and NBC Universal –Telemundo’s owner– have been in a long-running legal fight over a variety of issues, including intellectual prop-erty, which could cast a shadow over their strategic alliance.
TV Azteca puts out around six soap op-eras a year, half of them aired on Telemundo and most of them are co-produced or en-tirely produced by other companies such as Argos Comunicación. This particular part-nership gave birth to such massive world-
mexican actress
Salma Hayek is one of the
executive producers
of “Ugly Betty”, the US
version of the show
“La fea más bella.”
Top telenovela producers in Mexico, including Televisa,
TV Azteca and Argos productions, enjoy
a distinctive advantage over South American competitors: they can offer melodrama with
proven success and rich Mexican flavor.
cover Feature: exPort tV
All of Televisa’s Mexican TV cable channels iBandamaxDedicated to Banda, Norteño, mariachi and regional Mexican music.
Canal de las Estrellas Latinoamérica (Latin American Stars Channel) Features telenovelas, as well as comedies, kids shows and sports.
Cinema Golden Choice 1 and 2 Showcases Hollywood blockbusters and other foreign films, art house fare and independent cinema.
De PelículaShowcases Mexican films.
De Película ClásicoFeatures movies from Mexico’s golden era of filmmaking.
Ritmoson LatinoAn entertainment channel focused on Latin music, from salsa, merengue, reggaeton to pop and rock.
TL NovelasThe soap opera channel.
TelehitEntertainment channel for youth that features the latest English and Spanish music videos.
American NetworkOffers US programming like The Oprah Winfrey Show and Late Night with David Letterman.
UnicableA channel that showcases the best programming from Univision.
Source, Televisa Networks
38 Negocios phoToS: courtesy of mediamates
next year
Televisa will export two
other original series.
wide soap operas successes as “Mirada de Mujer” (A Woman’s Look), “Nada Personal” (Nothing Personal) and “Demasiado Cora-zón” (Too Much Heart).
Since then, Argos Comunicación devel-oped into one of the most important media exporters in the country. Argos signed a contract in 2001 with Telemundo to pro-duce telenovelas for the network, resulting in hits like “Gitanas” (Gypsies), “Marina” and “Mientras Haya Vida” (While There Is Life).
That success was followed by Zoom.tv, a Web site with original content. It was planned to be slowly developed into a third television station that would compete with giant contenders. Ultimately, legal issues prevented this venture from happening and the Web site eventually disappeared.
As of December 2006, Argos stopped co-producing projects with Telemundo and
signed a deal with TV Azteca to start an-other chapter of new productions. Today, Argos’ TV series “Capadocia” can be seen all over Latin America through HBO.
Televisa is currently producing remakes of TV series such as “Los Simuladores” (The Pretenders), which is transmitted in Latin America through Sony Entertainment Tele-vision and “Mujeres Asesinas” (Female As-sassins), broadcast in Latin America through AXN. Next year they will start exporting two other original series produced by them: “Sexo y Otros Secretos S.O.S.” (Sex and Other Se-crets S.O.S) and “El Pantera” (The Panther).
Top telenovela producers in Mexico, including Televisa, TV Azteca and Argos productions, enjoy a distinctive advantage over South American competitors: they can offer melodrama with proven success and rich Mexican flavor. n
40 Negocios
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SamihayekDesigning his
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Mexico’s Partner
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CinemaGuillermo Del Toroa NeW KiNg For MiDDle earth
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Fundación TeletónBroadcasting Hope
p. 48
42 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoToS: courtesy of sami hayek
As a revolutionary designer, Sami Hayek is well known for blending styles, materials and scales to create specific languages for
every one of his projects. By applying the same design principles to create silverware or constructing a park, Hayek has been able to engage in such fields as: furniture, interior, commercial & residential, landscaping and industrial design. His clients range from National Geographic to Louis Vuitton.
He was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, to Lebanese and Spanish parents. Growing up in Mexico he was exposed to rich and bright colors, flavors and textures found in traditional markets, as well as worn out facades and flower stands. He also testified how people’s creativity springs out of necessity, which has become a very important skill for him in coming up with design solutions. In addition, his contact with other countries and cultures nurtured his inventiveness. Along with technology and sophistication, Hayek’s contrasting background allows him to enjoy diversity and variety: “I like mixing styles, textures and combining materials to achieve
Designing His Environmental SuccessProduct and environmental designer Sami Hayek, brother of actress Salma Hayek, is focused on creating spaces and products that support a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. His designs are now reaching a broader audience thanks to a partnership with retail giant Target.
By alViN MoNarreZ
a unique expression for each tale. I am more interested in creating experiences than looks,” Hayek asserts.
In 1991, he was a business student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. But before completing his degree, he decided to follow his passion and transferred to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental design.
Since 2003, Hayek has run his own studio -Sami Hayek Studio- in Los Angeles, California, where he has developed a novel and multidisciplinary practice.
What does an environmental designer do?Most people believe that environmental design is all about preserving the planet, which is part of what every designer should at least contribute to. A sustainable lifestyle is not a trend but a must for everyone. Environmental design is about designing indoor and outdoor spaces to create different atmospheres and experiences.
interview: saMi hayeK
What do you enjoy most about being an environmental designer?I am very interested about what makes things look the way they do and why some people have a clear tendency toward specific objects and spaces. As an environmental designer I enjoy the ability to manipulate spaces or objects so they can have an effect on people as they experience them.
Can you tell us about the first products you designed?In the beginning I took every project that came my way –good, bad, small, large, furniture, product, residential– with the idea to learn as many skills as I could. What skills are needed in environmental design?It’s important to be able to translate a story into a space or an object. We designers have to be perceptive and open our minds to understand what’s going on around us and what today’s lifestyle needs are.
occupational lines
The first and central piece of the collection is the Ohm stool.
44 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoToS: courtesy of sami hayek
What’s your inspiration when it comes to developing products?Any topic I am interested in at the moment is a great source of inspiration. It’s much better to translate personal experiences into objects or spaces rather than to reinterpret someone else’s design.
How important is the environmental impact to create new furniture and accessories?Nowadays, we are facing a pretty different approach to the design process. Topics such as sustainability and environmental impact are important guidelines when it comes to develop new products. Designers now have the goal to work in projects with more variables in mind.
How do you complement environmental design with industrial and interior design?As an environmental designer you have the choice of unfolding spaces and industrial design objects as well. The aim is to produce an experience regardless the scale. You have to learn as much as you can about the project, the client and his or her objective. For instance, if the space has to be sexy, that alone begins revealing some colors and textures attached to that specific objective.
What kind of projects are you working on currently?There are always various projects of different scales on my desk and that is one of the things I like the most about my studio. We are doing a restaurant, a nightclub, a house from ground up including furniture, the interior of a 300 unit condo development, as well as a lamp, a rocking chair and a desk among many other things.
Do you think people and corporate firms are paying more attention to interior, industrial and environmental design?I think the attention has always been there, from the Egyptian, Greeks and the Romans to the rich and not so rich from around the world. Everybody gets to live in an environment, whatever that is. The difference is that we have more options and access to materials and services. Do you push people to like what you design? Or do you design what people ask for?When I get hired by a company to design for their clients, I do my best to stay within the edge of their parameters but making sure the project still has enough of me. There are other circumstances when I’m free to just do my thing.
What do you think is “the desire code” that makes people want to acquire or buy a certain object? We are all very much linked to our emotions and there are products that are quite successful at triggering that connection.
What do you think consumers are responding to?It is impossible to generalize. Some people are looking for functional, handsome products and there are people looking for truly unique, sophisticated one-of-a-kind objects. It depends on what market we are talking about.
Tell us about the alliance between Sami Hayek Studio and Target? Do you feel satisfied with the results?It was a great exercise of design with many interesting variables, like price point, time, quality, etc. The design criteria had to incorporate innovative design and at the same time be appealing to everyone across the country.
Have you ever wanted to do another type of work? I have always wanted to be a magician… maybe one of these days. n
01 02
01 3sum from the Ohm Collection.
02 haZZ, a design store, showroom
and gallery in Istanbul.
03 daniela another piece from
the Ohm Collection.
03
worldwide TIME
mexico city12:00 pM
The Lifestyle briefs
navigation
Luxury Sailing
melbourne5:00 pM
tourism
For those seeking adventures on the high seas Mexico has it all from relaxing to sporting experiences. With more than 10,000 kilometers of coastline, the country receives up to 8,000 foreign boats each year and has approximately 5,000 lots at 36 marinas.
Edmiston, founded in 1996, one of the leading companies operating in our country has distinguished itself for its luxury navigation services. With worldwide presence in major desti-nations like London, New York or Monte Carlo; the company sells, rents and provides mainte-nance 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the Mexican ports.
www.edmistoncompany.com
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baja california sur: a golfer’s delight
South African golf legend Gary Player’s design firm will soon open its first golf course in Mexico. The leading golf cour-se architectural firm is currently develo-ping its latest project at Costa Baja Re-sort & Marina, a 550-acre eco-friendly resort constructed by Grupo Concord and Prudential Real Estate Investors in La Paz, Baja California Sur. The 18-hole course is expected to open in the sum-mer of 2010. It will feature panoramic views of the Sea of Cortez and an in-novative design that complements the unique desert-by-the-sea landscape of the region.
www.garyplayer.com
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46 Negocios i The Lifestyle
design
tourism
Nova, a fruit bowl created by Mexican de-signer Mauricio Valdés Orozco, has been distinguished with a Red Dot Design Award, given out since 1955 by Germany’s prestigious Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. Valdés� piece competed with around 3,200 creations. The innovative piece received one of the prizes for best design in the category of house-hold accessories.
www.red-dot.de
The fruiTS of SucceSS
Mexico breeds 20
million pet fish per
year.
And the award goes to... Cancún!
Cancún has received the 2008 World Travel Award as the Best Beach Desti-nation in Central America and the Ca-ribbean. The decoration was based on votes by travel agencies and tourism entities from all around the world.
phoTo: courtesy of la cetto
LA Cetto wins 17 medals This year Mexican winery L.A. Cetto received 17 me-dals from various contests around the world such as Tasters Guild in Michigan, Vinalies Internationales in Paris, Pacific Rim Interna-tional Wine Competition in California and Bacchus U.E.C. in Madrid.
The most awarded wine this year was the Nebbiolo Reserva Priva-da 2003, with five medals and a mention of honor. This red wine with a frui-ty flavor has captivated international wine tas-ters. L.A. Cetto and its wines “with first and last name” are exam-ples of Mexico’s per-fection of the art of winemaking. Luis Alberto Cetto and his 80-year-old company can be proud of their more than 200 a w a r d s to date.
www.lacetto.com
The Lifestyle briefs
the citywinery
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Guanajuato City, the cultural capital of El Bajío region in Central Mexico, is one of the most charming destinations in the country. Its beautiful weather featu-res three climates during the year: semidry, mild and warm; and an average temperature of 17º C (62º F).
The city’s historical center, declared as Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO in 1988, is in fact one of the country’s colonial architecture jewels.
Guanajuato invites visitors to walk through its tiny streets and alleys, which have inspired all sorts of myths and legends in popular Mexican culture. Trips through the many tunnels that connect the city from one end to the other are a popular attraction too while the plazas and squares offer the best artisan work in the region.
The city also hosts cultural activities like the International Cervantino Fes-tival, which features every autumn some of the world’s best examples of con-temporary art and culture.
www.guanajuato.gob.mx
Take a walk through history in Guanajuato
48 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoTo: courtesy of teletón
In December 1978 in Chile, TV host Mario Kreutzberger, better known as “Don Francisco,” made public his commitment to support people with disabilities. This project became
known in Latin America as El Teletón (“The Telethon”).
That year, all of Chile’s media united to participate in an event that made history. They broadcasted 27 continuous hours of faith, with one purpose: bring hope to children with special needs who require costly medical treatments.
The Mexican Teletón started on December 12, 1997, when it broadcasted for 24 hours segments on the lives of children that Teletón intended to improve. Actors and celebrities from Televisa (Mexico’s biggest media company) performed to collect money used to build the first “CRIT” Spanish acronym for “Children’s Telethon Rehabilitation Center.” This initiative succeeded thanks to Fernando Landeros, now president of Fundación Teletón. In this first edition, television played a central role along with the radio stations linked or associated to Televisa, which allowed a nationwide promotion campaign.
The Teletón has grown into a yearly event and although is mainly produced by Televisa,
it is also broadcast by 500 Mexican and foreign media outlets.
“Fundación Teletón was born to provide knowledge about physical disabilities, giving a strong message about respect, equality and support to people with these conditions,” asserts Landeros.
The yearly broadcasts have become such a success that the most recent events have lasted more than 30 hours, raising more money each time. The goal has always been to obtain the same amount that was gathered the previous year plus one Mexican peso. The amount raised in Teletón’s first edition was more than 17 million usd. Every year, such goal has become a reality. The money has been used not only to build new CRITs but also to attend needs of those already functioning. Every penny people donate counts, but there are also important corporate sponsors –over 100– who help reach the expected amount each year.
The broadcast is very emotional and Mexican popular actress and pop star Lucero has been the main host for most of the editions (1997-2004). This event has been embraced by Mexico as a moment of the year in which citizens gather efforts to work
for a common cause. It also features hours of quality entertainment and a big concert as its grand finale. From 1997 to 2003, the closing event was held at the Azteca Stadium. It has changed venues since then. In 2004 and 2005 it was held at Mexico City’s Zócalo; in 2006 at the Foro Sol; in 2007 it was moved to the National Auditorium; and in 2008 it was held in National Auditorium.
The 2005 Teletón was held to gather funds for victims of Hurricane Wilma, which hit the Yucatan Peninsula, causing more than 7 billion usd damages and killing eight people. That year, more than 9.2 million usd was raised.
Geography has been the main guideline for choosing the locations of the eleven CRITs Each one tries to cover as wide an area as possible. The hope in the next few years is to achieve having one per state. Some were built in a particular state or area only because of the generous donations made by their residents, such as Quintana Roo, or the area of Nezahualcóyotl, located in the outskirts of Mexico City.
CRITs in other states:
Estado de México - May 13, 1999•Jalisco - September 29, 2000•
Fundación Teletón, Broadcasting Hope FUNDacióN teletóN has createD a large NetWorK oF hoPe aMoNg MexicaN haNDicaPPeD chilDreN, ProMisiNg a NeW cliNic each year iN DiFFereNt cities, Where chilDreN FroM loW-iNcoMe FaMilies caN get Free treatMeNt For VarioUs DisaBilities.
By yara sÁNcheZ De la BarqUera ViDal
FeedBack: teletóN
Oaxaca - December 7, 2001•Aguascalientes - December 6, 2002•Coahuila - December 5, 2003•Guanajuato - December 5, 2003•Hidalgo - November 25, 2005•Chihuahua - November 23, 2006•Chiapas - November 28, 2006•Tabasco- November 06, 2008•
Since 2007, donations have also come from foreign countries like Spain. But the Hispanic populations of the United States and Canada are the main contributors for these donations. The last Teletón campaign took place December 5 and 6, 2008 and raised around 33 million usd.
The Teletón’s values:
1. To promote national unity through our cultural core values.2. To promote a culture of integration in favor of people with disabilities. 3. To build and manage rehabilitation centers for underage and handicapped children. 4. To support other institutions who also work to provide hope and a better future to disabled children. n
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Fernando Landeros, President of Fundación Teletón, Placing the first stone at the CRIT
Center in Chiapas, A baby receiving medical treatment at one of the CRIT Centers.
tion challenge ever undertaken by a Latin American filmmaker. Del Toro has moved to New Zealand to shoot the films and work at Jackson’s Weta production facilities.
What has made Del Toro’s imagination
stand out from the boisterous chorus of world cinema? If one had to sum it up in a few words, it would be unique and uncom-promising. His array of aesthetic obsessions includes ancient machinery, clocks, insects, Catholic symbols with a Lovecraftian twist, and a Shelley-like compassion toward mon-strous creatures. For him, beauty can lay in those beings despised and looked down upon by society; and truth can find fantas-tic ways of showing itself, maybe through the words of a mysterious creature —Pan’s Labyrinth— or by the unorthodox heroics of a demon summoned by the Nazis and res-
50 Negocios i The Lifestyle
If one had to sum it up in a few words, it would be unique and
uncompromising.
Among such visionaries as the US elected president Barack Obama or Apple mogul Steve Jobs, the Esquire magazine
editorial board, singled out the artistic mind of Guillermo Del Toro within its list of most influential personalities of this century.
The Mexican filmmaker and ar-tiste extraordinaire has taken the film industry by storm since his debut film Cronos (1992) enjoyed a healthy run in the festival circuit, where he was compared to artists as di-verse as Edgar Allan Poe and cult director Mario Bava (Black Sunday). Half a dozen films and almost 15 years later, El Gordo, as he is known, is now one of the power players in the industry. He is about to un-dertake the epic adaptation of J.R.R Tol-kien’s classic novel The Hobbit, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson’s grandiose and now classic fantasy fran-chise. The Hobbit –which will be divided into two films- is bound to become one of the biggest blockbusters of all time and it certainly represents the biggest produc-
guillermo del toroa new king for middle earth
Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro has achieved both academic and commercial success with a creative, uncompromising work. He is currently taking on his biggest challenge: shooting
two anticipated films based on Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit.
By césar alBarrÁN torres
cued by an American professor —Hellboy and Hellboy II—. The one and only time he has made concessions was his Hollywood debut, Mimic (1997), a movie about giant roaches that roam New York’s subway sys-
tem. Del Toro has described the expe-rience as a gruesome ordeal. It was the first time he had to follow studio rules and play the Hollywood game. The film, which starred Mira Sorvino, was a commercial and artistic flop —although its many, if not evident, qualities, are being reconsidered by
film buffs—. But it taught Del Toro a valuable lesson: never let go of your artistic freedom.
Strictly following this basic, but hard to come by rule, Del Toro has embarked on a journey that has established him as the alpha male of a strange pack in Hollywood –one that includes filmmakers such as Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspect, the first two X-Men movies) and Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight). He’s a direc-tor who can inhabit both the realm of the blockbuster and that of the auteur. When studios take in a young, restless talent, more personal films by that filmmaker are
phoTo: arturo campos cedillo
cinema: gUillerMo Del toro
inFluential personality
Esquire magazine single out the artistic mind of
Guillermo Del Toro.
harder to come by. But Del Toro has built two different careers: one where his vision has been seen in huge multiplex cinemas and the other which has invaded art house theaters around the world.
After the Mimic fiasco, Del Toro traveled to Spain and filmed his first take on the hor-rors of the Spanish Civil War. El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil’s Backbone, 2001) starred legendary actors Marisa Paredes and Federico Luppi. It was a huge step for-
ward for Del Toro as an artist and it solidi-fied his fantastic imagery. The story, about a child’s ghost in a sinister orphanage and the abuses committed by one of the institu-tion’s caretakers, dug deep into Del Toro’s idea of evil. The film won international ac-claim and it lead to perhaps his best film to date, Pan’s Labyrinth, which chronicled
52 Negocios i The Lifestyle
tail oF
the whale.
Del Toro turned down a chance to direct the blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to make Pan’s Labyrinth. In the end, his decision proved to be right.
a young girl’s rite of passage in the midst of the madness of Francisco Franco’s regime in Spain. Del Toro turned down a chance to direct the blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Ward-robe to make Pan’s Labyrinth. In the end, his decision proved to be right. Pan’s Labyrinth was nominated for the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and later for five Os-cars, taking home three of them. That same year the films of his friends Alfonso Cuarón
(Children of Men) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel) were also nominated for several Oscars. After the 2007 Academy Awards, they came to be known as “The Three Amigos.” They now own a produc-tion company, Cha Cha Cha, which recently produced the Mexican soccer tragicomedy Rudo y Cursi and will soon release a film
by Colombian director Rodrigo García, son of Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez. Recently, Del Toro has also been an ener-getic promoter of new talent, producing the Spanish film The Orphanage and the Mexi-can drama Cosas insignificantes, starring starlet Bárbara Mori.
Before Pan’s Labyrinth, Del Toro had al-ready proven capable of directing cutting-edge Hollywood flicks. His Hellboy franchise, based on a comic book series by Mike Mi-gnola starred one of his favorite actors, Ron Perlman –probably the least likely lead for a big bucks franchise. The film raised eye-brows in the Comic-Con crowd and served as an example for brainy superhero movies. Even though his sensibility is clearly Catholic in its moral interpretation of good vs. evil, his vision is truly universal. Unlike idiosyncratic filmmakers such as González Iñárritu, he’s not constrained by the clichés of the Mexi-can film industry, too often preoccupied with the local social agenda and held back by the limits of melodrama.
Guillermo Del Toro is certainly of a breed that is hard to find: an artist extraordinaire with a taste for the seemingly impossible. n
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cinema: gUillerMo Del toro
“the three amigos”
founded after the 2007 Academy Awards their ownproduction company named Cha Cha Cha.
54 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoTo: courtesy of canana films
During the Mexican Cinema Golden Age –30s to 60s decades– films produced in the country enjoyed success through-out Latin America. Stars like Pedro Infante promoted a depiction of what it was like to be Mexican and it soon gained popularity all over the world.
In that time, many production compa-nies were born, including Alameda Films. It produced classics as Tiempo de morir (Time to Die) and Principio y fin (Beginning and End) –winner of the Golden Conch Award in San Sebastián Film Festival– as well as El callejón de los milagros (The Alley of Miracles), the most awarded film in the history of Mexican cinema, which launched the career of actress Salma Hayek.
Founded in 1948 by director Alfredo Ripstein, Alameda became one of the
The Mexican Moviemaking Experiencefrom its golden age to contemporary creations, mexican cinema has won worldwide recognition –and box office success! some of its newer production companies, such as canana films, founded by actors diego luna and gael garcía, place their lenses in latin america.
By aNtoNio caMarillo
country’s most important and prolific film studios. It has produced more than 120 films and helped promoting the careers of such national film personalities as Emilio “El Indio” Fernández, Jorge Fons and Ar-turo Ripstein. One of its most recent stars is Carlos Carrera, whose film El crimen del padre Amaro (The Crime of Padre Ama-ro) became one of the most successful films in the history of national cinema. It earned more than 160 million pesos (about 16 million usd) at the box office and was nominated as best foreign film by both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.
As a matter of fact, new companies and innovative filmmaking have emerged bringing a breath of fresh air. Mexican producers unit-ed forces to create firms like Altavista Films, which was born out of a business venture be-
tween billionaire mogul Carlos Slim and Cor-poración Interamericana de Entretenimiento (the Interamerican Entertainment Corpora-tion, CIE). Altavista aimed to distribute local films in Mexico, Latin America, Spain and the United States and it is responsible for produc-ing such world renowned films as Amores Perros (Love Is a Bitch) and Todo el poder (All the Power) as well as recent hits Malos hábitos (Bad Habits) and Arráncame la vida (Tear Out My Life).
Other production companies like Anhelo, owned by Omnilife proprietor Jorge Verga-ra; the Tequila Gang, founded by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro; and Lemon Films, producer of Matando cabos (Killing Cabos), and KM 31, Mexico’s biggest box office hit in 2007, have ensured that national cinema has an au-dience both inside and outside the country.
cinema: MexicaN ProDUcers
déFicit
a film on social classes contrasts
and family gatherings.
56 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoToS: courtesy of canana films/warner bros.
The challenge: making films for MexicoAmong the newer production companies, Canana Films –founded by actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal and produc-er Pablo Cruz– stands out. It is dedicated to developing projects originating in Latin America and with international diffusion.
Luna and García Bernal have not only fo-cused on their acting careers but have also worked to promote the country’s cinema. The experience the two –who are now di-rectors– have acquired from working in other parts of the world has inspired them to try and create a bridge between the Spanish language public and other audiences. This is a formula that has resulted in such films as Drama/Mex, written and directed by Gerar-do Naranjo and produced in association with Revolcadero Films and IMCINE. In 2006, the film was selected for the Cannes Film Festi-val’s International Critics’ Week section.
“We opened Canana with the intention of making films that we liked, films that would have a distinctive voice, the voice of the director, that would reflect somewhat the interests and reality in the country” as-serted Pablo Cruz. The great challenge that Mexican filmmakers, such as the creators
01 drama/mex Fernanda in a still
from the movie.
02 drama/mex two interlaced stories
unfold over the course of the same long,
hot day in Acapulco.
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of Canana Films, face no longer revolves around having their movies appreciated abroad. It is consolidating an industry that is trying to make sure its cinema is also popu-lar with Mexican audiences. This effort was highlighted by the film Sexo, pudor y lágri-mas (Sex, Shame and Tears) from Argos Productions which is in fact credited with transforming the telenovela (soap opera) genre in Mexico, moving it away from con-ventional melodrama and having it touch on political and social themes in productions such as Mirada de mujer (A Woman’s Look) and Nada personal (Nothing Personal).
“More authentic and personal stories will have better success” Cruz asserts “They often don’t work 100% of the time in Mexico, but they do well abroad. People in China, Russia and Turkey identify with them. I think that is part of the objective as well: to take our stories, whether they are
from Mexico or Latin America, so that all audiences can see them.”
Canana has a first look deal with North American producer Focus Features for the development and production of feature films. “We created Canana with the goals of making a different kind of cinema, a cinema that is not necessarily seen every day, and taking risks that aren’t taken every day” Cruz added “I believe we have done that.”
However, Canana –which has also pro-duced the directorial debuts of Diego Luna with the boxing documentary JC Chávez and Gael García Bernal with the feature film Dé-ficit)– still has much to do. Fortunately, their effort has counted on the support of organiza-tions and individuals like the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE), or the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACUL-TA). “We are part of a rediscovery of Mexican cinema” Cruz states “More than a new wave,
cinema: MexicaN ProDUcers
Bajo la sal
one of the biggest Mexican cinema productions of the last year.
what we have here is a rediscovery, a revision of our cinema. Little by little, these filmmakers have taken control into their hands.”
Whether or not a film finds box office suc-cess, the benefits of this resurgence in Mexi-can cinema is clear and extends to all involved in this process. “In a two million dollar film, more or less 70% of its budget goes to local costs. It generates an economy” Cruz said.
This figure is without a doubt very at-tractive to the country’s economy. And it’s a message for all those interested in investing in cinema through the fiscal in-centives promoted by IMCINE.
According to Pablo Cruz: “In the end, you know you are creating cinema for dif-ferent reasons but what is most valuable is the director’s voice, the individuality of the story and that you try to make it univer-sal…If the box office doesn’t work, at least the story leaves some legacy.” n
58 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoToS: courtesy of ambulante gira de documentales
Many people still regard the World Film Review in Acapulco as the main reference for film events in Mexico. However, the
cinema festival scene has grown enor-mously in the last few years. This has in-creased the country’s cultural and recrea-tional offer and has strengthened a very at-tractive market of the world’s film industry. Fair examples of this are showcases such as the International Film Festival in Guada-lajara –now in its 23rd edition– or Morelia Film Festival, which, in only six years has become the fastest growing attraction of national film festivals.
Every year new film events are added to the list, including Monterrey and Acapulco Interna-tional Film Festivals or the Short Film Festival in Guanajuato City and San Miguel de Allende.
New interesting projects like the In-ternational Contemporary Film Festival in Mexico City (FICCO) have also flourished in recent years. FICCO was created as a way to look after those filmmakers who had no places to show their movies and movie-goers who had very few opportunities to watch non-commercial films from around the world. While there were a couple of festivals that had been around for a whi-le, it was not enough. “There were no real offerings of art films or alternative or Eu-ropean cinema,” asserted Paula Astorga,
FilM FestiVals, a groWiNg MarKetMexico has become a major player on the film festival circuit with showcases such as International Contemporary Film Festival in Mexico City and Morelia Film Festival garnering worldwide attention.
By aNtoNio caMarillo
founder and former director of FICCO. “We didn’t know who we were doing this
for or who was going to see it. But we knew that in Mexico City there wasn’t an actual space for promotion or a concern for crea-ting a new audience. An organized public was also lacking” Astorga added.
FICCO is more than a movie showcase. The festival also hosts music shows, art
exhibits and outdoor movie presentations. Such business pattern was in fact the first of its type as the festival is sponsored by the movie theater chain Cinemex. “The fes-tival started as an independent project with support from the business sector, which was pretty exceptional. The great festivals of the world –including Berlin, Toronto and Rotterdam– are always projects by local governments,” Astorga said.
Five years after its creation, FICCO is
among the main movie festivals in the country and one of the best known around the world. Its last edition had Denmark’s Queen Marga-ret II as special guest and it doubled its first year’s attendance: “We started with 40,000 people and in the fifth edition we had 82,000 participants. It is a project that grew and really found its audience” Astorga concluded.
The festival has become one of Mexico City’s main cultural attractions offering the best of world cinema.
All flavors for all tastes Film festivals and showcases in Mexico are not the exclusive domain of big cities nor are they limited to art films. Their offer is diverse and extensive.
For Pablo Guisa Koestinger, director of Mórbido, the International Festival of Fantasy and Horror Films, the event offered an oppor-tunity to showcase alternative movies: “The idea came because of the lack of spaces to see horror films in Mexico and our desire to not only show movies, but also gather in the same forum all the directors whom we want to work with,” commented Guisa Koestin-ger, who is also a movie producer.
Mórbido takes place in Tlalpujahua, Michoacán, a town in central Mexico. The festival was inspired by the Sitges Fest that has been taking place in Catalunya, Spain for over 42 years. “The town lives the whole year for the festival,” said Gui-
“There were different publics ready
to be conquered, which opens markets. Five years ago, there were
about eight film festivals, today there are around
42,” Astorga said.
cinema: FilM FestiVals
sa Koestinger, referring to the festival’s growth: “With Mórbido the main benefit is for the community because by organizing an international festival we are promoting the town around the world as a tourist destination”.
The horror festival was able to overco-me the challenge of being a niche festival, which was likely considering its theme. In its first edition, fall this year, the festi-val brought together filmmakers from Ar-gentina, Spain and Germany. “During the festival’s four days we had more than 6,000 people. Usually a festival in its first year lacks attendance” said Guisa Koes-tinger who also added: “We were able to get private companies interested while emphasizing that this is a 100% Mexican project, organized by Mexicans to promo-te our film and highlight our traditions and culture”.
The future: between cultural and business opportunitiesProjects like these have demonstrated that Mexico has both the interest and the con-ditions to host world class festivals. Some of these include the Short Shorts Film Fes-
Morelia international film festival
iCinépolis is behind one of the most im-portant national cinema festivals. Fes-tival de Cine de Morelia, which holds strong links to Cannes and fosters the creation and distribution of Mexican movie throughout the world.
Led by Daniela Michel, the festival aims to promote new Mexican talent as well as the richness of the state of Michoacán, particularly the city of Mo-relia, a cultural landmark according to UNESCO.
The festival’s program includes ca-tegories such as Mexican short films, documentaries and a selection of wor-ks from the Cannes Film Festival. It also showcases international premie-res, outdoor movie projections, tribu-tes to filmmakers, Mexican film mas-ters retrospectives, short films from Michoacán, short films for children, American films based on immigration and transnational themes, a short film screenwriting contest, exhibits, confe-rences and many other activities.
www.moreliafilmfest.com
01 the great happiness space still
from the documental.
02 up the yangtZe picture by director Yung Chang.
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60 Negocios i The Lifestyle
tival, which has also had screenings in Los Angeles and Singapore, and the Morelia Film Fest which showcases cinema from the International Critics’ Week of the Can-nes Film Festival.
“There were different publics ready to be conquered, which opens markets. Five years ago, there were about eight film fes-tivals, today there are around 42,” Astor-ga said. This might have been the reason for many sponsors to support this type of event. This cultural phenomenon builds ni-che markets. There are very complicated targets for these brands. These are people who want to be different –intellectuals, co-llege students. That is why these festivals, while giving a brand the opportunity to be associated with cultural and entertainment values, have an intellectual charge and are an excellent promotion tool” said Astorga, who is now working on projects like “Aquí se filmó” and “Cinema global,” this last one will be participating on the Festival de México in Centro Histórico. n
phoToS: courtesy of ambulante gira de documentales
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01 the 11th hour during production.
02 centravanti nato still from the film.
03 la gran venta during production.
04 el externante a piece from the documental.
destination: MexicaN locatioNs
Lights, Camera, Location!siNce the 1950s, Mexico has attracteD FilM ProDUcers aND Directors FroM aroUND the WorlD. the coUNtry oFFers MaNy BeNeFits, FroM coMPetitiVe costs to aMaZiNg NatUral aND historical locatioNs.
By eMMaNUel lóPeZ-lóPeZ
Filmmaking around the world seems unstoppable. And films produced in Mexi-co don’t seem to stop earning awards and positive reviews either. In addition the country shares with the world great direc-ting talents such as: Alejandro González Iñárritu-Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Ba-bel-, who in 2006 became the first Mexi-can nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director; Guillermo del Toro -Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy and coming soon The Hobbit-; and Alfonso Cuarón -Y tu mamá también, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men.
Every year, thanks to a prolific national film industry, more and more foreign produc-tions find in Mexico the perfect location, the
appropriate infrastructure, technology as well as the technical and professional experience needed for feature-length films, short films, commercial and music videos production.
For nearly 60 years, Mexico has served as a film set for the most diverse foreign films. The beauty of its landscape and cities of unique architecture have provided the at-mosphere for films of all genres, from clas-sics like Susana (1951) or A Woman With-out Love (1952), directed by Luis Buñuel, to large scale productions like Titanic or the action thriller Vantage Point.
In the 1960s, directors like John Hus-ton and Sam Peckinpah found the perfect settings for their westerns. Those were the years when actors like Paul Newman and
John Wayne were enchanted by the natu-ral beauty of the places where they filmed. Shooting films in Mexican soil has turned into such a positive experience that it has even boosted tourism. For instance, the 1964 film The Night of the Iguana, filmed on Mismaloya Beach along the Pacific Coast, made such an impression that the location soon became a celebrity holiday favorite.
Mexico’s reputation as filmmaking desti-nation has been built on beauty that extends throughout its territory, as well as its great variety of climates, vegetation, archaeologi-cal zones, cities and environments. All these charms made possible the setting for films like Troy (2004), starring Brad Pitt and Orlan-
62 Negocios i The Lifestyle phoTo: courtesy of columbia pictures
do Bloom and directed by Wolfgang Peter-sen. This was also the case of Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson and shot in tropical climates among the magnificent Mayan ruins in Yucatán; and the Orson Welles clas-sic The Lady from Shanghai (1948), mostly shot along Acapulco’s bays.
The vast and diverse settings in the coun-try have permitted filmmakers to faithfully reproduce the look and feel of innumerable cities around the world, from a denseness atmosphere in Ecuador for Crónicas (2004), to the Chilean jungles in Missing (1982) and the Colombian adventurous scenery in Ro-mancing the Stone (1984).
In Baz Luhrman’s Romeo+Juliet (1996), the Chapultepec Castle, the beaches of Ve-racruz and a church in Mexico City helped re-creating the Italian city of Verona achieving the set for this modern version of Shakespeare’s
classic. Rosarito Beach in Baja California tur-ned into the frosty blue waters of the North Atlantic for 1997’s Titanic directed by James Cameron. Whereas in Pete Travis, Vantage Point (2008), the film crew found in Mexico City everything needed to reconstruct Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, Spain.
Since the 1980s, the northeastern state of Durango has been known as the “Land of Cinema” due to the wide range of films shot there. Productions in Durango include Cave-man (1981), starring Ringo Starr; Revenge (1990), with Kevin Costner; Matador (2005), with Pierce Brosnan; and Bandidas (2006), with Penélope Cruz and Salma Hayek. This has also been the perfect location for televi-sion films, such as the US production The Li-brarian for TNT and Hispanic soap operas like Sin tetas no hay paraíso (Without Breasts There Is No Paradise), which has invested
01 vantage point a thriller filmed entirely in
Mexican locations.
02 a still From the film Vantage Point.
03 mexico city became Salamanca during Vantage Point.
04 mexican locations reconstruct Plaza Mayor in
Salamanca, Spain.
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Most Popular Film Locations in Mexico
nMexico CityDurangoSan Luis PotosíBaja CaliforniaSan Carlos, SonoraVeracruzQuintana Roo
destination: MexicaN locatioNs
more than 300,000 usd in the state. Currently being made is such eagerly awaited film as Dragon Ball, based on the Japanese man-ga series and which production has invested around 7 million usd in Durango.
According to Kevin Trehy, Warner Brothers executive producer, the true value to Mexico as film location is that communities where these productions take place benefit from the services and products supplied by local busi-nesses. In addition, some film shoots are also willing to employ residents for multiple tasks. Production costs are reduced by one-fourth in Mexico without diminishing any quality. An example is the film Troy, which contributed 33 million usd to the Baja California economy. Thus, Mexico has become a live set for world cinema, enriched by the talent and capability of its people. n
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mexico has
become a live setfor world cinema.
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Itinerary Documentary Tour 2009 Ambulante Gira de Documentales 2009www.ambulante.com.mx February 6 to april 9, 2009
5th International Universitary Film Festival Kinoki 2009(Festival Internacional de Cine Universitario Kinoki 2009) www.festivalkinoki.com Mexico City - Universidad Iberoamericana February 16 to 20, 2009
6th Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival(6to. Festival Internacional de Cine Contemporáneo de la Ciudad de México) (FICCO 2009) www.ficco.com.mx Mexico City - Various Cinemex Theater February 17 to March 1, 2009
4th International Acapulco Film(4° Festival Internacional de Cine) Acapulco (FICA) www.ficaacapulco.comAcapulco, Guerrero March 4 to 10, 2009
24th Guadalajara International Film Festival(XXIV Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara )www.guadalajaracinemafest.com Guadalajara, Jalisco March 19 to 27, 2009
11th International Film Festival(Onceavo Festival Internacional de Cine) www.expresionencorto.comGuanajuato and San Miguel de Allende July 18 to 27, 2009
4th Monterrey International Film Festival (4to. Festival Internacional de Cine de Monterrey) www.monterreyfilmfestival.com Monterrey, Nuevo León August 15 to 23, 2009
Short Shorts Film Festival Mexico www.shortshortsfilmfestivalmexico.com September 3 to 10, 2009
Third Mexico City International Documentary Film Festival(III Festival Internacional de Cine Documental de la Ciudad de México)(DOCSDF) www.docsdf.com September 25 to October 4, 2009
6th International Morelia Film Festival (6to. Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia) www.moreliafilmfest.com Morelia, Michoacán October 4 to 12, 2009
Most important Film Festivals in Mexico
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