The City of Angels

So it’s been a while since I have posted on here! Lots of stuff going on…

I moved to LA!! I can’t believe I actually did it… it was a bold move. But I guess if you are chasing your dreams, you have to make bold moves.

Since I have been here, I have been doing “Background Talent” gigs, work as a Make-Up Artist, Model gigs and some commercials. I am anxious to get home for the Holidays, and also the film work slows down here around that time. When I come back in January things will pick back up for pilot season. I am soooo looking forward to that!

This was the best move I could’ve made for myself. I am just LOVING LA! I will try my best to keep up with this blog especially if any new stuff comes in:)

So far, the celebrities I have seen in person include:
Jamie Kennedy – took a photo w me!
Steve O from Jack Ass – Said I was “So Beautiful!”
Sharon Osborne
Jack Osborne
Sara Gilbert
Fran Dresher
Doctor Drew
DMX
Allyson Felix
Wayne Brady

Those are all the ones I can think of right now

It’s truly been an adventure… and I have only been here 6 weeks! I am excited to see what the New Year has in store for me. I promised myself I will work super hard and I won’t stop until I accomplish my goal of becoming a WORKING ACTOR

KCWX TV Show-Drag Wars

Contrary to first impressions “Drag Wars” is actually a San Antonio based cable TV show about drag racing and not about Drag Queens! 210 TV Corp. produced the show and I was one of several rotating hosts for the show. The show has since been taken over by a separate production company so my 6 month(ish) stint with the show has come and gone. But that’s okay I’ve got other stuff in the works

Here are some freeze frames of me from the editing bay. One of them looks like I’m serenading that guy!

Yay! I think I am all caught up on my posts! Catch me on FB, Twitter or my website for now

www.valeriegarza.com

Not always on camera…

Most of the work I get to do is in front of the camera. I am pretty grateful for that! That is, after all, why I am in this business. Pursuing my dreams of being an Entertainment or Fashion Journalist has had its ups and downs but along the way I meet so many amazing people with similar dreams and visions and I am thankful to participate in anything that will help me along in my journey.

I wanted to post a couple of photos of different projects I have worked on that were not necessarily in front of the camera. Well at least not an A cam!

This is probably the most important to me. I worked on a project for the San Antonio Youth Centers through an assignment I had to do for my last year of college. I had to interview 24 young children that were a part of the Youth centers so i could create a book about their success stories. The book was then published by the Tejeda Agency, which is run by my dear friend, Marco Guerrero and promoted by Arispe PR, which is run by ANOTHER dear friend, Rudy Arispe. Thanks Marco and Rudy for helping to make this happen for me. Here is what the book looks like:

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The Next and actually most recent project i worked on was again with the UT Health Science Center’s video dept. They were working with HEB on the Buddy/Body Adventure. There were 13 “buddies” all working toward the same goal of becoming healthier by working out and also eating healthier. As a Production Assistant/Producer I interviewed all the buddies for the documentary we were putting together.

Here are some photos of me directing on set

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Last Summer I go to Host the FEVER Fashion show which was actually a fundraiser for the organization Oceana. The BP oil spill had been all over the news so Gina Garcia, of SAFashionista.com produced the show, just in time.

Here is a pic of me doin’ my Emcee thang! (I love my pal, Mattie in the background! lol)

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Oh and here is a random photo of me doing my first runway show! (hehe) It was a few years back

Film photos

To catch you up on some of the work I have done in recent indie films, I say you check out my talent resume on my website Lots of stuff. I just wanted to take a second to list some photos from random work I have done in the local film community as of the last 6 months or so.

Here is me as “Young Margarita” in a film called Meeting You Again. It was produced by the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. The film will be used as a tool (one of the tools!) to help illustrate the dangers of Alzheimer’s disease to medical students.

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Another film I have been kind of in the works with is called “Through to the Surface” being produced by Steel Reel Productions. The film is still in pre-production, but here are some photos from the read through.

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One more film that I participated in recently was with film maker Joshua Thomas. He is working on a film called “Erase Away.” He is an excellent young director, and I look forward to seeing his progress in the local film world.

So I played a drunken party girl with one line: Is the party over? LOL! Besides filming in desert like temperatures, it was a fun experience. The film is still actually being shot and will probably wrap late summer. Here is Josh Coaching me on what my “motivation” should be.

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Even though this is not exactly FILM per se, I wanted to list some photos from the .COM commercial I worked on with Rod Guajardo. I do think he is an AMAZING and “Film Forward” director that is really leaving his mark in the San Antonio Film community and hopefully will make his way into the bigger L.A. Leagues soon. Hollywood is definitely amiss as long as he is in San Antonio.

Here are photos from the commercial

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Hmmmmm…?? What Else?? Oh yeah!! The “Crazy Artist” Pilot! Here are some photos and the trailer! Enjoy!

 

Getting my video vixen on…

So its been a while since my last post, and I want to try and get back into the habit of posting about my random happenings. To do this, I will start by going back about 6 months.

I got the opportunity to be the lead in AJ Hernz Music video “All Night Long.” When I met with AJ and Brian Ramirez of iRez Productions I didnt really know what I was in for. AJ Hernz had to be the sweetest guy ever! I had talked to him on the phone before hand and we discussed wardrobe and what I would wear for the video (a sexy little black dress and some lingerie!) and also just to get to know each other before our steamy vid scene.

For being thrown into a scantily clad romantic moment, AJ was very professional and coached me through it. Everyone on board was a professional! When I saw the entire video upon its completion, I was thrilled to see that the scene was done in very good taste, thanks to iRez Productions. Here is the vid:

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So the other video I got to be a part of was for a band called TensionSpeak. The video was directed by Rod Guajardo of Four Sandy Feet Productions. I’d met Rod from working together on the CreditProp commercial. This video was super fun to shoot because I got to work with Rod again and also Ryan Herrera who was my co star in a film we had done the year prior.

I played the part of cheating wife! Here is the video:

I am glad to say that I am officially part of the video vixen club! LOL. Hope you enjoyed the vids

210TV-Behind the Scenes with SA Fashionista

So I just realized I hadn’t listed all the cool stuff I have been doing with 210TV.com ! I help out as an extra host along with GIna Garcia who is the creator and also host for the show “Behind the Scenes with S.A. Fashionista.” Here is the last episode I shot at Duo for the Kiss me on the Runway Fashion show.

We also hit up the IMAGINE Fashion Event for the International Academy of Design and Technology runway show, hosted by Project Runway’s Nick Verreos.

210TV.Com interview with Project Runway's Nick Verreos

January Trends Issue…

Behind the Scenes for Heloise's photoshoot for January Trends Issue.

Glad to say I was a part of the behind the scenes fun for the Trends January issue! Heloise changes up her look for the new year, and I got it all on video! Here is the link to the article by Michael Quintanilla.

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/trends/2010/01/heloise-gets-fab-haircut.html#more

Interview with the Dog Men Poets

As I near the end of my long awaited senior year in college, I have come upon some great opportunities! I got to meet Cookie Johnson, and the national columnist,  Heloise (Helpful hints from Heloise) and interview some great up and coming artists like the Dog Men Poets. Here is a video of my interview with them. Production and Editing by me. 

NSIDE Magazine

I couldn’t have been luckier to have gotten acquainted with Eliot Garza of NSIDE Magazine in San Antonio! He is such a inspiration to so many people. He has become a great friend, and I was honored when he asked me to be NSIDE’s Style and Substance feature for their 2009 November Gala Issue!

November Gala Issue

 

My Spread in NSIDE Mag!!

 

4 Page Spread

S.A. Life

I’ve been a little behind in my posts! I meant to put this up earlier. I am actually doing my internship at the San Antonio Express-News newspaper. It is the number one paper in the city for Print media, and is a Hearst-Corporation company. I have had the honor of working with some great reporters, and was even MORE honored when I was asked to participate in a Halloween Fashion shoot for the October 29th issue of S.A. Life-a lifestyle and entertainment section.

You can imagine my excitement when they decided to use MY Zombie photo from the shoot as the COVER of S.A. Life!  Here I am!

Valerie Garza as "Zombie" on the COVER of S.A. Life

Spoooooky!!! I LOVED this day! I couldn’t have been more ecstatic