In the early ’60s my abuelo was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Risk raising his family under a newly revolutionized authoritarian regime or forfeit all his assets to the state and flee his homeland with his family, and start from scratch in a foreign country.  No matter the choice - risk was unavoidable.  It was a bet on your country or a bet on your family.  Broken down like that the answer was obvious.  So in 1964, my family fled Cuba bound for New York City to rebuild a life that was taken from them…

After years of repairing shoes and cleaning offices at night, my abuelo saved up enough money to open his own business and pick up where he left off in Cuba: owning & operating a movie theater.  He named it “El Astrál,” after a popular theater in La Habana.  He chose to screen American classics with Spanish subtitles, something that was very hard to find in those days, making the cinema experience more inclusive for his community.  And so it became a staple for the Latino community in Washington Heights.

I don’t think my abuelo ever imagined there would be a filmmaker in the family, but as fate would have it filmmaking became my passion.  After many years of working my way up in the industry, I find myself in a position to tell impactful stories and create change through the power of film.  It is with his legacy in mind that I started El Astrál Studios, with a focus on telling stories that build bridges between communities and open people’s perspectives.

-Evan M. Rodríguez