Salma Hayek and Jose Tamez discuss their motives and inspirations behind producing El Sabor de la Navidad, a Spanish-language Christmas movie, directed by Alejandro Lozano.
The movie weaves together three distinct tales of families and friends who struggle to decide which is more important: tradition or progress.
“We enjoy what we do, and we take pride in what we do,” Hayek Pinault expresses her feelings about what she does at Ventanarosa.
“The last project we did, Santa Evita, I think we won everything, no, Pepe?” referring to Ventanarosa’s 2022 Hulu original winning over a dozen awards.
Ventanarosa is Salma Hayek and Jose Tamez’s production company, which is behind El Sabor de la Navidad as well.
Hayek says she and Tamez “believe in projects that represent the community in the right way, but also makes them think, makes them feel proud of who we are.”
“And we do it under very challenging budgets,” she added.
Likewise, Hayek Pinault and Tamez’s El Sabor de la Navidad addresses several contemporary issues, including class inequality, trans acceptance, and reaching a generation that is primarily online.
“Sometimes when it’s a family member, you have to accept first, and then understand,” Hayek says about one of the movie’s plots, when a mother (Mónica Dionne) decides to take her transsexual daughter Penelope to Christmas dinner, trying to learn to accept her.
“But it’s important to go towards that second step, so you’re not tolerating a loved one, but totally loving someone,” the actress-producer adds.