Celebrate La Familia with Cholula

From the moment she won the Cholula hot sauce project that would be her first outing with US production company Easy Mondays, Latina filmmaker Alina Montero sensed there was more to La Familia than the title of the spot. 

“To team up with Easy Mondays is like being on a trip with a bunch of cool-geek-responsible-foodie friends who push everything to make the production process into the most perfect, unforgettable adventure you've ever had,” she says now. “They're careful and precise but also warm and always cheery.” “La Familia” - infused with warmth and laughter of its own, plus mouthwatering dishes, is one of two spots created via Fitzco and produced by Easy Mondays for Cholula (the other is Shake). The campaign celebrates Cholula’s authentic Mexican heritage, as its signature wood-capped bottle is passed from kitchen to kitchen, and table to table, in homes and restaurants.

“I'm a cook, my mother is a great cook, and my grandma was too,” relates Montero, who grew up in a filmmaking family. “Food is one of my main passions and part of my creative life. Food brings people together and always makes beautiful things happen on screen: laughs, jokes, tender situations, and even debates or controversies. All human feelings can naturally flow around the table, and capturing them is always a delight! My approach to shooting food is genuine and naturalistic; of course, it always looks delicious and mouthwatering, but what makes that happen is the magic of reality: not being afraid of crumbs and drips, huge bites, and beautiful accidents. The more authentic, the more delicious it will always be!”

“Alina’s commitment and passion is evident in every frame,” says Easy Mondays Founder/EP Asori Soto, who announced the addition of Montero to the company roster. “And it was wonderful to collaborate with the Fitzco team. They cared about the heart and soul of this spot as much as Alina did, and that's why we ended up with such a beautiful film.” 

Montero says that working “with a team of clients and creatives diverse as America itself was, for me, a rewarding experience, where the vision of this project was enriched with different cultural backgrounds that brought to life a campaign that shares Mexican tradition from a very contemporary, diverse, and fresh look. This project was full of fun, laughs, cooperation, and a great effort to communicate and brilliantly share a fantastic product. It was a delight to be part of it. I hope this campaign brings flavour, colour, and a little spice to anyone who sees it!”

“To establish our aesthetic look, some classic photographers like William Eggleston and the food photography of Stephen Shore came to my mind. But I was particularly inspired by Alex Webb, who has photographed Mexico in a genuine, colourful, and super attractive manner. The idea was to portray reality in an honest and simple but also suggestive way. In the images of Webb, I perceive a real vision of the Latino culture: his way of seeing the streets, the food, the homes, and the people naturally and spontaneously is something we reinterpreted and brought to life in our spot. We enriched his vision and continued our contribution to that language from another viewpoint, a fresh, fun, and Latino one, this time across America.”

“The core of our piece had to be the food and, of course, the people having fun with the sauce, getting along cheerfully. The thing I love the most about food is its human side: the way it interacts with people and the reactions it brings to the table. To communicate that, we needed to find a balance between getting close to a perfect poached egg and going back to see a girl laughing and mouth watering with a shrimp taco.

“It was not all about people and not all about food. To fulfill this, we had a superb ally: Matt Chavez as our DP. Matt has shot for shows such as Netflix's Chef's Table and Street Food Asia and Latin America. He is part of the people still defining how we see and shoot food in the second decade of the 21st century. With only a key light, Matt can make a plate of tacos look like the most appetising one on earth. Still, he is also a genius at capturing humane and engaging situations spontaneously and artistically! His instinctive and free language is definitely part of the natural look that we accomplished.”