Meet Aida Bernal – of Mexican descent, born and raised in Los Angeles and grew up working at her parents Mexican imports store, “Casa Bernal” located on historic Olvera Street. Working at the store gave Aida a sense of pride about her Mexican culture.
“Being at the store connected me to my culture in a very deep way. I spoke Spanish consistently and my parents had a rule: No English at home – only at school, outside and with friends. We had to speak Spanish at home so we wouldn’t forget it.”
Inspired by her parents’ ambition Aida worked hard securing various jobs in the entertainment industry which further motivated her to start her own business.
In the 90’s, Aida worked as a junior manager for Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit management but it wasn’t until she began a seven-year tenure at Jennifer Lopez’ Nuyorican Productions that her career path would really take shape.
“Working for Jennifer was incredible in so many ways but the key thing was that it pushed my work ethic to a whole new level,” said Aida.
As the VP of Film & Television development for Nuyorican, Aida supervised a heavy slate of projects including the mini-series “Como Ama Una Mujer” which she produced. This Univision/Nuyorican co-production was shot entirely in Spanish and boasted some of the best acting talent in Mexico.
Aida immediately recognized that the U.S still had a lot of catching up to do when it came to International Mexican actors.
“It’s important that we have the industry’s attention and it’s wonderful when there is momentum. I’m so excited that Demian Bichir may be nominated for an academy award [for “A Better Life“] – it would be so well deserved. I do think that a lot of amazing Mexican talent still falls under the radar and I want to do something about that.”
Passionate for both producing and managing, Aida launched her company Spellbound Entertainment in 2011. “I want to rep the best talent no matter where they’re from, but having filmed in Mexico it felt right that I should there look first.”
For more information on Spellbound Entertainment or Aida Bernal, visit: www.spellboundentertainment.net.
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