Jeff Valdez

Jeff Valdez (born January 31, 1956) is an American producer, writer, and studio executive who created the category of Latino Programming in English. The films and TV shows written and produced by Valdez have been syndicated in more than 40 countries.[1]

Valdez is credited as a writer, director, and creator of the family comedy The Brothers Garcia (2000-2003), as well as the creator of the Latino Laugh Festival[2] in 1997. In 2003, Valdez founded a new nationwide English language cable channel targeting Latinos called Sí TV.

In 2007 Valdez joined the board of directors of Maya Entertainment[3] whose focus was on Latino-themed films mostly in English.[4] Valdez founded his production company, New Cadence Productions in 2018 which has produced the HA Comedy Festival (2020) and The Brothers Garcia reboot, The Garcias (2022).

Career

In 1993, Valdez moved to Los Angeles, and created the show "Comedy Compadres", for KTLA, channel 5. He then wrote scripts, produced and directed pilots for Disney (Play Ball), Showtime (Latino Laugh Festival[2]), NBC (Valdez and Hacienda Heights), Galavisión (Cafe Ole, Funny is Funny), and Nickelodeon (The Brothers Garcia).

In 2003, and based on the potential of this English-speaking market of the Latino population, Valdez paired with Bruce Barshop, a venture capitalist[5] and founded Sí TV, the first Latino national channel for English-speaking Latinos in the United States. Sí TV became the leading producer of Latino themed English-language cable programming network, reaching 22 million homes in the first 3 years. Valdez became the CEO of the channel for the first 2 years, and produced the original programming of Sí TV.

In 2007 Valdez was named Chairman of Quepasa Corp./Quepasa.com (NASDAQ-QPSA) a bi-lingual social network aimed at US and Latin American markets.[4] Valdez contributed to QuePasa's recovery in that period with an overall re-branding and creative vision. He also helped with a digital product called "Papacito", which increased the reach of the social network.

Valdez joined Maya Entertainment as a co-chairman at the invite of producer, Moctezumq Esparza.[3] From 2007 to 2011 Maya was the only Latino Global Film Distribution Company. The company produced, owned and distributed films and content, primarily in English for theatrical release, as well as syndication.

From 2011 to 2014, Valdez headed up Max 360 Entertainment, which was a group of investors pursuing a variety of Television projects. In 2015 Valdez teamed up with financier Jeffrey Soros to develop a slate of Latino comedy films aimed at the New Mainstream Latino audience.

Early in 2018, Valdez and Sol Trujillo co-founded New Cadence Productions,[6] a U.S. television and film content creation studio, with the intention of continuing to promote Latinos and their role in the media. New Cadence Productions has since partnered with Warner Media.[7] The studio's first project was the 2020 HA Comedy Festival,[8] which resulted in a 1-hour comedy special streaming on HBO Max. The festival was green lit for a second year in 2021 and the 2021 HA Comedy Special[9] will be released on HBO Max in December 2021, along with the all female comedy special “Comedy Chingonas,” which airs November 18, 2021. The 10 episode reboot of The Brothers Garcia[10] called The Garcias was shot in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, in summer 2021 and is scheduled to release on HBO Max in early 2022.

Valdez created the HA Comedy Festival[8] in 2020, an annual weekend long festival which features Latino comedian performances and ends with a live comedy special that airs on HBO Max. Jeff is credited with writing and producing the HA 2020 festival,[11] and writing, producing and directing the HA 2021 festival.

Awards and recognitions
  • "Top 50 People Who Matter" by CNN
  • "Top 50 Minorities in Cable" by Multichannel News
  • "50 People to Watch" by Los Angeles Times
  • "Top 10 Players in the U.S. Hispanic Media Market" by Ad Age
  • "Top 50 Marketers in America" by Advertising Age
  • Quasar Award, for his groundbreaking Sí TV
  • Racial Harmony Award, from the Center for Ethnic Understanding
  • NHMC Impact Award (2001)
  • ALMA Award, from National Council of La Raza[1]

Valdez was appointed by US President Bill Clinton to the Advisory Committee on the Arts of the Kennedy Center (Washington DC, 1996–2000.) He has been a member of the Museum of the Moving Image Board of Directors (New York, 2000–2006), and of The Los Angeles School For The Performing Arts Board of Advisers (2006-2008.)[12]

Filmography
  • HA Comedy Festival: The Art of Comedy 2020 and 2021 [13]
  • Without Men || Feature Film || Executive producer || 2010
  • Unacceptable Behavior || TV series || Executive producer || 2006
  • Urban Jungle 2 || TV series || Executive producer, Writer || 2005
  • Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner || TV series || Executive producer || 2004
  • Across the Hall || TV series || Executive producer || 2004
  • The Drop || TV series || Executive producer || 2004
  • The Rub || TV series || Executive producer || 2004
  • Latino Laugh Festival: The Show || TV series || Executive producer || 2004[14]
  • Urban Jungle || TV series || Writer, executive producer || 2004
  • The Brothers García: Mysteries of the Maya || TV movie || Writer, director || 2003
  • The Brothers García || TV series || Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer, Director || 2000-2004
  • Café Ole' with Giselle Fernandez || TV series || Writer, producer || 1997
  • Latino Laugh Festival || TV special || Producer || 1997, 1998, 1999
  • Funny is Funny || TV series || Writer, Executive producer || 1997
  • Comedy Compadres || TV series || Writer, executive producer || 1994
  • Almost Live From The Comedy Corner || TV Comedy Show || Writer, producer, Director || 1992
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter || TV movie || Actor || 1991

References
  1. "Latino Donor Collaborative: Jeff Valdez".
  2. "Latino Laugh Festival". admin.tcm.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  3. "Our Team | Maya Entertainment". June 15, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15.
  4. "About Us". Archived from the original on 2012-02-14.
  5. "Jeff Valdez". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  6. "New Cadence Productions". New Cadence Productions. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  7. Littleton, Cynthia (2019-09-26). "New Cadence Productions Sets Development Pact With WarnerMedia for Comedy Specials, Series". Variety. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  8. HA Festival: The Art of Comedy (Comedy), Chariotdrive, New Cadence Productions, 2020-08-20, retrieved 2021-11-13
  9. "The Biggest Latinx Comedy Festival Returns to San Antonio The Award Winning "HA FESTIVAL – THE ART OF COMEDY" Set to Open September 17 -19, 2021". www.businesswire.com. 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  10. "'The Garcias' Are Heading Back to TV". Remezcla. 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  11. "HA COMEDY FESTIVAL". HA COMEDY FESTIVAL. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  12. "DISH Network Satellite TV to Premiere Si TV, First American Latino Television Network in English". Dish. 2003-01-27. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  13. Saldana, Hector (2020-02-19). "Latino Laugh Festival launched careers 25 years ago. HA comedy fest hopes to do it again". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  14. Latino Laugh Festival, The Show Fuse, retrieved 2021-10-07
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