the man from jalisco wins again! lead actor talks trade, identity & healing with people's press

edited by sarina e. guerra
formatted by justin orsino

RJLB Picture’s The Man From Jalisco recently racked up another win, most recently at the Silicon Beach Film Festival in Los Angeles early last month.

The Man from Jalisco, Part 10 of season one, won for…

“Best Western Short”

…between September 4-11. The Silicon Beach Film Festival screened its 2025 entry films at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood. As a whole, this most recent win marks the sixth win for The Man From Jalisco season one, and the first for Part 10.

Coincidentally, comedian Paul Rodriguez’s independent film, Holy Cash, also won for “Best Ensemble Cast Feature Film,” according to the awards list from siliconbeachfilmfestival.com. Rodriguez recently held his last in-person standup comedy concert at Prestige Event Center in Heber back on May 17, which People’s Press previously reported on earlier this year.

Actor and creator Sergio Julián De Oliveira is originally from Oberá, Misiones, Argentina. Son of a Brazilian father naturalized Argentine, Sergio currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Sergio has been involved in Theater since 1995 with groups such as Constelación Theatrical Group, Teatro Tatalejos, and Grupo Sinergia of the Frida Kahlo Theater, as well as being part of Teatro Quest, El Clásico Binomio, Teatro Havanafama, the experimental drama Bernarda, and playing Count Dracula in the comedy Dracula, among various other projects. De Oliveira founded Teatro Alegría, part of Alegría Productions, where he has adapted, acted in and directed various projects such as El Héroe, La Felicidad a Tu Medida, La Vida en un Hilo, and El Clóset, among other works. Sergio also writes metaphysical reflections, is a self-proclaimed yogi and Reiki master who practices “scientific meditation,” and is a massage instructor/practitioner.

In addition to The Man From Jalisco, De Oliveira has participated in other award-winning films such as….

Cowboys & Hipsters,
Man Behind 55,000 Dresses
& Gente de Otro Planeta.

He was mostly recently awarded Best Supporting Actor for playing a psychologist named Dr. Nolan in the film Rings of the Unpromised, directed by Michelle Arthur, which is also currently being shown in film festivals worldwide.

While The Man From Jalisco continues awaiting its release on global streaming service Tubi, lead actor Sergio de Oliveira spoke to People’s Press on his experience working on The Man from Jalisco, playing the show’s lead character, Vincencio Flores, while being under the direction of local filmmaker Ryan Brandt and more.

Roman: Over the years, TMFJ has won various awards in film festivals in Arizona and California, including its most recent win at the Silicon Beach Film Festival in Hollywood. Why do you think that is? In your opinion, what sets TMFJ apart from other film projects?

SERGIO: “It’s a very diverse film; the scenario is beautiful. The theme is very good. It’s a community that creates a big family, not only there in the [Imperial] Valley but here [in Los Angeles] too. It unites a lot of artists from different states. It’s nice, very complex. [Ryan] did a good job organizing and putting all the dots together. I believe that’s why it’s gotten the recognition.”

“It took some time, but he did it, so I’m very pleased and honored to be a part of it.”

Roman: Tell us about your character in TMFJ. Who is he and what is his motivation?

SERGIO: “I play a very gentle Mexican rancher that immigrated to the states. I’m the brother of The Man From Jalisco. [My character in the show is] Vicencio Flores, a worker that is just looking for a better life. I lose my job in the first episode and from there he just keeps trying to keep positive and be a positive influence on the show.”

“I think he was really disappointed in the beginning as he lost his job, but he’s just trying to keep moving forward, looking for other jobs and finding jobs, trying to keep his family together and trying to be positive in the community, regardless of what’s going on around him in all the situations of the kidnappings and cartel.”

“He practices tai chi…and takes care of a donkey named ‘Esperanza‘, which is also metaphor for hope in life too, ya know…

to keep
Moving
Forward.”

Roman: What does playing this type of character, particularly coming from a small, rural area like Imperial County, mean to you? Is there anything different playing this type of character in keeping its authenticity?

SERGIO: “I think it was in me already because we are all immigrants in some way, you know? I come from Argentina, but my father was a Brazilian that emigrated to Argentina too and I have family that live in the rural areas, with pieces of land that are agricultural, on both my mother and my father’s sides, so I was connected to that character. It was normal for me.”

“I come from a small place too. I come from Misiones, Argentina, it’s on the Nor’easter border of Argentina and Paraguay. There was a movie where they shot on the beautiful waterfalls there called Iguaçu Falls, between Argentina and Brazil. I grew up there in the rivers, fishing and water skiing, very in contact with nature.”

“My father was born in Brazil, he married my mom in Argentina, and then he studied his profession in Brazil. He was a jewelry maker, opened a jewelry store called ‘Joyeria Brasil’.”

“It’s good to be part of all cultures. I consider myself Brazilian, Argentinian and Mexican too because I have other friends in Mexico, and here too. A citizen of the world, hah. You learn from everybody and all their stories. I think we are just passing through on this earth. I can play all kinds of parts, not just Latino ones. You can’t be attached to one character; you just have to play them the best you can and move forward.”

“And I’m happy to be part of Ryan’s project. He did very good, always treated us very nice and very professionally.”

“The story is great: it has many different layers, like the mariachi singer. The rancher that I play is very positive, a Latino that is very connected to family values, doing the best he can for his family and enjoying the little things in life…so I love it.”

“The story is hard but it’s part of reality:

the Border,
the Mafia,
the Agriculture

…and water from the [Colorado] river. We all try to survive as best as we can.”

Roman: What does it mean to you to be a Latino actor playing a Latino character like this? It seems like a role that was written as authentically as possible by the writer.

SERGIO: “Yes. I did my best to play a Latino that is a positive character, a hard worker. I love it…that I can play this character. It’s nice, as you said, that we’re not always playing the same roles or stereotypes.”

“Also, in the other movie I am doing [Rings of the Unpromised], I am playing a psychologist, so it’s also a good character. Different, you know? So, I love it.”

“Beyond that, I believe we cannot limit ourselves [to only playing Latinos] because we are Latino.”

“I am now preparing a character that is Persian. It’s poetry…it’s a very profound play, very deep. Metaphysical. It’s good just to keep developing yourself as an actor, and if you don’t find a character out there, you make one. You keep doing the best you can.”

Roman: What first got you interested in acting and how did you first start out in acting?

SERGIO: “I had an idea of doing something different in art when I was in Argentina.”

“I came [to the US] in 1992. Through a friend I found out about a Spanish acting workshop in the evenings in Van Nuys run by two Peruvians, and that’s where I started. First doing classes and then I created a little play for them for class. Then I joined a little theater group, Constelacion Theatrical Group, and then I started with other groups like Teatro Havanafama. I played Dracula, classical roles like “Bernarda,” a woman who was a mother of five children. Other groups…and then I created my own group…

Teatro Alegria

…where I wrote and produced plays.”

“I never was looking for big fame or a big part, I just did what I wanted to do and perform. Now I’m writing a play and poetry, and I’m doing another project that is coming, the second part of [Rings of the Unpromised].”

“I never tried to define myself as an actor or an artist. I also have other professions: I’m a teacher of massage techniques…for 11 years…, a reiki master, and a masseur (shiatsu, acupressure, etcetera). Touch, massage, came natural to me.”

“It’s hard for me to write in English as it’s my second language, but I’m working on it, so I’ll see what happens.”

Roman: What projects are you currently working on?

SERGIO: “Rings of the Unpromised. We’re going into part two next year. The director is like Ryan, she worked hard on the script, produced, directed and acted in it. I love to be part of those types of projects.”

“The main actor plays a woman who has problems in relationships and in marriage, and I play a shrink.”

“[The director] submitted [the film] to many film festivals and had a great response, winning many awards…in Madrid, Milan, Sudan, Japan. It’s nice to get the word out there.”

“Part two will launch in March by the time of the [Academy Awards].”

“Other than that, I’m always doing something myself: writing a play, a book, and someone I am speaking with right now is on a short related to immigration.”

Roman: What made you want to come to this country?

SERGIO: “Acting, but I think healing too.

Healing is my passion.

I think acting is related with healing because in acting you can change people’s emotions and help heal too. That’s why I love poetry. I do metaphysical poetry too, which is not easy to understand… poetry is healing.”

“[With both] you can make a difference in someone’s life. When you see a play, something can click inside of you and you can change, or you can heal stuff, you know? So, it’s very powerful: theater, acting, poetry, or whatever you do… it’s very intense stuff.”

“That’s one of the main reasons I came here–to reconnect with my guru. And I think one of the main reasons we are here is to reconnect to the spirit. Whatever comes is welcome because it’s not up to me or my ego, it’s up to God, because I’m not the doer, the doer is the spirit. ”

Roman: Is there anything else you’d like to add that I didn’t ask you about specifically?

SERGIO: “We hope to do the second season of The Man From Jalisco. A second season would be nice. I heard something about The Woman from Jalisco too, so, we’ll see.”

“I’m so happy to be part of this [project] and also part of your community. I’ve been there many times and there are very nice people there. I have become friends with many.”

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Roman Flores

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