Yareli Arizmendi - Co-writer (Lila Rodriguez)
www.yareli.com

Best known for her role as “Rosaura” in “Like Water For Chocolate,” Yareli Arizmendi received her BA in Political Science and an MFA in Theatre at UC San Diego, where she was awarded the Grace Kelly Fellowship and later the Grace Kelly Achievement Award.

During her college career she worked at Teatro Meta translating and staging Latin American plays, as well as developing the bilingual In-Schools Program. Other theatres she worked with during that time include La Jolla Playhouse, the San Diego Rep, and Sushi Gallery.

In 1990 Yareli translated the screenplay version of “Like Water For Chocolate” so Alfonso Arau, director and producer, could travel the world finding money to make the film. In 1991 she also auditioned for the role of Rosaura and got it.

During the shoot of “Like Water For Chocolate” in Northern Mexico, Yareli was working on her Master’s thesis: “Whatever Happened to the Sleepy Mexican: Four Ways to Be a Contemporary Mexican Artist.” She graduated in 1992 and became a professor at Cal State San Marcos. She was a founding member of the Theater Arts component of the Inter-Disciplinary Arts Program.

Her one-woman show – “Nostalgia Maldita: 1-900-MEXICO, featured on the PBS “Heritage Series,” is an ironic look at living a bi-national, bi-cultural reality. Yareli’s character spends the duration of the show on a Stairmaster machine as a "punishment from the gods” for defying her destiny and crossing the Mexican border in search of Donny Osmond.

In 1994 Yareli moved to Los Angeles.  She has starred in various American productions such as “The Big Green,” “Gunfighter’s Moon,” “Cisco Kid,” and “Up Close and Personal.” Yareli’s most recent stints as a guest star include “Six Feet Under,” “The Agency,” and “24.” Other TV shows include “Nothing Sacred,” “Murder One, “NYPD Blue, “Chicago Hope” and “The Wayans Brothers.”

Yareli has lent her voice to many products but she is most proud of her work with public awareness campaigns against child abuse, AIDS, and Lead Poisoning. Yareli can also be heard on NPR commentaries as well as various audio book recordings including, “The Alchemist”, “Like Water For Chocolate” and “The Law of Love.” 

Born in Mexico City, Yareli Arizmendi has resided in California since 1983.

Caroline Aaron (Aunt Gigi)

One of Hollywood's most versatile and steadily employed character actresses, Caroline Aaron has appeared in an impressive array of films for some of the industry's top directors. Aaron is a native of Richmond, Virginia, where she made her film debut as a waitress in John Sayles’ “Baby, Its You.” (1982). Her subsequent film credits include Sayles’ “Brother From Another Planet” (1984), Mike Nichols’ “Heartburn” (1988), Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” (1989), “Alice,” (1990) “Husbands and Wives” (1992) and “Deconstructing Harry” (1997), Nora Ephron’s “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) and Wayne Wang’s “Anywhere but Here” (1999). In 2000 she worked with Mike Nichols again in the alien comedy “What Planet Are You From?” and then appeared in Don Roos’ romantic drama “Bounce”, co-starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Aaron has also acted extensively on television and the stage. She has guest starred on such popular series as “Mad About You” and “Law & Order,” as well as appearing on-stage in such acclaimed works as the Broadway production of “The Iceman Cometh” and the national tour of Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Sisters Rosenweig.”  Aaron recently completed production on Kevin Spacey’s feature, the Bobby Darren biopic “Beyond The Sea.”

Melinda R. Allen (Ellen Abercrombie)

Melinda R. Allen started her film career with the William Friedkin directed drama “Blue Chips” starring Nick Nolte and Mary McConnell in 1994.  She then went on to star as Jamie Lee in the romantic comedy “Nice Guys Sleep Alone” (1999), followed by the features “When Actors Attack” and “Technowhere” (1999).  In the same year she also starred as Ginger in “The Silence of Speed.” Her most recent feature roles include Sam Cade in “Fish” and Bette in the action crime thriller “Meddle and Steal.”

Fernando Arau (Undocumented worker #1)

Born in Mexico, Fernando Arau has twice been nominated for the Silver Ariel Award (the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Awards). He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Bienvenido-Welcome” (1994) and previously for a Best Actor award for his character Gabriel Rodríguez in “Tacos de oro” directed by Alfonso Arau.  Fernando Arau also hosted the Mexican television series “Despierta America,” the most watched Spanish language morning show in the world.

Maureen Flannigan (Mary Jo Quintana)

Born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California, Maureen Flannigan has been a regular in both features and television since her acting debut. She was nominated for three years in a row as for ‘Best Young Actress’ at the Young Artists Awards for her part in the television series “Out of This World.”  She was also regular on the top-rated television series “7^th Heaven” where she played Shauna Sullivan for three seasons from 1998-2000.  Her other television credits include guest star spots on “ER,” “Boston Public,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Northern Exposure.” Flannigan’s film credits include a starring role in “Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde” opposite Scott Wolf, “National Lampoon’s Last Resort” and “Written in Blood”, with Peter Coyote. On stage, she played the role of Johanna in “Sweeney Todd” and is currently studying opera. She has also produced and performed in several plays for Ensemble Studio Theatre. Flannigan currently resides in New York City.

John Getz (Senator Abercrombie)

John Getz has had an extensive career in both film and television. His versatile feature film career includes starring roles in such films as the horror classic “The Fly” with Jeff Goldblum, “Born on the Fourth of July” with Tom Cruise (1989), “Curly Sue” with James Belushi for director John Hughes (1991). He also co-starred with Frances McDormand for the Coen Brothers’ thriller “Blood Simple.”

Getz was most recently seen on the small screen in the recurring role of D.A. Gabe Fellows in “Joan of Arcadia.” He has starred and guest starred in such television classics as “Barney Miller,” “Murphy Brown,” “Three’s Company,” and “Murder She Wrote” as well as today’s top-rated shows including “Ned and Stacey,” “JAG,” “CSI” and “The Guardian.”

Eduardo Palomo (Roberto Quintana)

When fans, peers, and critics alike think of the late Eduardo Palomo, a stunning image of a fair skinned, green eyed, virile Latino come to mind; an actor lauded and loved across the world; a rising star in English-language films and television; and not to mention just an all around beautiful human being. His life was cut short on November 6th, 2003, but his work and influence continue in all projects he touched, including the highly anticipated Sergio Arau film, A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN, premiering May 11th, 2004.

Few actors achieved what Eduardo did in a relatively short period of time: International star of 13 feature films, 22 Spanish television series, 33 plays; and winner of more than 40 prestigious international awards. These include Best Actor awards and nominations: Italy's Telegatto award in 1995 (the winners' roster includes Dustin Hoffman, Kirk Douglas and Sofia Loren); 1 Ariel (Mexico's Oscar) award in 1991, 1 Ariel posthumous nomination in 2004 for EL MISTERIO DEL TRINIDAD/Mystery of the Trinity; and for the same project, 1 Diosa de Plata (Mexicos Golden Globes) granted by PECIME, Mexicos association of film journalists.

In 2002 Short after a short Cameo as his first appearance on American television as a"Judge" on the Nickelodeon series "The brothers Garcia" Directed/Produced by Jeff Valdez Eduardo played a "Mexican neighbor" on the award wining film "Cojones"directed by Ted Mendenhall/D.P.;DJ Caruso.

In 2003, Eduardo impacted television audiences with his role as Chief Lazareno in the controversial miniseries hit, KINGPIN, executive produced by Aaron Spelling, and seen by millions in the United States, airing on NBC, Bravo and Telemundo. His last TV work was alongside Liza Minelli as a special guest role on the Fox TV series, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, executive produced by Ron Howard.

Eduardo considered himself fortunate to work with a host of successful and promising directors including Guillermo del Toro( "Hell boy"), Alfonso Cuaron("Y tu Mama tambien"), Carlos Carrerra ("El crimen del padre Amaro"), and now, Sergio Arau.

Over the years, Eduardo's range led him to play everything from family man to the voice of the Spanish version of TARZAN to criminal to lover to hero to transvestite to thug to cop to goof ball... His fans continue to eat it all up, throughout Mexico, Central and South America, Spain, Italy, Philippines, Greece, England, China, Russia, the United States; and he's been featured on hundreds of magazine covers to prove it.

According to his friend and manager, Aquiles Enriquez,a couple of films still to come up: "He wrote two great scripts one call "Y" and the other is a work on his original and critically acclaimed play, "UNA PAREJA CON ANGEL",and they will be carried on and produced by Eduardo's best friend and wife, Carina Ricco.

Muse Watson (Louis McClaire)

Muse Watson was born in Alexandria, Louisiana.  He attended Louisiana Tech on a music stipend before transferring to Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, where he performed for the first time on stage as Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew.  His theater credits include the lead in “Hamlet”, Stanley in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Pale in “Burn This”, Cervantes in “Man of La Mancha”, and he directed “Ain’t MisBehavin.”  In 1989, Muse began pursuing roles in feature film.  By 2004, he had appeared in over 40 feature films including “Sommersby”, “Something To Talk About”, “Assassins”, “Rosewood”, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, “Dusk ‘til Dawn II,” “I Still Know?,” “Austin Powers II”, and “Songcatcher.”  Muse is also a regular on television and has been seen in top television series such as, “American Gothic,” “Young Indiana Jones,” “Matlock,” “JAG,” and “Walker Texas Ranger.”    Muse also gave an unforgettable performance with Jennifer Love Hewitt as a special guest on Saturday Night Live.