If you’re a Union City or West New York resident, you may know Lucio Fernandez as the Union City commissioner of public affairs who orchestrates many entertainment shows in the area – including last weekend, when he hosted and performed in the local variety show “Vegas Vegas Vegas.” You may also know he has a singing and acting career. But there’s an audience out there that knows Fernandez in adifferent role: as the host of the popular local public access TV show “Live on Stage,” which airs on Cablevision every Sunday evening at 10 p.m.
“Anyone and everyone is welcome to be considered for the show.” – Lucio Fernandez
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In the beginning
Ten years ago, Cablevision added to their Sunday evening lineup a 29-minute show called Live on Stage, geared toward promoting the local arts. It was produced by MeLu Films, led by the husband-wife team of co-writer and host Fernandez and his wife, co-writer and director Megan. The show features original music by Amy Smith and camera and technical support by Jay Gonzalez, Ana Cecilia Unna, Jose Tapia, and the rest of the MeLu Films staff.
They work pro bono, compelled to produce the show through a common passion and interest in the arts.
“We’re all friends,” Fernandez said. “We just wanted to create a network for artists. We really like it. That’s the bottom line.”
From the beginning, the vision was to promote all artists – not just singers and bands – through interviews and by showcasing their art on film.
“We’re talking about painters, and poets, and the whole shebang,” Fernandez said. “We pretty much run the gamut on the artists presented.”
One of the methods to bring recognition to local talent is to feature big names alongside smaller names, like pairing up local Papo Ortega with someone internationally known, like Johnny Ventura.
By doing this, “Our local musicians are held up to a higher standard,” Fernandez said. “It’s a way of…getting people to watch what they do.”
The show has also featured local fine artist Amado Mora, Venezuelan singer Jose Luis Rodriquez, Hoboken bands, Argentinean singer Elio Roca, America’s Got Talent star Leonid the Magnificent (also featured in “Vegas Vegas Vegas” last weekend), and others.
After building a base for viewers for over a decade, the MeLu Films staff decided that a natural progression of their work would be to bring the show to the Internet and reach a global audience.
Internet launch
Fernandez is excited about MeLu Films’ recently launched Internet channel that will show new videos, as well as archive past ones.
“We’re really excited about launching on the Internet because it opens up avenues to local talent that they don’t normally have,” Fernandez said.
The Internet component is similar to the Cablevision show, but features a new video every two weeks as opposed to every one week.
It wasn’t difficult to decide who they’d feature as their first act. While talking to his wife about the Internet concept, he recalled a conversation earlier in the day with Ortega on the phone. Ortega is the founder, lead vocalist, and pianist of the tri-state Cuban musical group Cubanoson.
“We had clips of him already…the talent was there. He was fresh in my mind. I thought to myself ‘this is the perfect fit,” Fernandez said.
The first show also features on of MeLu’s own – Gonzalez, “The Actor of Poetry.”
For future local artists, there will be particular emphasis on doing an interview to allow them a chance to speak about their work.
“It’s very important to put a face to the work,” Fernandez said, “especially if it’s a painter or sculptor. If you go to most art galleries, most artists tend to be shy and introverted, and don’t like to speak about their work. If you have the opportunity to speak to one of them, that’s terrific.”
Are you a local artist?
In the interest of promoting the local arts, MeLu Films is also looking for local artists who would like to be featured.
“Anyone and everyone is welcome to be considered for the show,” Fernandez said. “The more, the merrier.”
Any artist that would like to be considered for an interview may contact MeLu Films by e-mail at liveonstage@aol.com.
“Anyone trying to put their best foot forward, this is their chance,” Fernandez said.
Deanna Cullen can be reached at dcullen@hudsonreporter.com.