The show must go on - Gallery

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, April-May, 2003

The WB's latest Latino offering is Greetings from Tucson, a sitcom based on the childhood of its Mexican-Irish Executive Producer Peter Murieta. The series centers on tricky teen David Tiant and his playful antics, which lead to a father-son relationship that is far from easy. Greetings is holding out for a second season, which will test The WB's commitment to programming for Latino viewers. Will Greetings be dropped like a hot burrito, or will The WB decide that the show must go on?

Peter Murieta

Executive producer & writer

"It's been an incredible ride. A year and a half ago, I tried to get a job on Smallville, and in the process of meeting with the network. I told some stories of growing up and how contentious and insane my relationship with my father was. I left that meeting, and they called me. They said they wanted to buy that show. I didn't really pitch them a show. I was just telling them stories. A quick huddle with my managers and agents, and we decided to go ahead and try to do this. Then the network people surprised me, again. They called and said. 'We are going to pick you up for 13 episodes.' I hired my writers and we started production. I came in with the idea that we were going to make 13 episodes. A lot of shows die real early, and that's fine. I have made 13 that I am proud of and that I can show my family. Then they picked us up for nine more--a full season. Always small goals for me. I don't like to get ahead of myself."

Pablo Santos as David Tiant

"All I knew about the character, David Tiant, was that he was a lot like me because I am half white and half Mexican. I feel good. I feel like I did a good job--I didn't know what to expect."

Jacob Vargas as Ernesto Tiant

"It's always taped in front of a live audience. This keeps you honest, and the audience is going to tell you if it's funny or not. You can think it's funny, hut once you say it and the audience doesn't respond, then you're in trouble. You have to look at them as your allies. They want to laugh. They want the show to be funny, and they want you to succeed."

Lupe Ontiveros as Magdalena Tiant & Aimee Garcia as Maria Tiant

Ontiveros: "I didn't want my character to be an average little grandma--that's boring. I can do that with my eyes closed. I wanted to try something different. She's a mechanic, and on the show we did yesterday, she's playing poker. Why not? Why not break those barriers to expand the imagination of our audiences?"