Voices in Our Heads
Anthony Puente is Dedicated. His Life Story Proves it.
The first word that pops into the mind of Anthony Puente is dedicated. I’ve been asking Palacio Magazine interviewees to describe themselves in one word or sentence. I’m not interested in their physical description. I want to know how they see their own character traits.
“I think just, as a business owner or as a husband, as a father, as a person, that’s just my new thing, to dedicate myself to whatever it is I’m doing.”
It’s funny that he came up with that word. That’s pretty much how I have always viewed him since our first sit-down conversation over breakfast several years ago. I knew then I wanted to learn more about this young man who is a Long Beach small business owner of a digital production company, Digital Revolution. He also runs after school and summer camp programs for youth in digital filmmaking, robotics, coding, animation, video game design and emerging technology.
Anthony Puente
I first became impressed with Anthony Puente when our son, Daichi, attended one of his summer workshops. Anthony seemed to have an easy, almost modest, connection with the Youth. He was straight with them but relaxed. But, it wasn’t until I began to see some of his video productions that I realized this young man had some serious talent.
As someone who has spent an adult life working in the professional broadcast and cable television industry as a producer, reporter, and executive producer, I knew that Anthony Puente could have easily been working for any number of television networks. And yet, here he is on Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach running a business that offers full-service video production and post-production services to individuals, businesses, and organizations. His client list includes The Long Beach Ronald McDonald House, Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, and the Long Beach Rescue Mission.
When I sat down with Anthony Puente in his second-floor offices above Lola’s Mexican Cuisine Restaurant on Atlantic Avenue, I learned more about a person dedicated and committed to his business, community, and family.
Anthony Puente and His Mom
Anthony Puente was born in Sierra Madre in the San Gabriel Valley and raised in Azuza. While his family moved around a lot, Anthony’s family roots are in Azuza. They recently celebrated the family’s 100th Anniversary of his grandfather’s arrival from Mexico. But, you can’t proceed with Ahis story without first mentioning his mother. “She’s a huge part of my story.” His mother is Veronica Garcia Davalos.
“She is currently the Executive Director of the San Gabriel chapter of the [American] Red Cross. She worked a ton of years for the Habitat for Humanity of Greater L.A. and she’s very active here in Long Beach.”
According to Anthony, his mother has been involved in nonprofits his entire life. This explains a lot about Anthony Puente and his description of dedicated. It was his mother’s dedication and belief in him that pushed him into college.
“I was a bad high school student. I was bad…I was a good kid. I was just not a good student.”
Anthony Puente Watching Films Paid Off
But his fascination with watching movies and listening to family stories moved him into the ambition of making films. His low grades were his biggest obstacle. That’s where his own personal dedication kicked in. And then, there was his mother.
“She had no business believing that I would ever do something like that because I was a bad student. Cause she really had the full belief in me that I could do that. Full support…Honestly, she like extended herself.”
Anthony Puente’s mother pulled strings to get him into summer programs at UCLA and any courses he needed to take to bring his grades up for admission to college.
“She gave me the license to believe that I could do that. And then once I had someone like her in my corner…and she never said like ‘Maybe Hijo, maybe you can’t.’ It was always like ‘Yeah, you can do it.’ It was like pushing me on my path.”
Fast forward to…
…his enrollment at California State University, Monterey Bay. At the time, it was the newest school in the California University system opening on a former military base in Seaside, California. “My major was Teledramatic [sic] Arts and technology.” The surprise for Anthony Puente was the person responsible for founding the program, Luis Valdez. Valdez is an “American playwright, actor, writer, and film director,” considered the father of Chicano theater in the United States. He is the founder and artistic director of El Teatro Campesino.
“I didn’t really know who he was exactly. I knew that he had done La Bamba and I was a huge fan of La Bamba. And I met him the first week of school and he floored me. He blew me away. Just by his voice. And just by his knowledge and his passion. Everything about him connected with me on so many different levels. I knew that’s where I wanted to be. That’s where I was meant to be.”
Diego from Digital Revolution
Diego, a street-level drug dealer, must decide between his son’s birthday and his career of choice. Written and Directed by Anthony M. Puente. Winner, Directors Guild of America, Student Film Award
Cannes International Film Festival, Student Film Program
Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Recipient
New York Latino Film Festival
San Diego Latino Film Festival
Closing Night, UCLA Spotlight Festival
The Fast Lane for Anthony Puente and his Dream
Fast Forward through four (give or take as Anthony Puente describes it) years to the Masters in Fine Arts program in film directing at UCLA. There were internship programs, films for festivals with one winning him a trip to the Cannes Film Festival for a student film. Work in the industry followed with gigs in entry-level jobs. With all of that on his resume, Antony Puente did not get to where he wanted to be. But…
“Looking back, it was all positive. I learned a lot. I learned a lot in terms of what I didn’t want to do. What I absolutely wanted to do. What I could do. Like to validated things that I could do.”
All those lessons learned would come to bear on his decision to leave that world behind and to set up his own production company in Bixby Knolls.
“I always wanted to do something like that. Along with filmmaking, I wanted to start a production company. I didn’t know what that meant. Like I wanted to own that, to work on projects.”
Four years, many production projects and youth training workshops later, Anthony Puente is doing what he wants to do.
“It goes back to the dedication…dedicated to the work, to the business, to the dream of it, and to really enjoy it.”
Find out more…
…about Digital Revolution HERE.
Produced by Digital Revolution
