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| Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Arie Parker, Sergio Kardenas, Kenny Lattimore |
Mexican, Sergio Kardenas – an accomplished photographer, filmmaker, and model – has found himself among interesting, but enviable company, lately. On his quest to add “singer” to his already impressive resume, Kardenas has been rubbing elbows with notable representatives of “Black Hollywood.” He was tapped to host Black Aids Institute’s “Heroes in the Struggle” and more recently, the African American Film Critics Association in Los Angeles.
With both events boasting largely African American audiences, including entertainment notables such as Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Arie Parker; Loretta Devine; Kenny Lattimore; Magic Johnson; Blair Underwood; etc., one would be compelled to ask “why would a native born Mexican be given the responsibility of hosting them?” That’s not typically how it works. But simply, it’s his immense talent that has gotten him noticed.
Kardenas began his career in Mexico in the ’80s — at the age of 14 — as a photographer. His foray into the field led to an eventual placement of his work in People magazine. Impressive at a young age, but there were no accolades to be had:
“My first magazine work was in People magazine. It was a photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger that I took for Planet Hollywood, in Mexico. The photo was credited as being ‘courtesy of Planet Hollywood,’ but it was my photograph,” he recalled.
It was a disappointing experience, but lemons … lemonade, you know how the story goes. The situation turned out to be the inspiration he needed to passionately pursue photography, which subsequently led to filmmaking and other artistic endeavors.
“After that, I knew that I wanted to see more of my photos in print,” he said. He later moved to the United States and joined forces with screenwriter Fredrick “Chris” Reick.
The move proved fruitful. Kardenas went from “photographer” to “accomplished celebrity photographer” (book covers, magazines, etc., and published first book of photographs in 2007: The Magazine of Sex), then from “filmmaker” to “award-winning filmmaker” (Andy Warhol-inspired cult classic, La Funcionaria Asesina, aka The Slayer Bureaucrat, Cafe’ A-Go-Go). His passion-fueled ascension ultimately culminated with modeling, acting and hosting, along with, now, the impending release of his first commercially available DVD and album.
Describing his cinematic style and film projects, Kardenas says, “It was filmmaker and photographer Peter Berlin who originally encouraged me to take my strong visual sense — which I put into still photography for years — to cinema … Each of my creative projects starts with something visual. When I do films, I know exactly what I want from my actors and actresses. Even in my own videos, I know exactly how I want to project myself, and how everything should look and feel.”
In 2010 Kardenas launched his career as a singer. His debut CD is titled The Time Machine, indicative of how the songs on the album span many eras. “The King of Glam,” from the album is a translation of a Spanish tune about a man whose lifestyle, fashion sense and way of being, are all stuck in 1973 — in “the Glam era”; “I Was Made For Dancin’” is representative of “the Disco era”; “We Kill the World,” speaks to the onset of ecological destruction; and “Glitter on the Stereo,” “Dark” and “Pleasure Spot” are three original songs that represent the present day.
Just as we embrace “blue-eyed soul” because the talent is nothing to sneeze at, keep your hanky tucked because, likewise, there’s a chance you’ll follow Black Hollywood’s lead in embracing the multitalented Mexican Sergio Kardenas.
