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LMGI COMPASS
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Fall 2020
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LMGI
I grew up in this wonderful
city where I still live or
where I think I live! Because
as it happens to all of us,
I am hardly ever at home,
this is one of the few
inconveniences of the best
profession that I could ever
have imagined. Oddly, I never
CAREER
FOCUS
Location Manager
Tate Aráez Guzmán
in Spain
did stop to imagine it … I
found location management,
or it found me, purely by
chance. During childhood,
I was fortunate to have
grandparents who took us on
a continuous trip throughout
Spain, unintentionally
fostering an interest and
knowledge of the geography
and history of all the places
we visited. This fact, together
with a very early passion
for photography, would
align the fates and bring
me to a career in location
management.
My fi rst contact with the
audiovisual world was when,
after a failed attempt at a
degree in economics (I didn't
like it at all!), and given the
need to earn some money,
I got a job as a production
assistant in the recently
created regional television
network, Canal Sur. Shortly
after, still being very young,
I was offered the opportunity
to work as a stage manager
on the fi rst program Canal
Sur would record in its newly
built television stage, which
is still operating today.
Then, purely by a twist of
fate, something happened
that would forever mark the
professional and personal
journey of my life.
One day, a good friend
who was a recognized
professional motorcycle rider,
asked me to accompany him
to a shoot, where he worked
as a stunt driver. It was my
fi rst contact with a fi lm set.
I was so impressed by the
dynamics and the rapid,
organized way of working, I
became unwittingly hooked
on this industry. It was on
this set that I met renowned
Spanish stunt coordinator
Miguel Pedregosa, who to
our surprise, offered us to
participate as apprentice
specialists in a small series
for Spanish television. After
passing this initial test, I
was lucky enough to become
part of the team of Spanish
stuntmen for the American
production Navy SEALs,
shot partially in Spain in
1989. I had the opportunity
to see for the fi rst time how
an American blockbuster
works. I couldn't believe I
was working with actors like
Charlie Sheen and Michael
Biehn. I was 21 and ended
up fi lming the fi nal scene of
the fi lm, fi ghting underwater,
in the open sea with an
authentic Navy SEAL! He
was the movie's advisor and
the stunt double for Charlie
Sheen. I was the stunt
double for the bad terrorist.
The underwater camera
operator was Pete Romano,
founder of Hydrofl ex. Shortly
after fi lming, I received
photographs from Los
Angeles that Pete had taken
Tate Aráez Guzmán/LMGI in his previous job as a commerical diver.
All photos courtesy of Tate Aráez Guzmán/LMGI
I was born in Madrid but my father was prompted by his
career—he was a professional soccer player—to move our
family to Málaga when I was only 5 years old.
