Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1490572
The California Dancing Club is a landmark in Mexico's dancing scene that was extremely popular during the '40s, '50s and '60s. It's located in a working-class neighborhood and its architecture is more functional than aesthetic. It's a dance temple. It was still in use a few years ago, but due to financial crisis and COVID, the place was closed and not in the best shape. The ceilings were falling down, the production had to shore up the roof and carry out a structural review. It took a long time to transform the space, make it safe to shoot, and also create something more lavish without losing the spirit of the place. We added hundreds of mirrors, hundreds of light boxes made of acrylic and metal, and several woodgrain panels. We painted walls to match our color palette, brought huge light fixtures made with golden foil and redressed the stage, bars and tables. It was a massive effort and the art team worked alongside DP Darius' team in this transformation. For the complete scene, we shot the exterior and the main dance hall in the real location, the bathroom was built on stage connected to a corridor that takes Silverio to his mother's house, and the terrace was shot on a rooftop in downtown Mexico City. On this rooftop, we made two huge murals (artist Pedro Reyes contributed to a giant one), built an old-style neon billboard, and built a structure that was the connection with the interior and dressed a full bar. A B C