NYCC 2019: “Seis Manos” Panel Recap

 

After a screening of the first episode (now available on Netflix) fans were riled up at the gory, action-packed, mystical, “Mexicanime” world of Seis Manos. Everyone in the crowd was lucky enough to be graced with an exclusive, commemorative poster — featuring an introduction to every single character on the back.

“The Heroes”

Silencio: “Silencio lost his parents and his tongue to violence as a child. His calm exterior hides a well of rage that, when it spills over, is frightening to behold and deadly if you are in its path.”

Jesus: “At once a brutal fighter, and a big ol’ silly, charming oaf, Jesus is the middle child of the Manos. He lives for pleasure, hates conflict, and just wants his hard headed brother and sister to get along.”

Isabela: As relentless a scholar as she is a Kung Fu warrior, Isabela believes in order, sees justice at the heart of the universe, and sees herself as duty bound to be a living embodiment of that justice.

“Supporting Cast”

Chiu: “A wise, calm, happy old warrior. Chiu’s past is cloaked in mystery. He is the adopted father and mentor to the three Manos, training them not just in the deadly art of Kung Fu, but also the esoteric path to enlightenment and ultimate wisdom that is the Dao.”

Garcia: “The first female graduate out of her police academy, Garcia was assigned to police the sleepy town of San Simon by a police force who couldn’t see past her gender to her impressive capabilities. She will soon get a chance to prove her worth in ways she could never possibly have imagined.”

Brister: “Brister is a DEA agent sent on a mission to Mexico by his racist boss, who has spent his life proving to ‘The Man’ that he’s worth a damn, by consistently outperforming him. Brister is talented as hell, smarter than most, and he knows it.”

“The Villain”

El Balde: “Having grown up where only the strong seem to survive, El Balde has lived his life in relentless pursuit of proof of his superior worth. Vicious and unrelenting, El Balde takes sadistic pleasure in the misery he causes as he climbs over a mountain of bodies to the top of Mexico’s bloody, nascent drug empire.”

The first episode of Seis Manos captures a perfect combination of mystical, Mexican folklore, and insane fight-sequences. As the story incites the beginning of Silencio’s, Jesus’, and Isabela’s journey to understand the supernatural forces that threaten their lives, co-creator Alvaro Rodriguez, alongside voice talent Jonny Cruz (Lucio from Overwatch) and telenovela actress Angelica Vale describe their experience with the show, as a love-letter to Mexican folklore/representation, and a cross between “Machete meets Kill Bill on the set of Coco.”

We were able to ask one important question to the trio at the end of the panel:

Kayla Gleeson: What was the funnest part for each of you, making the show?

Jonny Cruz: I think for me, it was finding little moments of comedy throughout some of the gore as you go on. I personally laughed out loud at watching it. They were very open and free to have me express myself, or change a line, or do it the way Jesus would do it, and it was very collaborative, and I really appreciated that, and it was a lot of laughs in the booth. So, what more could you ask for in a job?

Angelica Vale: The hardest part? The English part! I was working in Mexico, so I think the hardest part was getting the dates right, putting the dates together for me to go back to LA and really be able to do the show. The funnest part? Everything. I had a lot of fun. Oh, wait until you see more of this. You just saw one of my favorite lines, that is “grand theft mango.” I love that line! But I had so much fun — I cannot tell you, because I’m going to spoil the rest of the series, but episode five? Oh. I had a lot of fun with that one. You’ll see why.

Alvaro Rodriguez: The funnest part for me, is kinda now. All of this has been amazing, but now the fact that it’s out in the world, and people are responding to it — whether they love it or they hate it — is like, to me, I’m just excited that people can finally see it. And to be able to share it with people, to be able to see what the response to this whole thing has been, because it’s so — like I said, my first animated project, something I never thought I would be able to do, never thought I would be doing, and so it’s like this is all somehow really magical, to work with great people, the animators, everybody. The music in this is insane, it’s coming out — Mondo is doing a vinyl double-album of the music from this. It’s on CD, and it’s on Spotify, iTunes. It’s been an amazing process. The funnest part right now is getting to be here with you guys.