Mott Haven resident Priscilla Alvarez struggled growing up in the South Bronx. There were nights she only had rice for dinner, or her mother couldn’t afford to pay rent.
Alvarez, 37, used her love of films to escape poverty and the outside world. Her mom, Ninoska Bugos, raised Alvarez and her sister Ninoska, 41, in Mott Haven. She is close with both of them and credits Burgos for allowing her to explore her passion for the big screen.
She and her sister would listen to Selena as kids and use their mom’s video camera to pretend they were performing. Additionally, Alvarez would often frequent the now closed movie theaters on 161st Street in the Grand Concourse section of the Bronx and Multiplex Cinemas in Queens with her cousins Martha and Annie Navarette.
“It was because of my mom we were able to tap into the arts,” Alvarez said. “She was always encouraging us to sing and dance in front of each other.”
However, in high school, she hung out with the wrong crowd, cut class and dropped out. Burgos was furious and sent her to live with her dad, Jorge Alvarez, in Puerto Rico.
Alvarez stayed on the island for six months and worked at KFC and Costco. She eventually returned to the Bronx, where she labored in food service for seven years.
At the age of 24, Alvarez had an epiphany and realized she needed to carve her path in life.
“I was just working to survive,” she told the Bronx Times. “I was at dead end jobs that didn’t get me anywhere.”
Alvarez saw how her sister went to college and had a career and wanted to follow suit.
So, she obtained her G.E.D. and associate’s degree in 2013 from Borough of Manhattan Community College and a year later, enrolled at Brooklyn College for psychology with a goal of becoming a therapist. However, she changed her major to film and the rest is history.
She learned about what goes into making movies, such as color, how to frame certain shots, design, scripts and more. She went through a bit of an adjustment period, after not holding a video camera for about 20 years, but she felt right at home.
Alvarez told the Times watching a movie or TV show can give someone hope, cry or make them laugh.
“It (film class) reminded me of where I needed to be,” she said. “Being obsessed with films and watching films was who I was.”
While she graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s of arts in film, cinema and video studies, she did not become Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese overnight.
She has produced a series of short films, including an award winning one, “Sexo Y tortillas.” The short flick is about a young lady who visits her aunt in Latin America and sells sex toys.
It was submitted to film festivals and even made into a musical in Houston.
In 2019, she spread her passion for the silver screen to her community when she and her sister created the Mott Haven Film Festival. Alvarez said finding a place for Bonxites to showcase their films was important.
Currently, Alvarez works in hospitality and is in the process of making her first full length feature film, “Café, café,” about her mom and her family’s journey her from Nicaragua to America.
“This summer my goal with the film is for my family members to see themselves as they were when they were younger,” she said. “I think they have a lot of great stories that can resonate with other families.”
The Bronxite knows she has come a long way from working in Puerto Rico.
“I don’t regret dropping out of high school because one of the best moments of my life was living with my dad and experiencing my heritage,” she said.
Looking ahead, “Café, café” is in preproduction and once completed, it will be submitted to film festivals. Alvarez knows the sky’s the limit when it comes to making movies.
“I personally don’t enjoy streaming,” Alvarez said. “When I go to the movies, it’s the whole planning and getting dressed and ready to watch a piece of art.”
