My Work
I am a Digital Strategist & Creative based between Detroit and Mexico City. I offer video production, motion graphics, graphic design and web design services. My own past freelance clients include human rights NGO's, consulting firms, non-profits, political campaigns, and other misc. private clients for freelance work
Most recently I worked for the Biden-turned-Harris campaign for U.S. President as a translator and communications coordinator. Prior to that I was Uplift Campaigns for five years, a digital political consulting firm that helps progressive political campaigns, organizations, and causes succeed.
Proud immigrant, Detroiter, and film nerd.
In the News
- Outlier Media - Detroit’s people and places taking center stage at Better Cities Film Festival
- Detroit Free Press - Freep Film Festival in photos
- Inside Southwest - Short Films at SW Fest
Past Clients
- International Labor Rights Forum
- The Latino Connection
- Run For Something
- Michigan State University
- Agromovil
- AM Global
- Freelance clients include event coverage (weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceñeras, etc.) and private photo shoots.
Work in Progress
An Infuriatingly Stark Contrast is a story about two boys who began with similar roots that, through life's serendipitous happenings, sprouted in completely different directions. One is a young immigrant boy growing up in a very toxic neighborhood, Jose, (toxic both in the sense that it is a violent place, and literally environmentally toxic because it’s located next to a massive oil refinery complex). His best friend, Josh, leaves their childhood neighborhood for the healthier and wealthier suburbs of Metro Detroit. The two children pictured above, from left to right in each photo, are Josiah and Gustavo (last names withheld since they are minors). They and their families are native Detroiters, and play the protagonists of the film, Jose and Jon, respectively. The adult versions of these actors are to be determined.
This film will essentially be a fictional drama loosely based on many events in my own life. It is a deeply personal film that explores many of the issues that I, and those like me, have dealt with. Our legal status in this country, the presence of lead in our blood, our socioeconomic status, like many things in life, are totally outside of our control. Many of these things were put there before us and it affects us in terrible ways: much like the toxic masculinity and darker violent sides of us. These things outside of our control can lead to isolation, confusion, dread and a deep struggle to figure out our own place in the world. An Infuriatingly Stark Contrast will likely wrap in early 2025. Written and directed by me, with contributions by the talented cinematographer, Onassis Rabanes, and some consulting provided by Domingo Cortez.
If a 130 year old house in Detroit could talk, what would it say? What about a rusty bike, a pheasant, The Detroit People Mover, or even Belle Isle? This short film series, Spirits by the Strait, seeks to answer that question. Grace Lee Boggs, reflecting on Detroit's place in history, said that Detroit "gives a sense of epochs of civilization," so clearly, with such a unique place in history, Detroit is exactly the type of place that spirits would congregate to chat about the ever-changing world they observe. As many Detroiters will tell you, our city's name has it's origin in the French word for 'strait,' and that's where this series of short films derives it's name: just a group of lonely and pensive spirits by the strait, longing to be heard.
Projects completed thus far:
The People Mover. Starring Daron Colbert. December 2024. Written and directed by Jesus Arzola-Vega. Historical Footage courtesy of the Detroit Historical Society.
A House. Written and directed by Jesus Arzola-Vega. Narrated by Angela Gallegos. Historical Footage courtesy of the Detroit Historical Society. Official Selection for the 2024 Better Cities Film Festival; screen in Campus Martius, summer 2024.
Past Projects
- A Little Mexican Village explores the simple and uneventful lives of a few older residents in a small, rural village: El Encino de La Paz, in Durango, Mexico (pictured above). While tiny and impoverished, this villages exemplifies the resilience of a very hardworking people, of which very few remain. Their experiences are not unique by any means: thousands of villages across rural Mexico just like El Encino embody a similar culture, economy and lifestyle of rustic simplicity. Other El Encino's across Mexico are all likely to meet the same fate and disappear in coming decades; given that nearly all young residents of such villages will migrate to urban areas or immigrate abroad. It is precisely for this reason that the story of such a place must be told: before its few remaining residents, and the village itself, are gone. A Little Mexican Village has won four awards thus far: Official Selection at The Super Duper Diversity Film Festival in Hollywood (Fall 2019), and the San Diego Latino Film Festival (March 2020), as well as the virtual festival Flick Fair, and Paris' Beyond the Curve annual festival. Most recently, the film was featured in the 2024 Detroit Free press Film Festival, for their Catalysts Shorts series.