179th STREET™
                                                                                                                        KEY PERSONEL 
Ariel "GATO" Luna - Creator/ Writer/ Director/ Producer

 Ariel Luna a.k.a. Gato Luna, was born in New York City in July of 1979. A first generation Dominican American, living in Manhattan and then The Bronx, he spent his early life listening to Spanish music, Hip Hop, Soul & R&B. His uncle was a DJ and at the early age of 7, introduced Luna to mixing records. He moved to Miami where he began his path to film making by way of the Music Industry. Engaging on an early start, Luna was spinning in warehouse parties at the age of 14. He then stepped up  to playing  in night clubs from Miami to New York.  Moving up and down the East Coast, Luna experienced a wide range of experiences, cultures and music. In Miami he meets the infamous DJ Khaled. Khaled asked Luna to go on tour with him throughout the East Coast and the Caribbean Islands. After teaming with Khaled, Luna quickly learned the ins and outs of the Music business. He began producing beats in 96' and later made music for some of the pioneers of the Golden Age of Hip Hop like Guru from Gangstarr, and Krazy Bone. He moved back to New York in late 2001 where he lived in Washington Heights.  On 179th Street. He meets Legendary Rapper KRS-One while working in Manhattan, and begins to produce music for KRS-One along with the Leader of the Mighty Zulu Nation, Afrika Bambaataa. He later decided to take a leave of absence from Music, and finish his screenplays. In the mid 90's he began writing a project then entitled "Street Star Wars", stories based on true events that happened in 1980's New York. In early 2005 Luna meets Producer and Rapper Alex "A.L." Mosquera. They both had numerous connections so they decided to become partners and put full force behind the 179th Street Project. Having little experience in the film business, they venture out West to Los Angeles where they meet renown actor Danny Trejo. After reading the script, Trejo agrees to attach himself to Luna's project, giving his project the momentum it needed.  Later Luna meets Greyson "GORDO" Cruz, who was also in the film buisness. Luna also asks Cruz to join his movement, Cruz agrees fueling more wood to this fire. Gato Luna and his team write stories of Revenge, Greed, Power, Love, and War that come from his experiences in New York City. 


 
Alex "A.L." Mosquera - Producer/ Actor
Mosquera started his road to Hollywood through the Music business. A.L.  Hails from the planet of Brooklyn born there from immigrants who traveled many miles from Colombia. His parents settled in Flatbush where he was born in the world of art. Growing up in the 1980's, he began break dancing with B-Boy Crews that eventually took his course into the art of Rhyming. the 1990's brought Hip Hop to a higher level where he developed the skill of Freestyle, that led him to record and perform every where there was microphone open. He officially made his presence when he was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of "The Source" Magazine. A.L. then recorded tracks with Emenim, The Beatnuts ,Talib Kwali, and Mos Def.  One of the only artist to do a solo track on the "Lyricist Lounge" album, which whirlwinded to the Hip Hop  Comedy show "The Lyricist Lounge Show" on MTV. Working on the show he took an admiration to acting and writing. Dealing with the hardships of the music business steered him to take another path to film where he met a gentlemen who shared the same dream. Hence came Ariel Luna who brought him the most powerful story never told. They both took on the impossible mission of conquering Hollywood.  After eight years of blood, sweat and tears they have a trailer with a dream cast that will create a cult classic. 179th Street, enough said.

Ed Martin - Supervising Producer
Ed Martin, a New York native, began his career in finance in 1991 as a Corporate Auditor, then Senior Forensic Auditor for Insurance Companies with over a billion dollars in annual revenues. He was responsible for conducting audits, quarterly financial projections and cost benefit analysis. In 2000, Ed moved on to become Chief Financial Officer of a construction company based in New York. Since 2001, various New York politicians have relied on Ed for his financial expertise in guiding their political campaigns. He has since been Treasurer for New York State Assembly and Senate Political campaigns, as well as Financial Advisor for New York State Congress and New York City Borough President campaigns. Ed also made his transition to Film Production in 2001. He has produced and co- produced many Music Videos, Commercials and various Short Films, Documentaries and Independent Features. His strong financial background led him to Line Production. He has line produced several Feature Films and various shows on networks such as MTV, Spike TV, HBO and Nickelodeon. He has prepared Production Budgets and Schedules for many Independent and Studio projects. He conducts lectures and seminars across the country on Film Production, Line Producing and Film Distribution at prestigious Universities including NYU, SVA, Pace and Harvard and has been a Filmmaking Panelist for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the National Alliance of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). He is a member of the New York Chapters of the Producer’s Guild of America (PGA) as well as the DV Republic and he has worked with the Black Filmmakers Foundation. Ed is the Development Manager for the nonprofit organization, ImageNation. He is also a Professional Judge for The Emmy® Awards, NATAS. Ed is considered one of few Producers in the industry experienced in executing Service Deals and a financial consultant to various production companies with offices in Kaufman and Watermark Studios. He is also a Supervising Producer at SeeFlik.com. Ed was recently named President of Watermark Studios in Michigan, which is slated to open studios in Brooklyn, NY. He is also Supervising Producer of a major six-picture slate. He is actively involved with several charities and is in post-production of program, tentatively titled The NIMBY Experience”, episode “See Me?” which will serve as pilot for TV series, where celebrities go undercover in support of causes they are passionate about to help inspire people to become active in their communities to make a difference.

       

  

Danny Trejo - Co Producer/ Actor

Danny Trejo is a Mexican-American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero. His acting career began while training actor Eric Roberts for a boxing scene in the film "Runaway Train". Director Andrei Konchalovsky liked Trejo's work and decided to offer him a prominent role in the film. Since then, Trejo has become a prolific actor in both films and television, acting alongside some of Hollywood's most famous actors, including Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Nicolas Cage, Charles Bronson, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Val Kilmer, and Antonio Banderas. In the middle of 2005, Danny was approached by Luna and Mosquera on the streets of Los Angeles. Luna gave Trejo the script, and they have been good friends ever since. Danny Trejo has brought true value to this project, and has connected Luna and Mosquera to some of the most elite actors in the film business. In the film "179th Street" Danny is a Co-Producer and also plays the character "Raul Ceviche"


Greyson "GORDO" Cruz - Associate Producer/ Actor
Greyson Cruz aka GORDO to many, is not the average Associate Producer. Cruz has been involved with the Entertainment business for many years. In more ways than most, Cruz has been an influence to many of the infamous Rappers of this Generation. He was first scene on film in the movie/documentary "Fade to Black" produced by his long time associate Jay-Z. His follow up role was in the film "Killa Season"where he also wrote scenes in the film. "Killa Season" put the official typecast on his Character of a Drugdealer in film. Ironically Cruz was born and raised in New York's Uptown area of Manhattan. As a teen Cruz was living in a city ridden with Drugdealers and drug addicts, so playing these typecast roles has never been hard for Cruz. He took his experiences in the street and began to write scripts and has caught the attention of many film makers. In 2007, Cruz meets Luna and since then have been working together on 179th Street. Currently Cruz is an Associate Producer on the project, and will soon be following up with his own slate of films.




  

Main Navigation