Oh yeah...The Characters

Okay, I already know that the idea isn't that really original, and that's fine; the question is whether or not I can have some fun with the characters. I decided to make them Mexican-American, in accordance with the original idea. The obvious issue here will be the language; I just have bear that in mind and hope it doesn't come up.

I know from my outline that I'm going to need at seven featured characters, and a few others that show up here and there. There are the three boys, the agent, and the rival band (who will have three members). I know that the agent has a teen-age kid, and I'm going to need some family members for the boys, as well as some co-workers. I'm also going to need some students to flesh things out later on. However, I'm only interested in the featured seven.

Going through my mind is the racism issue. Do I keep it to a Latino cast, which will affect the names, as well as require some translation help later on? Also, if I make anyone else non-Latino, will something be read into that I don't want to later on? For example, if I make all three boys white and the agent white, I may have to deal with "the white guy saves the poor Latino boys" issue. These are not issues I had to deal with during planning, but as I'm sitting down debating the characters, I realize that I need to debate this kind of stuff.

I decide to say, "Screw it!" and do as much of the cast as Latino as possible.

That said, I know I'm going to need the three boys, their agent, and the rival band sort of detailed, and any other characters will be dealt with as needed; they're mostly filler anyway.

Carlos Guzman Rodriguez: Eighteen-year-old high school senior. Pretty good in class, but not popular. He's the kind you invite to fill out the crowd. He does play a mean bass amp, and picked up the fiddle from his grandmother. He's the kind of kid you bring home to impress the parents.

Raphael Salazar Pizzaro: Nineteen-year-old high school senior. He's one of the school's better athletes, with varsity letters in basketball, football, and track. He does okay in class, but he hangs with the outsiders. He's the guy you did not meet the gaze of.

Hector "Eagle" Ruiz Montoya: Eighteen-year-old high school student. Likes technology, and usually the band's tech guy. He also plays drums. He is usually the butt of the band's jokes, but he gets them back occasionally through videos he posts online.

Antonio Lopez Amerigo Santana: In his forties, and the kind of guy you want to do things for. He's not afraid to do things for you, as long as you do things for him. He seems to know more than he is telling, and is usually there with bad advice. He is all about the bottom line, and does not take threats to it kindly.

Helena Perez Montego: Eighteen-year-old drummer. She's definitely the athletic type, with her biceps built up from years of drumming. She is protective of those she loves, and hopes that they will protect her. [Yes; I'm purposely making the last name similar to Hector's, but that's because I think that it has some potential joke value, especially given the "a" vs. "o" masculity/feminity issue, as well as how it sounds hyphenated. And, yes, her name was given first.]

Heliodora Taleia Vega Gomez: Eighteen-year-old bass player. She is the demon in hot pants. She is very forward, and knows how to use her looks for effect.

Abigail Castillo Chavez: Eighteen-year-old keyboard player. She is the brains of the group and is scared of very little. Just don't treat her as little girl and you will do okay by her.

Here's hoping that they will make life interesting for me...