Here’s something you won’t see in the media:Occupy Frankfurt, May 19. Riot cops take off their helmets and march with the protesters, clearing the road for them. I could say many things about this image yet I find that it really speaks for itself. The police it seems have realized that they too are part of a large group of the world population, who if they dont fall in line will be overrun and “Conquered”. What is the moral and correct thing to do given our current state of affairs? In the end each individual will have to decide for him or herself what to do. I have been told “be ready” for that time is closer at hand than you think! With all due respect I am not speaking of religion or “The great coming” which is always a wonderful distraction to what is really going right here right now. I have taken a look around me and what I see is not the world I imagined as a boy. Slowly but surely the worlds population is being overun while we indulge ourselves in any number of things to many to mention here. My friend Casper Martinez , Author Ivan Sanchez and others have spoken about this at length Over and over again yet it seems that no one is paying attention. Our concerns with the size of someones ass, a persons sexuality, the latest big film opening or our sports teams seems much more interesting to debate and discuss than whether or not we as a human race will even survive the next twenty years. There is much more at stake than what meets the eye. I will think of that the next time I see the price of gas rise to five dollars a gallon, or a medical bill that keeps someone in chains, or anyone in the world at any time going hungry which in the end? when you cut away all the bullshit is an act of genocide, among other things. I have been paying attention have you?

Here’s something you won’t see in the media:
Occupy Frankfurt, May 19. Riot cops take off their helmets and march with the protesters, clearing the road for them. I could say many things about this image yet I find that it really speaks for itself. The police it seems have realized that they too are part of a large group of the world population, who if they dont fall in line will be overrun and “Conquered”. What is the moral and correct thing to do given our current state of affairs? In the end each individual will have to decide for him or herself what to do. I have been told “be ready” for that time is closer at hand than you think! With all due respect I am not speaking of religion or “The great coming” which is always a wonderful distraction to what is really going right here right now. I have taken a look around me and what I see is not the world I imagined as a boy. Slowly but surely the worlds population is being overun while we indulge ourselves in any number of things to many to mention here. My friend Casper Martinez , Author Ivan Sanchez and others have spoken about this at length Over and over again yet it seems that no one is paying attention. Our concerns with the size of someones ass, a persons sexuality, the latest big film opening or our sports teams seems much more interesting to debate and discuss than whether or not we as a human race will even survive the next twenty years. There is much more at stake than what meets the eye. I will think of that the next time I see the price of gas rise to five dollars a gallon, or a medical bill that keeps someone in chains, or anyone in the world at any time going hungry which in the end? when you cut away all the bullshit is an act of genocide, among other things. I have been paying attention have you?

THE CREST…

My fascination with knights has been with me since I was a young man. In Fables and in fact. King Arthur and his court, The three musketeers, The Crusades and their misled march across europe and some knights to controversial to mention here. We as latinos tend to always embrace our indigenous heritage with great pride, in part because of it speaks to our love of the earth, animals and the inherent respect of life that has been handed down to us by our families and our history. Yet many of us, for some reason refuse to accept, acknowledge or embrace the fact that Los Espanoles (The Spanish) are also a part of who we are. That blood flows thru us also. Yes they were invaders to a world that they knew nothing about, Yes they had no business there but there presence cannot be disputed though there motives were less than savory. 
On one of my trips to europe I wandered into a store whose theme was the knights of europe. Swords, tunics, helmets adorned this amazing place along with books, drawings and of all things a Knights registry dating back to medieval times. Thats where I found this! I stared at it for a long time, trying to make sense of what I was looking at. I smiled asked if they had one available to take with me, which they did, and out of there I walked. 
I have researched the name and it’s origin’s yet that really doesn’t concern me as much the sheer fun of having discovered this bit of illustrated history of the RAMOS CLAN.

My new logo for ACTORONABIKE

My new logo for ACTORONABIKE

This speaks to me! and in part tells my story…A Black Panther symbolises strength, power, control of territory, freedom from oppression and often signals a time of rebirth after a period of suffering.

This speaks to me! and in part tells my story…A Black Panther symbolises strength, power, control of territory, freedom from oppression and often signals a time of rebirth after a period of suffering.

ACTORONABIKE…at the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GLOBAL FILM FESTIVAL opening for GWB

ACTORONABIKE…at the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GLOBAL FILM FESTIVAL opening for GWB

IN THE COURSE OF MY STUDIES…

I met Gina Belafonte at the High School for The Performing Arts, we became good friends as most of us did at PA due to the intimacy of the work and environment we were studying in. She was just Gina to me, a friend and colleague going thru the same growing pains of all young artist. She was so cool, funny and charming we laughed so much. A couple of times she invited me to her home where I met her dad. He was just dad, no big whoop right? Yeah right! A couple of times I found myself looking at the pictures in his office area with some of the worlds most historical figures Martin Luther king, President John F. Kennedy among others. Several times her dad and I spoke about school, acting and life. Other times I was there for dinner and would just be fascinated with the conversation and the people there. Very intense stuff for a kid from the projects. It changed me, made me a person of the world, in short it grew me up.
As an actor I have met many people that have shaped,transformed and helped me along the way. Some by their actions and others by just being there. They have all had some measure of influence on my day to day life much less my work. As a young man I was overwhelmed by the world I was attempting to become a part of, the discipline it demanded and the knowledge that I needed to have in order to be successful. Being latino, a person of color was (if you can believe it) actually viewed as a handicap. I would have to learn to walk, talk, and view the world from a whole different perspective. I did not want to do that! I wanted to keep my roots, my culture and the things I had learned on the streets of the South Bronx as my foundation. The two worlds battled each other back and forth for some time before they decided that it would be best to coexist.
Because of the way Gina, her brother, her mom and dad lived their lives it had a profound influence on me. My journey began in earnest I knew what I was going to do and how I was going to go about it.
So there I was in the Dominican Republic at a film festival and in walks my buddy Gina, we hugged for like fifteen minutes, we talked about all things, had lunch together, had dinners together, laughed and I went to see the screening of SING YOUR SONG the documentary she produced about her dad. She asked me to translate at the Q and A after the film. (as the audience was primarily spanish speaking) So after all these years of knowing each other, there we were sharing the stage and talking about her work and her dad. Some people come and go in our lives, some stay with us forever. Thanks gina for being my friend and thank you Harry Belafonte for the influence you had on a young puerto rican kid from the BX.
Heres is the link to SING YOUR SONG… Take the time to check it out…http://www.singyoursongthemovie.com/

THE BLESSINGS KEEP COMING……
The film GWB has been invited to the Dominican Republic Global Film festival!!! The director Jonathan Ullman, Rayniel Rufino and Luis Antonio Ramos will be traveling to D.R. for a week of films, Sun and Networking on the beautiful Island where so many of my friends are from. 
Voy para la Republica Dominicana para estar presente en el esenario del festival de Peliculas Global. A comer mangu y ver ese paraiso de todos mis amigos! TATO!!!

What A Night….

On friday November 4th I attended LOS PREMIOS LATINOS where I was presented with an award for the trajectory of all the work I have done to this point. I operate in my own world most of the time,never thinking that anyone is even watching. That’s not the case. Special thanks to the committee at Premios Latinos, My friends who were there to offer support, and Esperanza Ramirez of FIELD OF HOPES for her efforts. A special day for ACTORONABIKE

Variety Reviews - GWB - Film Reviews - - Review by Ronnie Scheib

WALL ST 2011…

 Months and months ago I watched what was happening in Europe and in the Middle East and said myself “that could happen here!” Human beings wanted (want) change, they want to be heard,they are feeling a sense of powerlessness and do not want to feel that way any longer. You know those conversations you have been having with your friends about how things are right now? Well guess what? you are not alone. For example ” Damn gas is almost five bucks a gallon!” and how about ” I paid my rent and bills and have no money left for food”

Everyone and I mean everyone should go down to Wall St if only for a half hour, to see what it feels like to be there and to hear what is being said. All kinds of people are there , of all races and creeds, young and old, students and professionals. There are working people there that cant feed their children, cant get proper healthcare, cant stretch that dollar anymore.Every one there is saddled with some kind of debt, has just lost a job or lost their homes. But most importantly they have all lost faith in the system that is causing so much despair in our lives. There is a caste system in the US and the world which is clearly and unmistakingly based on money and the ability to accumulate it (even if it means displacing a nation) and if you are unemployed you are at the bottom of the food chain. If you happen to be fortunate enough to have work right now even you are feeling the pinch! And how long will you have that job before your company packs up and moves to a foreign country because they cant afford to be here any longer? All this while brave men and women fight A war in places far away from home not really knowing why they are there, our kids kill each other over a one hundred dollar pair of sneakers or what color they wear and we all walk around in fear of getting sick because we have no health coverage.

For a long time we have been waiting and hoping that this whole thing will just “blow over”, we have assumed “well be allright”..THATS NOT GONNA HAPPEN..As a matter of fact? Thats what “THEY” are counting on!! That we just sit and let all the things that are happening just steamroll us all ! We can sit back and watch this all happen like some kind of sporting event or we can all do our part to make ourselves heard in this time when the world around us is changing rapidly. CHANGE IS COMING, ITS IN THE AIR, ALL OVER THE WORLD…..WHAT A TIME THIS IS THAT WE ARE LIVING IN!

Luis Antonio Ramos…ACTOR ON A BIKE