HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — This summer, the Rio Grande Valley got a taste of Hollywood as the city of Mercedes played host to its first-ever movie production.

“El Jardin” is set to premiere this fall starring actor and San Juan native David Barrera.

In this edition of Valley Voices, CBS 4’s Marco Ramirez sat down with Thomas Negrete and Reynaldo Leal, both from the RGV, who have taken their film careers back home.

Leal and Negrete break down how their team executed taking “El Jardin” from script to screen. They say the biggest factor in making their vision a reality was the city of Mercedes becoming a film-friendly city.

“From the makeup artists, to wardrobe to the camera department to production design, a lot of that was with a very limited budget,” Leal said. “On top of that, the city of Mercedes really coming in strong, not just saying they’re a film-friendly city, but really being a film-friendly city.”

For more of an in-depth look at the making of “El Jardin”, tune in to Valley Voices!

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