Julie Carmen to Play Judge in Television Role

“Drug Wars II--Colombia: The Fall of the Medellin Cartel” will air on NBC next month, starring Julie Carmen in the role of a courageous Colombian judge who investigated and indicted Pablo Escobar, kingpin of the Medellin Cartel who is now in prison. And look for Carmen to host “Transit 2000,” a KABC-TV public affairs program to air one Sunday each month from January to June. It will deal with environmental topics, such as transportation in Los Angeles. The versatile actress, who says she is “ferociously supportive of environmental causes and cleaning up the environment,” also stars in “Kiss Me a Killer,” an erotic musical thriller to be released next month in video, with musical sound track by Marcos Loya.

Speaking of which, Marcos Loya’s album “Love Is the Reason” has just been released on Spindletop Records. “I really look at this album as forging a new link between American and Latin music,” said Loya, who was born in East Los Angeles and wants to be known “as a maker of good music who is Latino, rather than a Latino musician.” At the recent Latin Music Expo, Loya said that “obstacles against Latino musicians and singers making it in the music industry today are really huge,” and added, “I was lucky.” Loya, music director for “The Paul Rodriguez Show,” said, “We have the talent and the heart--we are missing the technical part, and we need record companies in general to have departments that know what to do with Latino music.”

And look for Loya’s TV “boss,” Paul Rodriguez, to play Satan in “La Pastorela,” a rollicking Latino Christmas fantasy about the shepherds’ journey to Bethlehem, airing on KCET Dec. 23, 24 and 25. This musical adaptation of a traditional holiday play was performed by Luis Valdez’s El Teatro Campesino and a host of Latino stars. The show was written and directed by Valdez (“La Bamba,” “Zoot Suit”) and was produced by Richard Soto. The cast includes Linda Ronstadt, Robert Beltran, Karla Montana, Cheech Marin and many familiar faces, such as Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci), Lalo Guerrero, Freddy Fender, Little Joe y La Familia and Flaco Jimenez, and Los Lobos performing songs. The film will be premiered in Los Angeles on Saturday at a special screening and reception at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

Warner Brothers has delayed release of “The Mambo Kings” until early next year. The film depicts two Cuban musician brothers who arrive in New York City during the 1950s mambo craze.

Honored for her outstanding contributions to the arts in California, actress Carmen Zapata recently received the prestigious 1991 Governor’s Award for the Arts from Gov. and Mrs. Pete Wilson. Zapata, who is the producing director of L.A.’s Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, is currently filming the motion picture “Sister Act” with Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith.