Belizean actor/musician Berne Velasquez has been keeping busy with a successful music and film career.
He has produced multiple smash hits from albums Life after Deportation, Evolution, Celebration Time and Dileeyu and won the 2008 Carnival Song Competition, but ever seeking a challenge, he has recently turned to acting.
After star turns in the films The Seven Adventures of Sinbad as pirate gang leader Mehrack, and in Dragon Wasp as Ortega, Velasquez is now in the Jurassic Era with his latest, Jurassic Attack, which is currently filming around Belize.
Speaking with Amandala via telephone from the set location in Sandhill, Belize District, Berne said he has been handed “a great opportunity” with the role of Tank, a special sergeant commando tasked with rescuing a beautiful female kidnapped by a terrorist.
There’s just one problem: en route to the rescue, the helicopter crashes and lands in a jungle area, smack in the middle of the Jurassic Era – when dinosaurs ruled the earth – and Berne and company run right into them.
Dinosaurs and terrorists – an interesting combination, but it’s all “very exciting” for Berne.
“…working with these actors (referring to co-stars Gary Stretch, Natascha Berg, Alicia Eiegler, Israel Saez de Miguel and Michael Worth) has taught me a lot about acting. They have shown me a lot and it’s been a great learning experience. I am humbled by the opportunity – these actors have opened up to me, and seeing the quality of their work and being part of all of this has definitely reminded me of the talent and potential that Belize has, to be able to attract this kind of thing here,” Berne explained.
The film will be shooting for 12 days in various locations, including the Rockville Quarry and in Sandhill, and will be finished and released, Berne estimates, by September or October.
And for those worried that the bright lights will distract the Belizean star from his true calling of music, Berne says not to worry – Dileeyu Reloaded, his latest music project, is being prepared for release on May 31, and he has compiled and released a DVD of music videos from previous projects.
The prolific Berne Velasquez has produced, in addition to the music CD’s mentioned above (Life was re-released and has a follow-up DVD), the documentary Change the Game and Museum of Culture Presents: I am Berne, and he collaborated with Orson Picart and Young C on Destination Belize, and with Tanya Carter and Shawn Saldano on the “I am Belize” project.
According to Berne, he has sold over ten thousand copies of his works and now owns his own company, Life after Deportation Film and Records, and claims to be the “first Belizean artist” with a role in a feature film. He also recently played Cancun, Mexico during spring break on a world tour to promote Dileeyu.