IN MEMORY of one of our own, JULIUS TORRES (1978-2010)

Dear LUMPIA Lovers,

It’s a very sad time for the Kid Heroes family. You’ll recall our previous announcement
that one of our old friends Julius Torres was reported missing last month. Earlier this
week, we received this update from Julius’s older brother Jason:

“I am devastated to have to tell you that Jul’s body was found. Last Thursday,
the Coast Guard found an unidentified body in the waters of Point Pinole…
yesterday it was confirmed that it was my brother, Jul. From the autopsy he is
believed to have passed from drowning. I always thought he was going to
show up and come home, but now I know he has found peace and a home
with God.“

There are several memorial services happening in the San Francisco Bay Area. The
family has created a website in memory of Julius and are accepting contributions on
his behalf: Julius.ChipIn.com



REMEMBERING JULIUS
I was planning to edit together a tribute video containing highlights of Julius's acting in
our old Kid Heroes movies. Once I dug up the old footage in the archives, it became very
hard to watch. I was suddenly flooded with memories of shooting those scenes with my
neighbors and I felt uncomfortable editing video of a friend that was no longer with us.
All I was able to complete was a Kid Heroes banner commemorating Julius’s contributions.

In Kid Heroes folklore, Julius was the leader of a neighborhood gang who caused trouble for
our kid superheroes. In real-life, Julius was a talented, down-to-earth person who had such an
infectious charisma. He was already known in the neighborhood as a break-dancer for the
Concrete Rockers. Onscreen, he had a presence that just stole every scene in his movie
debut Kid Heroes 2 (1991). After our neighborhood premiere, the cast/crew voted Julius as
the BEST ACTOR of the movie.



The first thing I remembered when watching the movies again this week was the pure
exhilaration and fun the entire cast had when shooting our mock fights and fake drama.
When the first Kid Heroes movie was shot in the summer of 1990, Julius became such a
fan that he wanted to participate in the next movie. When that sequel came out, we had
more neighbors asking to take part in the next one.



Today, that tradition continues when musicians or clients become fans of our various Kid Heroes
music videos/commercials and want to collaborate with us. Or, when we recruit freelance crew
members to join us for our shoots. That sense of community from the neighborhood days is still kept
alive in all of our projects. And in that same tradition, we still keep Julius alive.



I haven’t seen Julius in more than 10 years. When Julius abruptly left Kid Heroes 3 back in 1992
and didn’t finish his role, I was hurt that I had lost my favorite collaborator. He had lost that passion,
and I, like any stubborn kid, held a grudge. My last contact with him was a MySpace message
years ago congratulating me on the success of our neighborhood reunion movie LUMPIA. It was
the first time since we parted ways that we “talked”. Should I have told him how much I wanted to
ask him to be a part of that reunion movie? Was there a part of him that missed us working with
each other again? Acting in our neighborhood movies was just a tiny part in Julius’s life, but
for me, it played a huge impact on my career. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to thank him in
person and to let him know how much he meant to me as my neighbor, as my collaborator…
and as my friend.

We will miss you, Julius.



God bless,
Patricio Ginelsa
"indie" Filmmaker
http://www.kidheroes.net/pginelsa
http://www.xylophonefilms.com
http://www.LoveThatLumpia.com

Kid Heroes Productions, P.O. Box 83672, Los Angeles, CA 90083