In my previous blog entry, we discussed the origins of this fanfic reality show Flaming Bros San Fernando (or FBSF for short). Today, we will finally dive into each season, starting with Season 1.
Season 1 (2015)
This season tells you all you need to know about the original cast members, and for most of them, it's NOT in a good way at all. But again, that is intentional.
Similar to Basketball Wives' Circle, and RHOBH's Fox Force Five, most of the main cast of Flaming Bros San Fernando has a clique that I've referred to as the Bullies & Snobs (or B&S). And their influence on the show makes the viewing experience feel like a chore rather than a delight.
The leader of the B&S crew is 32-year-old Venezuelan actor and executive producer, Enrique Sapene, who is no stranger to reality TV, having appeared in Rica Famosa Latina. However, I wouldn't say that he is the leader of the show in general. In a similar fashion to that of Shaunie O'Neal, Enrqiue doesn't share anything about his personal or professional life. He is simply there to just sit back, relax, and watch the nonsense. This decision ends up working against him; not once, but definitely several times. As a result, there is not really much to say about him. He's fiesty and loud but... yeah. Moving on!
Alongside Enrique is his 31-year-old best friend and fellow Venezuelan Alex Paredes, a lifestyle guru who lives and breathes music festivals and travel. He is the husband of author and life coach Peter Monn, who we never see in this season. Alex has a bit of a similar personality to Enrique; saying whatever he wants to say. But he's, um... he's just kind of... boring. He's so incidental that you end up forgetting about him before midseason.
Our next entry into the B&S gang is 25-year-old Miami-born Cuban actor Jason Caceras, who (at the time) is engaged to his future husband (and fellow actor and makeup expert) Christian Gabriel Lopez (who's not a cast member, but appears frequently, as if he wants to tell Jason to stop with the hostility towards people). Ask anyone in the City of San Fernando, and they will tell you that Jason is your standard pretty boy with the youthful face to prove it. He has that adorable presence that makes you think that he would never hurt a fly. But that illusion changes very quickly, as soon as he opens his big mouth to gossip. He is often the reason why the B&S crew is so fractured for seasons to come. He also shows himself to be a bully towards the more likable people that we'll discuss momentarily.
Rounding out the Bullies and Snobs is Jason's 27-year-old Mexican-American best friend Edgar Estuardo Alvizures. He prefers to be called Estuardo, so that's what we'll call him. Estuardo is a dancer from Boston, who many PBS fans will remember from the 4th and 5th seasons of the TV series "Zoom." On this show, he's normally Jason's sidekick. If Jason doesn't like you, then neither does Estuardo. He also has a habit of talking more trash during her confessionals than to someone's face. And that's really Estuardo's personality in a nutshell.
Together these four men create a dynamic that can only be described as toxic, with Jason being the main reason, Alex tolerating it, and Estuardo eventually being Jason's target for gossip. And Enrique's just there seeing dollar signs because this is "good TV." The bullies and snobs also have no problem going after our next two (more likable) main cast members.
First up is 33-year-old Mexican-American actor David Ty Reza. Let me tread lightly because this man scares me, even though VH1's target audience loves the Hell out of David so much, it is scary. David's "don't mess with me" personality against the B&S makes him a fan with viewers. But pretty soon, we see that he is... a lot. Constantly defensive, always ready to fight, as evidenced by what fans call the Drink-Throwing Trilogy. First drink-throwing incident: midway through the season, after Jason accused David of checking out Christian, David (who denies checking out Christian) proceeds to say, "What do you even care? You never cared about Christian!" This leads to Jason throwing a drink at David's face. Second drink-throwing incident: David throws a drink at Jason's face a couple of episodes later, after ripping David a new one for talking shit about David on Twitter and IG. Third drink-throwing incident: Jason would win round three when he brings a pitcher a water and throws the drink at David (who was minding his own business) backstage during the reunion. I guess you could say that Jason won that fight by technicality, while David won by likability. But David's own behavior bites him in the ass, season after season...
And then we have the real lead and fan favorite of the show, the 21-year-old Brazilian actor Rafael L Silva, who we don't see until Episode 2. During this time, Rafa is new to the City of San Fernando, has already acted in several short films and commercials, and practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is also a sweetheart that the B&S do not like. In fact, when we first meet Rafa, he is being interviewed/interrogated by Enrique, asking some pretty shady questions such as, "Does anybody care about your short films?" and "Do you date around or do you get around?" When Rafael meets the B&S crew on Episode 2, it's stepping into a Gladiators battle, because the group treated him so bad. Estuardo realizes that he recognised Rafa in some short films, living the life that Estuardo never got to live back in Boston. So out of jealousy, Estuardo immediately hates Rafael.
In fact, when the whole group (Rafa, Estuardo, David, Jason, Alex, and Enrique) go to a therapy session for some reason (it was set up by Enrique, go figure). And one of the very last activies required each cast member to write one word describing each cast member. While Enrique, Alex, Jason, and Estuardo were each given positive words, David and Rafael got the opposite. David was given the words, "passionate" (from Rafael), "animated" (Enrique), "dramatic" (Estuardo), "immature" (Alex), and "hideous" (Jason). And Rafa was given the words, "talented" (David), "passive" (Enrique), "sneaky" (Alex), "combative" (Jason), and worst offender, "worthless" (Estuardo). This makes the bullies and snobs super unlikable for many seasons to come.
Rafael is basically a piece of meat surrounded by vultures. There's only so much he can say to Enrique because Enrique is the self-proclaimed "boss" (sure, Enrique), so he never really bothers engaging with Enrique, which is probably for the best. There are moments where we just want to give Rafa a hug because he's basically on a show with the mean girls. And after being verbally attacked by the B&S because he's the youngest in the cast, and they're that bored with their own lives, Rafa doesn't really engage with them until he has to. You can only avoid them for so long when you're a full-time cast member. The only flaming bro who seems to like Rafa is David, and they hit it off very quickly. Their friendship becomes one of the FEWEST positive highlights of the season. But many seasons later, it becomes clear that David only liked Rafa because Rafa is a good listener and a people pleaser. In other words, David just wanted a yes-man, not an actual friend, unbeknownst to the audience and Rafa himself this season.
And midway through the season, we meet a future cast member and Rafa's Mexican best friend from Austin, Texas, Alastair Patton, who makes a few cameos during Rafa's solo scenes this season, and becomes a friend-of next season.
No friend-ofs this season, which allows us to really focus on the six main cast members.
So yeah, already a jacked-up dynamic within our cast of 6 young Latin men. And while, the B&S team are insufferable, and David is a mixed bag, it's really Rafa who's truly the most likable of the bunch.
And through it all... people still watched... and lived to regret it for years to come.
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