Golden Time, with Bernadette Rivero of The Cortez Brothers

By Chandler Atton & Anthony Vagnoni

Bernadette Rivero – better known to friends, family and colleagues as B.B. – is President and EP at The Cortez Brothers, a L.A. based production company specializing in bringing branded content to life. Working in close partnership with her husband, the veteran producer and EP Ed Rivero, B.B. brings a unique set of qualities to her role at Cortez. 

A working mom of four who came to production with a journalism background – and accompanying curiosity – she’s been a regular speaker at conferences and seminars, sharing her insight and wisdom on such topics as increasing diversity in the production ranks and finding the right work/life balance for working mothers such as herself. Indeed, in response to the many worried ad industry new moms she’s heard from through the years, she’s the creator of “Breastfeeding & Production Tips: For Those on Set Throughout Advertising Productions,” available for download here.

Recent productions she’s overseen include work for Nissan, Universal Studios, Pepsi, WhatsApp, Corona and Honda. Trained in writing programs at Nickelodeon, ABC, Disney and FOX, B.B. frequently works across advertising, film and TV, and has counted MGM Studios, NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers among her clients. 

We caught up with her recently to ask about how she spends those precious 48 hours called the weekend. Here’s how she spends her Golden Time. 

Where do you live? And how long have you lived there? What do you like best about where you live?

B.B.: I live in Marina del Rey, California… I’ve been in Los Angeles for about 23 years now. What I love most about living here is that I’m close to the water – even though I don’t like actually going IN it, because… sharks. But I like having the option.

Briefly, tell us how you got into the business. And how long have you been in your current role?

B.B.: My high school English teacher found out I was working at a grocery store and helped me get a gig inside a local ad agency instead, so I went from ringing up Oreos to working a desk job in targeted niche marketing when I was 14, which was a lot of fun. I’ve been working in physical production since I graduated college, and have been with The Cortez Brothers, Inc. since 2005 (convenient, as I’m the President and co-owner).

How often do you end up working on the weekend? How much time do you spend on work-related stuff from Friday night to Sunday night?

B.B.: ALL. THE. TIME. Treatments and bidding can and do happen at any given moment, so I can’t ever predict my weekends from one week (or even day) to the next. If I have to work one weekend day, I try to make sure I’m doing something with my family the other, or shift the work to late at night so we get a good stretch of time together.

What’s your favorite weekend decompression activity? How often do you get to pursue it?

B.B.: Street festivals! Los Angeles is never at a shortage: I like taking my husband and kids to Night Markets, Holiday Markets, Cuban Festivals, Polish Festivals, Chinese New Year Festivals, Thai Festivals, Greek Festivals… Any and all are welcome.

It’s a three-day weekend. How do you spend that bonus day?

B.B.: Three-day weekends usually coincide with holidays, so my youngest daughter almost always has a dance performance in the community somewhere. We’re a Mexican folklórico dance family (I danced; all of my kids have danced), so you’ll typically find me packing and unpacking practice skirts, performance costumes, dance shoes, and applying a lot of purple and/or teal eye shadow to a small child. We go to farmer’s markets, Downtown L.A., Olvera Street, all over Santa Monica. It’s a great way to get out and see – and be a part of – the city.

How much time do you spend on your phone/tablet/laptop on a typical weekend? 

B.B.: Many more hours than I should (albeit admittedly with a portion of that dedicated to researching street festivals). I’m trying to be more thoughtful about not working Sundays, though.

What have you been watching lately? How do you keep up on all the streaming content out there?

B.B.: A friend just convinced me to go see Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” and I was so shell-shocked I walked several blocks home from the theater in utter silence, alone with my thoughts. I’m still trying to decompress from that, so it’s books for me now, thanks. And also a LOT of watching commercial spots, shorts and music videos from directors around the world.

What do you listen to? What’s on your playlist?

B.B.: In the car, Tom Petty Radio (I was a guest DJ recently), Jason Isbell, or reggaeton. In the kitchen, I flip back and forth between salsa and Mexican music – so it’s either Juan Luis Guerra, Christian Alicea, Daniela Darcourt and a tropical playlist, or a playlist that kicks off with Natalia Lafourcade and Yahritza y Su Esencia. 

Best weekend live experience of the past year: concert, sporting event, gallery visit, movie, Tough Mudder? What made it special? 

B.B.: Pokey LaFarge at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. I spend a lot of time on my laptop dodging unsolicited emails, but I clicked through on one from a potential music vendor about two years ago and ended up down the blues-folk-country-swing-jazz rabbit hole, and unexpectedly became a fan. Then I went to his live show, and WOW. Incredible talent and energy, and the same kind of thrill I get when I spot emerging directorial talent: I want to shout from the rooftops, “Stop what you are doing and pay attention! Something distinctive and exciting is happening here!”

So it’s Sunday night already! How do you get ready for Monday morning? What’s your Sunday night routine?

B.B.: Kid bath time, bedtime, snuggles; remove the kittens from whatever couch/curtain/fabric they’ve decided to climb; read a stack of screenplays and give notes; hang out and watch something mindlessly entertaining with my husband; drift off to sleep; immediately have to wake up to remove the kittens from the closet in which they snuck into to hide.

Thanks, B.B.! To learn more about The Cortez Brothers, visit them here.