We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex M. Calle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex M., what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I don’t think anyone chooses to go into art. The arts have a funny way of making you feel connected to the world while playing the strings in your heart. You simply fall in love. You can’t help yourself. It’s all cyclical in the end. You make art so, one day, other people feel connected to the world, fall in love, and make art themselves.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a kid I was always told a life in the arts was a capricious, fortuitous route, plagued with disorder and always more conveluded than you’d ever imagine. I never quite appreciated that as much as I should have. It really is… but it makes an interesting life and hones your craft. Sidetracked, misaligned, and seemingly lost. Creating and dreaming in different fields, with different genres, and in different regions with different cultures expands horizons and makes a good artist. It builds a filing cabinet of ideas; deepening the bench as it were. I simply love stories and storytelling and that love has manifested itself in Film, TV, Theatre, Concert, Public Art, Theme Park, Attraction, Retail, Magic, and Casino Direction, Design, and Production. From the earliest sketch through construction and installation. I love telling stories through objects and have had the privilege to do it with awesome people all over the world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Here are some La La Land highlights… in no particular order… from my own random inklings:

Won Kok Dim Sum in Chinatown, Pink’s Hollywood, The Pie Hole DTLA, Angel City Brewery, a Dodgers Game, The Broad, A show at The Geffen / Pasadena Playhouse / Mark Taper (hopefully next year!), walk along the Venice Canals, Temescal Canyon Hike, Disneyland (on a weekday…), Blue Butterfly Coffee El Segundo, Yoga-urt Silverlake, Phillips BBQ Crenshaw, Yuko’s Kitchen Wilshire, and a night at The Magic Castle.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I would say our success is ALL thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. “It’s all who you know… and I know CRACKLE” (from the famous trio along with SNAP and POP). Everyone I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting has influenced me in ways they will never know. After all, we should take a little something from every encounter we have. Our job? To sift out the gold nuggets, polish them, and sell them for more than they’re worth.

Above all though, I am the man I am today because of my mom and the man I want to be tomorrow because of my incredible partner, Radina.

Website: hiddenlemons.com

Instagram: @alexmcalle

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmcalle/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.