BIRTH OF THE HUSTLE
Film Teaser
THE GET DOWN
I want to express my deepest gratitude to Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, who followed me on social media for two years before they began filming The Get Down in 2015. They hired me as the Technical Consultant to help guide the show and ensure Puerto Rican authenticity, making me the only Puerto Rican chosen for that role. What started as a simple cameo turned into a recurring role as Jimmy Smits’ right-hand man, allowing me to contribute both behind the scenes and on screen.
Willie Estrada Bio
Willie Estrada, also known as Marine Boy, is an author, filmmaker, and cultural historian from the South Bronx. As a pioneer of the Latin Hustle and an early Rock Dance (Uprock) innovator, he played a central role in transforming gang culture into dance culture during the 1970s.
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Estrada is a former member and gang leader of the Imperial Bachelors 1st Division, which was the first Bronx gang to remove its colors as a gesture of peace. He co-created the legendary Hustle parties at St. Mary’s Recreation Center alongside Supreme President Henry DeSosa, and they brought together hundreds of young people from across New York City, helping to reduce gang violence in their neighborhood during the summer of 1974.
He is the author of the acclaimed memoir The Dancing Gangsters of the South Bronx, described by Dr. Steven Payne as “one of the most compelling memoirs on growing up in the Bronx.” His story is currently featured in the Museum of the City of New York exhibition Urban Stomp. Estrada also served as a technical consultant and actor in Netflix’s The Get Down, working alongside Baz Luhrmann, Jimmy Smits, and Tom Kelly.
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Today, through Latin Empire Productions, LLC, Willie continues to preserve the true history of Latin Hustle, Rocking, and the cultural movement that laid the foundation for what later inspired the creation of Hip-Hop.
Director/Producer Baz Luhrmann told Willie he had a Willie Estrada surprise for him for Part II of the Get Down. It was released on April 7, 2017. He turned Willie into a cartoon and crowned him King of the Latin Hustle for keeping the story of its creation alive for over 50 years.
It was after this scene that Baz Luhrmann told Jimmy Smits he wanted to hire me as his right-hand man. Jimmy immediately said, “Yes, hire him, he’s good!” From that moment on, Jimmy treated me like family. For two years, I had the privilege of working alongside him, and it remains one of the greatest honors of my life.
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Willie Estrada
Four-time Academy Award winner Catherine Martin and Willie Estrada
On the Set of the Get Down - 2015
Home of the Lost Generation
This site is the official home of Latin Empire Productions, LLC, a creative hub dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and sharing the true history of South Bronx culture. Here you’ll find:
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Books: Willie’s memoirs and forthcoming titles documenting many untold stories of the Bronx.
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Film Projects: Updates on documentaries and feature films currently in development.
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History & Legacy: Archival photos, videos, and first-hand accounts of the Latin Hustle, Rocking, and early community movements that changed New York.
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Events & Collaborations: Opportunities to engage with live events, lectures, and cultural preservation projects.
Our mission is simple: to honor the pioneers who turned struggle into creativity, violence into peace, and the streets of the South Bronx into the birthplace of a cultural revolution.
Tom Kelly, Executive Producer and Showrunner of the NetFlix Series The Get Down and Willie Estrada
Artist Booking Agent & Manager
Among the many things I have done in my life, in 2005, I began working as an artist agent alongside Juan Toro and the Relentless Agency. I founded Latin Empire Entertainment Group later that year. I represented top Latin artists, produced and promoted shows, and built strong industry relationships. I chose to step away from that world rather than compromise my ethics, and in 2015, I rebranded my company as Latin Empire Productions, LLC, allowing me to focus on film and the arts. I am currently producing and directing my first feature film, inspired by my first book, The Dancing Gangsters of the South Bronx. The picture above speaks to the caliber of talent I supported, and my uncompromising integrity remains a defining characteristic of my work.
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Willie Estrada
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Shout out from India
The Latin Symbolics Dance Company
Willie “Marine Boy” Estrada is a Hustle Hall of Fame honoree from the South Bronx. As an original pioneer Hustle dancer whom George Vascones later recruited to dance with the Latin Symbols Dance Company, he refined partner connection, timing, frame, and stage discipline. He helped bring a street language of movement to polished performance. He also served as captain of The Rock Masters, a respected four-man rock team. In that role, he set the tone and music, enforced a code of respect, and proved that skill could speak louder than conflict. The two paths, Hustle and rocking, shaped his leadership style and his work as a mentor within the dance community during the 1970s and later throughout the world. Willie uses culture as a tool, protects the floor, and lets the music lead. Today, he shares the history and practice of the Latin Hustle and the art of rocking through talks, workshops, and archival storytelling in many countries since 2009. Countries he has visited for workshops, lectures, and judging competitions include: China, England, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Paris, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. All this while spreading Puerto Rican Culture along with love, kindness, and respect wherever he goes.
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He has hosted Latin Symboics Reunions for many years, culminating in his final Reunion at St. Mary's Park to mark the 50th anniversary of where it all started. The Latin Symboics celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2022, founded by George Vascones in 1972 as a Mambo Team, alongside the 50th Anniversary of the Hustle, also established in 1972 by Puerto Rican Teens from the South Bronx.
I have taken Puerto Rican culture around the world, teaching Hustle, Rock, and our cultural history in China, England, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Paris, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and across the United States. I don’t just focus on the steps or the music; I share the story of how these dances grew and were cultivated in the South Bronx, so people can feel the power of our community, not just from doing the moves. I have taught the meaning of these dances and how, while the Bronx was burning down all around us, it was the power and beauty of music and dance that gave us the strength not only to preserve but to overcome and thrive in a once-hostile environment.
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I will allow these young ladies, Nisa and Mely, from the UK, and Nadja Häussler from Germany, to speak about what my teaching was like in their own words.
Contact
Email: LatinEmpireProd@gmail.com
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
Office: 347-431-7440