A native Puerto Rican, Raquel met her husband, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot, while both of them were living in Miami, FL. As many military spouses have found, her marriage meant several moves over the course of their 12 years together. Raquel’s primary profession is as an actress, which meant facing a variety of opportunities, but also many challenges, in maintaining continuity in her career as they changed locations.
Raquel and her husband were living in the D.C. area, which has proved to be the least compatible with her acting pursuits. So Raquel combined her experience in visual arts with her growing interest in her husband’s passion for filming their travels, and officially began a videography business. The company’s name, Fenestronic Studios, is a play on the Latin word Fenestra, meaning window or aperture, as well as the type of tail rotor for the helicopter flown by her husband. The two of them now enjoy spending their weekends creating short films for weddings and other social experiences.
Raquel has a natural talent for the creation of these films. Her experience as an actor allows her to absorb a scene quickly and capture emotion and movement. She doesn’t get caught up in scripts or set pieces of the wedding day. Their clients note that she instantly establishes trust and rapport, and works really well with the couple, particularly the bride. Raquel’s eye for the picture is balanced by her husband’s keen interest in audio and editing skills. He weaves a narrative thread into their documentary-style films by finding special sentiments in the vows and the toasts. The results are fresh and impactful.
Even though they were based in D.C. the last few years, the majority of the weddings they’ve filmed have been in other destinations. Travel is easy for them, and they enjoy shooting films in a variety of places. Being versatile helps them to be more creative in capturing the authenticity and joyfulness of the events.
This summer they moved again, to Jacksonville, FL. Raquel anticipates that marketing themselves in the wedding industry, where established relationships and networks can be critical, will provide another unique hurdle. Having relied primarily on word-of-mouth so far, LineCrew is a welcome support for them to generate more clients.