The Storyteller's Playbook: Behind the Scenes with Salvador Abarca Arriaga

For nearly three decades, I've had the immense privilege of living out my life's passion as a masterful storyteller, weaving captivating narratives across film, television, advertising, and the ever-evolving digital landscape. My creative journey has allowed me to collaborate with the biggest brands, renowned celebrities, and luminary visionaries from every corner of the globe. It's been one hell of a ride, let me tell you.

I'll start by letting you in on a secret about myself - at my core, I'm an unabashed "passionate geek" who has always been drawn to tackling complex challenges through innovative technological solutions. This mindset prompted me to pioneer a revolutionary distributed remote collaboration model back in 2007, lightyears ahead of its time. By implementing cutting-edge project management software like Shotgun (primarily used by high-end Hollywood animation studios), I could build a boutique-style creative hub that allowed us to collaborate seamlessly with a global talent pool of artists on local productions. It foreshadowed the future of borderless creative teamwork.

Implementing a flexible yet robust system for delegating tasks and ensuring high-quality delivery was no easy feat. But that fearless bias towards taking on the impossible and making it reality has been a driving force throughout my career. I thrive on turning creative chaos into finely-tuned workflows and processes.

Speaking of cutting-edge innovation, I've also been at the forefront of pioneering immersive new media formats like virtual reality storytelling. In Mexico, my team and I innovated everything from crafting 360° VR experiences to producing full-fledged short films optimized for the emerging medium. We executed groundbreaking initiatives like recreating the newly-discovered Feathered Serpent Tunnel underneath the Teotihuacán pyramids as an interactive VR experience for Samsung - which I later presented alongside former President Enrique Pe?a Nieto to Angela Merkel at the Hanover Messe convention.

Constantly being that trailblazer exploring new artistic frontiers is simply hard-wired into my DNA. When it comes to the latest visual mediums and modes of storytelling, if I'm not the first one there, you can be certain I won't be far behind.

While my portfolio boasts an incredibly diverse array of projects spanning features, commercials, digital content and more, one particular storytelling medium rises above the rest - film. From the moment I expressed my dream of becoming a director to my grandmother at 8 years old, I've had a profound reverence for the magical cinematic art form. Her wisdom has stuck with me: "Salvador, like an orchestra conductor who must understand every instrument, a film director must possess a deep knowledge of technical aspects to communicate effectively with each crew member."

Those words ingrained in me from a tender age have charted the course for my life's journey. Developing a chameleon-like ability to masterfully communicate with every single person involved in the filmmaking process - whether behind the camera or on the screen - has been a supreme priority. From operating cameras and lighting sets to editing, color correction, VFX, sound design and beyond...I'm obsessed with developing a holistic fluency across every discipline. It's the only way to effectively translate my creative visions into full-blown realities.

That same skill has proven indispensable when taking my storytelling abilities to new digital formats like YouTube and social media content. As the former Head of Programming and Developing at the prestigious Condé Nast México and Latinoamérica, I led my exceptional team in crafting over 500 video pieces featuring Hollywood's brightest stars like Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez, and countless other A-listers. Our strategic and innovative approach shattered records, amassing over 1 billion views across YouTube and social platforms.

Each distribution platform demands a nuanced understanding of its own unique storytelling language and audience expectations. So whether I'm conceptualizing ideas for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, IGTV, or whatever emerges next, I'm able to lean on my holistic visual communication skills - honed from years of being involved in live-action, VFX-heavy films, viral ad campaigns, and more - to seize opportunities that others might miss.

Of course, that same pursuit of mastery drives every creative venture I pour my energy into, not just film. I'm passionate about the power of storytelling as a force for shaping how we contextualize the vast experiences of human existence - our frailties, fortitudes, triumphs, and endless potential to create and connect. "Stories embody the essence of our existence, spanning the past, present, and future of our species," I muse. "They have been a saving grace, providing countless moments of respite, entertainment, and opportunities for us to reflect on the past with empathy while embracing the future with hope."

Beyond my professional endeavors, I've also cultivated deeply personal creative outlets like photography to engage with that philosophy. "I'm passionate about images and their symbolism, the feeling provoked by sharing an intimate moment as a way of exploring the world around me," I explain. "I try to exorcise my demons by giving them a space and a place outside my head, to not feel alone with them. To reveal what one keeps inside as a mechanism for connecting with others."

My photographic work provides a raw exposure into my inner psyche and perspective on humanity. It's a form of vulnerability-based storytelling stripped down to its most affecting core - utilizing poignant visuals to convey profound emotions and truths. Over the past decade, I've explored this artistic avenue through projects like "GESAMT", where I collaborated with the legendary director Lars von Trier on a collective video art exhibition that traveled across Europe.

After nearly 30 years of trailblazing creative accomplishments, you'd think I might be ready to relax and bask in my laurels. But the truth is, my ambitious storytelling pursuits are just beginning to take shape. "I aspire to contribute to shaping the future of content by espousing a holistic, sustainable, and responsible vision for our present and future," I state plainly. "Content has the potential to serve as a catalyst for fostering human connection in ways we have yet to fully conceptualize. It will usher us into a new era of creativity and collaboration driven not by monetary constraints but by the boundless power of curiosity."

It's an almost utopian artistic philosophy, born from someone who has achieved a masterful command over the art and business of high-profile storytelling...yet still maintains a purity and humility around the craft. I've had the coveted experience of collaborating with A-list celebrities like Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez, elite brands, iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, and visionary directors operating at the peak of their talents. From working on surreal Hollywood productions to supervising a global team of VFX wizards from across India, Spain, Canada and the US to bring a feature film to life - I've been fortunate to live out the wildest of dreams.

Yet when I'm asked if I have any insatiable "white whales" or dream collaborators still left on my bucket list, my answer is instant: "My ideal work environment would be surrounded by brilliant visionary minds like Guillermo del Toro, Pedro Almodóvar among others, as well as hundreds of actors, artists, and creative individuals. I envision an atmosphere brimming with a playful, nurturing energy that unleashes the power of unbridled collaboration."

The wistful way I describe this idyllic creative utopia reveals the heartful authenticity of my ambitions. At this stage of my career, I am not motivated by money, fame or ego...but by the burning desire to uplift the human spirit through the collaborative celebration of unfettered creativity and connection. It's the type of audacious thinking that can only manifest from someone who has spent a lifetime deftly navigating the art, business, and therapeutic qualities of visual storytelling.

Of course, that lifelong journey kicked into gear at a startlingly young age (13yo in Animation), fueled by an innate entrepreneurial spirit and sense of possibility. "At just 20 years old, I founded Monster, GC in my hometown of Morelia, Michoacán as an animation studio," I recount. "After quickly securing major clients like Cinepolis, StarMedica, and even the state government, I immediately began seeking out bigger creative challenges."

This unrelenting drive to innovate and scale propelled me to Mexico City, where we rapidly expanded our boutique into a multi-disciplinary production hub. "We added visual effects capabilities and eventually built out a full-service model, handling projects from initial conception all the way through final execution. This became a key differentiator, as I've always enjoyed being hands-on creatively through every phase - from absorbing the client's initial strategic needs to supervising the production and post-production processes."

From those humble entrepreneurial beginnings to orchestrating stratospheric success on a global scale, my journey has been an eternal testament to the transformative powers of marrying bold ideas with hard work, strategic insights, and an unwavering faith in the magic of visual storytelling to uplift humanity. While the path wasn't always clear, my compass was rooted in that charmingly simple yet profound childhood revelation: if you dream of conducting an impactful creative symphony, you must first intimately understand how to play each instrumental part yourself.

Those are the deeper harmonic threads woven into the rich tapestry of my life's work thus far. I may project an air of wisdom honed from decades of experiencing the biggest stages and brightest spotlights that visual storytelling has to offer. But at my core, I'm still just a passionate, eternally-curious storyteller who wakes up every day feeling immensely grateful for the opportunity to spend my life's journey conjuring enthralling creative visions...and actually making them reality.

I'm eager to collaborate with passionate individuals and teams who share my commitment to excellence and innovation. Let's create groundbreaking stories together!