Production Design: “Gordita Chronicles” and the 1980s Hialeah-Miami Aesthetics


Fotografías de la escenografía en la serie Gordita Chronicles. Image Cortesía de Amy Wheeler

Fotografías de la escenografía en la serie Gordita Chronicles. Image Cortesía de Amy Wheeler

Amy Lee Wheeler is the production designer for “Gordita Chronicles”, an HBO series that tells the story of a girl and her family from the Dominican Republic who immigrates to Miami in 1985, after the country’s political and economic instability. Upon arrival, the “American dream” brings them an unpleasant surprise after discovering a materialistic city concerned about social status.

How was the home where she lived and the school where she studied? How was the office where her father worked? These were some of the spaces that Amy Lee Wheeler had to design and set with furniture and colors of iconic vintage styles, drawing inspiration not only from old movies, books, and catalogs but also from personal photographs. The construction of the set in Puerto Rico and the ongoing pandemic presented unique and unprecedented challenges, so ArchDaily interviewed her to learn about the work process behind the scenes.

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