Father-daughter duo share a dance in Coca Cola commercial
The father of a Houston teen actress who chose a vacation in Cancun over a quinceañera ended up dancing the traditional father-daughter waltz with her when they were cast in a Coca-Cola commercial that’s now playing on television, at the movies and on airplanes.
“I did not have a quinceañera, and I did, at the same time. Pretty neat,” said Diana Alejandra (Perez), 17, who graduated in May from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Montrose.
José Armando Perez, 49, said he didn’t know producers were considering him for the role when he peeked over Diana’s shoulder during her Skype interview in early March.
“I didn’t expect to be discovered,” said José. “When they called back, Diana said, ‘They want to see us in New Orleans.’ I said, ‘See us?’ She said, ‘They want to see you, too.’ ”
José and Diana drove to the Crescent City and auditioned, then waited for three days before getting the call to return and film the commercial in late March.
“We went, ‘Mom, you should come, too,’ ” said Diana, so her mother, Mirna E. Perez, joined them on the trip and got to participate in the commercial, too. For a split second, she can be spotted in the quinceañera scene.
The commercial begins with José and Diana portraying a father and daughter practicing a partner dance in their kitchen.
When the daughter misses a step, she gets frustrated.
To the tune of Prince Royce’s 2010 cover of the late Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” the father tries to cheer up his daughter with a bottle of Coca-Cola; its label says “stand junto a mi” or “stand by me” in Spanish.
Next, as the song continues, we see the pair dancing perfectly at her quinceañera, where Diana wears a strapless, princess ball gown with rhinestoneembellished bodice and a light green, full-flowing chiffon skirt.
“They had, in total, three dresses,” said Diana. “The second one, I think the director could tell from my face I really loved it, and that’s the one he picked.”
José, who wore a tuxedo, soldiered on even though he had the flu the day of
filming.
“I had fever and I was feeling bad, but anything for my daughter,” he said.
José was born in Mexico but moved to Texas to attend the University of Houston, where he graduated with a business degree in 1994. A friend introduced him to Myrna, who had immigrated to Houston from Honduras when she was about Diana’s age.
Relatives in Honduras saw the Coke commercial air there in April, when Diana had only seen it online.
“People have told me they’ve been showing it in movie theaters, and one friend saw it flying back from Washington over and over,” she said.
Ispot.tv reports that as of mid-June the commercial has had almost 1,500 national airings.
The commercial can be viewed at www.ispot.tv/ad/Afyy/coca-cola-sharea-coke-and-a-song-dancesong-by-prince-royce.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson, Yunice Emir, said, “Apparently, (Diana) had a lovely experience (filming the commercial) especially since her father and mother were both featured.”
Diana is represented by Pastorini-Bosby Talent Agency in Bellaire. She has been modeling since she was 6. Once, for a Sonic Drive-in print ad, she said, “I had to pretend to drink an ‘ice cream shake’ which was really mashed potatoes because they wouldn’t melt.”
Diana has filmed other commercials, but she said, “For this one, a lot of people notice. It’s big.”
She was awarded $5,000 in merit and music scholarships to attend Loyola University in New Orleans this fall and major in music industry studies and popular/commercial music.
Both of her parents work in real estate. The couple also has a 13-yearold son, Allan Perez, who acts and models. He attends Harmony School of Fine Arts and Technology near NRG Stadium.
The family lives in southwest Houston.