The rise of a creative hub

FLARE Creative Studio offers different sets to design for videographers and photoshoots, along with costumes and props. Owner Hermino Mendez recorded a short film inside for the CineSol 36 Hour Film Race for 2025. 

Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER

In the heart of downtown McAllen, amidst the buzzing energy of 17th Street, filmmaker Hermino Mendez is constructing a creative sanctuary, located at 421 S. 16th St. in McAllen.

It is a space still in its raw, formative stages, a mix of planning and spontaneous production, but it is anchored by a philosophy that seeks to elevate the human experience, according to Mendez.

FLARE Creative Studio serves as a laboratory for Mendez’ dual career in commercial videography and personal artistic projects while adhering to a personal mantra: “To move the human spirit.” 

“My motto basically stems from just wanting to make the world a better place,” he said. “Wanting people to feel better watching my work, wanting people to just, like, feel inspired themselves, or even just like, create a sense of awe.” 

Mendez, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, told The Rider he returned to the Rio Grande Valley with a mission to build a professional-grade hub for local artists, 

The studio recently served as the central location for his team’s entry into CineSol 36 Hour Film Race festival, a short film titled “Moonshine,” and as the location for UTRGV’s student organization House of Fashion’s shoot. 

He said his current work is a stark departure from the “nihilistic” worldview of his youth, reflecting a conscious shift to optimism.

The positive outlook informs the aesthetic of his films, which he describes as having a “very, very DIY-centered” look, a deeply rooted reflection of Mendez’s upbringing. 

“That just stems from growing here,” he said. “I grew up lower class and stuff so from that stems DIY culture and indie culture, alternative culture. And it’s cool to reflect back on that.”

For set designs, his team resources almost everything secondhand, from Facebook Marketplace finds such as a statue of a knight from the Middle Ages to affordable fabrics from creative reuse centers. 

Mendez said he favors using a handheld camera, which adds an intimate touch.

“I love the feeling of when you are watching something; it feels like the camera is in somebody’s hands,” he said. “I feel like it really adds a human character to it instead of just being super cinematic.” 

Mendez said for surreal or comedic effect, he frequently utilizes a wide-angle fisheye lens for disorienting close-ups.

He added his probe lens, a specialized, foot-long narrow lens, gives surgical precision for detailed commercial shots.

“The whole point of it is that you can use it to insert into small objects,” Mendez said. “It is so much smaller than that, and it is so cool for commercial work.” 

Juggling commercial demands and artistic expression has not proved to be a challenge for him, who focuses on gently steering clients toward more unique concepts, according to the director.

He said his ultimate goal is to convert the studio’s structure into an interconnected creative campus. 

“I would love to have this be just a space for all creatives,” Mendez said. “Have maybe like a studio here, have like a thrift shop in the front, maybe a coffee shop on the side.”

 For other aspiring visual storytellers in the Valley, Mendez stresses the importance of expanding the network beyond those with cameras.

 “You really just have to find parallel, adjacent things to film,” he said.

To learn more about the FLARE Creative Studio and Mendez, visit www.HerminoMendez.com.

About The Author