Ramon Nuñez Brings Dominican Fire to the “New Era Bilingual Production Company”

Baby Lion Media is an LA-based, Black- and Latino-owned production company, started in 2020, to be “the new era bilingual production company." Founded by executive producer Ramon ‘Ra’ Nuñez and director Jerry Digby, professionally known as ‘Digby’, the company takes a total market approach with a diverse talent roster and expertise in cultural fluidity.

Regardless of the platform or medium, Baby Lion's work aims to have an authentic impact across America’s general market while seamlessly integrating different cultural nuances - be it for the Hispanic population or other underrepresented groups. 

Discussing how his upbringing in a Latino immigrant family influenced his career, Baby Lion co-founder Ramon tells LBB that he and Digby felt it would be “powerful” to have a production company that reflects their own cultural backgrounds.

Above: Ramon and Digby on set for 'Riyadh Season' boxing promo

Ramon was born in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic to a family of farmers and teachers, before moving to Queens, New York, when six-months old. In the summers he would return and work in the pineapple fields of his uncle and aunt’s farmland, which taught him a strong work ethic and gave him humility, seeing his cousins and community members with more humble beginnings working on the land full-time.

In the States, he was also influenced by the work ethic of his immigrant parents and others who had to learn English and provide for their families - many as service workers or, like his mother and aunts, as Spanish teachers.

“Seeing them building from nothing to truly living the American dream and buying homes impacted me culturally very early on,” says Ramon. “It taught me a lot about the level of work [required] and the extent you have to sacrifice - especially coming from another country where you don't know the language or the culture as a whole.”

He also observed how the Dominicans and other immigrant communities preserved and ingrained their own language, cultures and traditions into American life. Ramon recalls culturally ‘switching’ from his Spanish-speaking household and neighbourhood to his interactions with friends of all backgrounds - Asians, Greeks, African Americans, Italians or otherwise - all of whom would form cross-cultural bonds over his mother’s Caribbean cooking.

Above: Ramon on set for 'Riyadh Season' boxing promo

Something of a quintessential New York upbringing, Ramon credits the multicultural city, and his experiences across the wider Tri-State area, as vitally formative.

“It gave me a really wide lens, and a wide lens opens a wide heart,” he says. “Especially if you're raised the right way, to start learning about and understanding [them]. But it's not just studying them, I was also taught to care about people’s culture... because it's who they are, and why. So the city really did shape me early on.”

Ramon’s extended family in the city also combined their own creativity and Latin heritage with the vibrant New York scene. His second cousins formed hip hop group The Beatnuts and produced tracks for the likes of Fat Joe, Common and even British artists Stereo MCs. Growing up surrounded by the flourishing ‘90s hip hop culture, Ramon found a passion for DJing as a child and learned to read the composition of mixes and bring seemingly disparate elements together in the best way.

While he admits his own musicianship left a lot to be desired, he tried his hand at everything while attending the Louis Armstrong Middle School of the Arts and brought a diverse collection of skills and experiences together to create stories that moved people.

Relentlessly perseverant, Ramon identified his shortcomings, and instead started developing his gift for storytelling and organisation. “I started to realise that kid right there is a great trumpet player, and that other kid is a great clarinet player - I had an ear, a sense that you couldn’t teach.” He became the go-to person to orchestrate talent shows and theatre productions, unknowingly starting down the path of a producer.

Above: Baby Lion director Esca's 'Sumol' spot

However, his teenage years had another culture shock in store for him. In eighth grade, his parents divorced and Ramon moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “You can imagine, going from New York City to the Midwest, the heart of America, the Rust Belt... it was a very different city,” he says.

“For the most part, it was very segregated compared to my experience in New York City. But this very much moulded me as well, because it really helped me understand what the heart of America really is. It's not all just beautiful cultures mixing like New York City; a melting pot. The rest of America has parts that are still diverse, but much more separated in terms of how that diversity comes together.”

This gave Ramon a foundation in understanding the US more holistically, rather than solely through a New York lens. It was also at high school in Milwaukee where he was introduced to the world of broadcast and production through the school’s own TV department. “That's what started to shape me into a filmmaker - understanding video, context and stories and putting documentaries together.” From there, he moved onto the broadcast department at Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University, where his storytelling began to be refined.

Yet another cultural shift in the Midwest, Ramon found himself part of “a very small minority” of non-white students at the college, leading to opportunities such as producing PSAs and short videos about race relation issues on campus.

Above: Ra's early days in production

“I started to write stories about kids that were trying to get unification and kids that were feeling uncomfortable on campus - some of the international students and some of the Black and Latino students. Doing documentaries on that helped me understand how to bring culture to a story, to make change.”

Majoring in broadcast and television with a minor in small business, Ramon graduated in 2000 and started working at creative agency Fallon Worldwide. This kicked off two decades in agency-side production at the likes of Colle McVoy, FCB and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. During this time, he helped make world-renowned work for BMW, Miller, Coors and others, as integrated production and social content rose to prominence.

“Crispin was already integrated in a time when a lot of agencies were trying to catch up,” he shares. “I was already an integrated thinker, so I was able to produce everything from live events and experiences, to producing big TV spots and Super Bowl campaigns, to the social and digital mediums. In the early years of social, I knew how to bring technology to the forefront of all the platforms, and I was very unafraid.”

Ramon’s final stop before co-founding Baby Lion Media, however, was at Publicis’ agency, The Community. Starting life as a pioneering multicultural agency focused on the Hispanic communities in the US, he shares that they ‘trailblazed total marketing as we know it’ and taught him how to be a bilingual leader with Spanish-language, multi-platform productions.

Alongside Digby, Ramon then brought this bilingual experience and fearlessness to his own production company when the pair launched Baby Lion Media four years ago.

“I feel very fortunate as a Dominican American, a son of two immigrants, to be able to co-found one of the first Black- and Latino-owned production companies,” he says. “We pride ourselves on being the new era bilingual production company. From day one, we’ve had a roster of directors and creative technology capabilities that encompass experiential and immersive, and post production. But what makes us different is that we bring cultural fluidity to every project that we do.”

He adds, “We're shaping and moulding for the cultural communities that we're talking to... and we've been able to shape that into campaigns that have real impact for our clients.”

These campaigns include work for Google helping small businesses, the launch of Heineken’s Mexican-American influenced beer Tecate Alta, work for Walmart’s 'Black and Unlimited' initiative, as well as work for Comcast and Tinder about bringing cultures together - collaborating with agencies such as Mischief, Ogilvy, Alma, and The Community. Baby Lion has also made its mark globally, producing impactful projects in countries like Italy, Germany, and Argentina.

Above: Walmart - 'Black and Unlimited Adventure Series: N'Dea'

“We’re not only well versed in the different platforms and have the right teams, but we’re able to put cultural fluidity to the forefront - not as an afterthought. When we're thinking about casting, locations, production design, all those details, we think about cultural fluidity - how is the work going to speak to people in those communities and why? We have decided to carry a roster that is majority focused on artists who represent those diverse communities.”

These artists include a variety of bilingual producers and directors, including Angel Gracia, Esca, Chris Guerreo, Rachel Myers and Lucia Iturbe - talent that Ramon says is attracted to Baby Lion by the opportunity to do 360-degree work - sometimes from concepting all the way through to post production - and ‘shake things up’ with storytelling beyond the traditional 30-second spot.

Many of Baby Lion’s projects involve not just filmmaking but also live events, experiential executions, immersive fabrication, and creative and interactive technology like AR and 3D web experiences. “We're handling it from soup to nuts, post production included,” says Ramon. “Clients are loving the fact they can team up with us from conception through execution, and also work through the strategic parts of the cultural fluidity of that campaign.”

He continues, “This 360 approach is what makes us the new era bilingual production company. We're very proud of the fact we're Black- and Latino-owned, and a lot of directors and artists are noting that. And [clients] aren’t just hiring us because they need to hire a minority company, it's because Baby Lion brings a lot to the table, both creatively and culturally.”

Ramon shares that a lot of artists reach out to the company, and he emphasises an importance on taking the time to look at their work and provide feedback. Part of his and Digby’s philosophy is not just about supporting their own company, but helping pave the way for the next generation of Black and Latino talent - or indeed any underrepresented talent - to become leaders and start their own businesses.

Above: The Baby Lion Media team on set with Jennifer Garner for KitchenAid

“We're very much about empowering young women as part of our initiative too,” he says. “For so many years, young women have also been left behind and not seen as the leaders they should be. So we're very keen to impact young women who can become the next leaders of tomorrow in production and creativity as well.

“In the end,” he adds, “we want to put artists in the best position... Baby Lion Media is truly a foundation; a den of fearless, diverse artists who can make the greatest work of their careers.”

Reflecting on his Dominican American heritage and the influence of his family’s determination as immigrants, he says, “I'm a beneficiary of that. I find myself grounded in humility and grace because I would not have the opportunity to own Baby Lion if it wasn't for those sacrifices and everything I learned from that community and their hard work.

“Every day, I wake up with the fire to make the greatest work for my clients and help them grow, but also a fire to help inspire and give opportunities to other immigrants, and diverse creators and makers, who can become the next Baby Lion.”