| Alejandro Santiago Ciena | |
| Death Place: | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Occupation: | Music video director |
| Associated Acts: | Calle 13, Don Omar, Zion & Lennox |
| Website: | Crema Batida Cinema on Vimeo |
Alejandro Santiago Ciena (1977/1978 – October 10, 2022) was a Latin Grammy Award-winner music video director. He was the director of the production company Crema Batida Films, and also has credits as a second unit director for the Puerto-Rican film Manuela y Manuel (2007).[1] Santiago Ciena was best known for his work directing music videos for the Puerto-Rican band Calle 13; Santiago Ciena was the cousin of René Pérez (Residente), the band's lead singer.[2] The first video he directed for the band was "Calma Pueblo", the lead single of Entren Los Que Quieran in 2010.[2] The video presented Calle 13 as terrorists dressed as nuns and was deemed as "violent" by Judy Cantor-Navas of Billboard magazine.[3] Santiago Ciena, commented about the concept of the video, which uses nudity as a representation of freedom: "We wanted the lyrics and the visuals to be strong... we wanted it to be real, but still have a positive message to the show the union of people who fight to produce art."[4] The video was recorded in Milla de Oro, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was intended as a tribute to the work of American photographer Spencer Tunick.[2] Calle 13 and Santiago received the Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video for "Calma Pueblo".[4]
Santiago also directed "Muerte en Hawaii" for Calle 13. In the music video, Residente is joined by model Jimar Freshold, as they run for their lives on a beach with a "shocking ending".[5] Crema Batida Films also were responsible for the production and direction for "Como Curar" by Zion & Lennox, a music video about a virus that infects women;[6] the budget for the video was estimated at US$100,000.[7] Santiago directed "Huérfano de Amor" for Don Omar featuring Syko, the second single of in 2011.[8]
He died on October 10, 2022, at the age of 44 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[9]