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Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas [DVD]
59 minutes,2003
Description: A fiery mix of documentary, poetry, drama, and performance, Every Child is Born a Poet explores the life and work of Piri Thomas (b1928), the Afro-Cuban -Puerto Rican author of the classic autobiographical novel Down These Mean Streets (1967). The film follows Thomas' path from boyhood to manhood in New York City's Spanish Harlem, El Barrio- his parents' immigrant experience, home life during the Great Depression, membership in barrio youth gangs, his struggle to come to terms with his mixed-race identity, travels as a teen-age merchant marine, life as a educator, and activist. Through a dynamic collage of genres and visual styles, the film poetically explores Thoma' use of creative expression as a means of confronting poverty, racism, violence, and isolation. Pulsating with an original Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz score, Every Child is Born a Poet is a provocative portrait of life lived through struggle, self-discovery, and transformation.
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| The Americas: The Latin American and Caribbean Presence in the United States [VHS]
60 minutes, 1993
Description: Returns to the United States to profile California's Mexican population and the Latin American and Caribbean communities of Miami and New York City. This final episode poses questions about assimilation, national identity and how these communities are changing what it means to be an American. |
Mirrors of the Heart: Race and Identity [VHS]
60 minutes, 1993
Description: Explores race and ethnicity as indicators of an individual's self-image and social standing. An indigenous family in Bolivia strives for economic and social advancement while maintaining their cultural identity. People of neighboring Haiti and the Dominican Republic show contrasting attitudes toward their African roots. |
In Women's Hands: The Changing Roles of Women [VHS]
60 minutes, 1993
Description: Examines the changes Chilean women of every social class effected as they organized during the Pinochet years to create better living conditions for their families.
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Haiti: Dreams of Democracy [VHS]
52 minutes, 1987
Description: A colorful report on post-Duvalier Haiti in which the Haitian people express their fervent desire for democracy. Although the video outlines recent events and the country's current social and economic crisis, it is not a conventional current affairs documentary. It focuses on popular music and songs that reflect the way in which Haiti's distinctive culture confronts the political realities of this impoverished nation. Featuring lively performances by musicians and street theatre groups, the video is as entertaining as it is informative, revealing music and theatre as the most effective vehicles for the expression of popular political aspirations. |
Birthwrite: Growing up Hispanic [VHS]
57 minutes, 1989
Description: Hosted by Cheech Marin, this documentary examines the work of several Hispanic-American writers and illustrates how their poems, short stories and novels capture the experience of growing up Hispanic in America. Although their creative expression is rooted specifically in Hispanic cultural contexts, their work offers insight into shared universal experiences. The authors profiled in the video discuss the influences behind their writing (including the rich oral traditions of the Hispanic community), their creative methods, and the specific themes they explore. Excerpts are read by the artists or dramatized in film. Writers profiled include: New York/Puerto Rican short story writer Edward Rivera; Arizona based Chicano poet and short story writer Alberto Rios; South Texas /Chicano poet, short story writer Alberto Rios; South Texas/Chicano poet, short story writer, and novelist Rolando Hinojosa; New York/Puerto Rican poet Judith Ortiz Cofer; East Los Angeles/Chicano novelist and college professor Alejandro Morales; San Jose/Chicano feminist and poet Lorna Dee Cervantes; and New York/Puerto Rican poet Tato Laviera. |
Chicano Park [VHS]
60 minutes, 1988
Description: This award-winning documentary tells the story of the residents of one California community who mobilized and organized to get greater control over their lives and, in doing so, set an example for communities everywhere. Barrio Logan is a predominantly Mexican-American community located in San Diego, twenty miles from the Mexican border. Like many communities, it went through a period of decline that almost resulted in its extinction by the 1950s. Divided by the freeways and invaded by junkyards, the residents had their backs to the wall until a spirited struggle resulted in the creation of Chicano Park in 1970. The park, now famous throughout the Southwest for giant murals drawn on freeway pillars, became the focus for a period of community revitalization in the 1970s and 1980s. This colorful film explodes with music and murals. Historical photographs, archival footage, and interviews with the artists, musicians and activists of Barrio Logan celebrate Hispanic pride and heritage. |
El Norte [VHS]
139 minutes, 1984
Description: El Norte tells the story of a brother and sister who fled poverty and violence in Guatemala and made their way north to Carolina. In this evocative film by Gregory Nava, a rich and almost dreamy lyricism of the early scenes in Guatemala is contrasted with a flatter, matter-of-fact tone used to depict the realities of the immigrants' lives in the United States. Roda and Enrique's harrowing journey includes encounters with "coyotes"(people who smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border for profit) and ends with their arrival into a jarring, alien culture of opulence, high technology, hypocritical liberals and implacable officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Immigrants manage to find jobs ad begin adjusting to their new lifestyle, but despite their best efforts, tragedy awaits them. |
La Operacion [Available in VHS and DVD]
40 minutes, 1982
Description: Puerto Rico has the highest incidence of female sterilization in the world. More than one-third of all Puerto Rican women of childbearing age have been sterilized. The operation is so common that it is simply known as "la operacion." Using newsreels and excerpts from government propaganda films, as well as interviews with Puerto Rican women, doctors, birth control specialists and politicians, this film explores the controversial use of sterilization as a means of population control. |
Miles from the Border [VHS]
15 minutes, 1987
Description: Twenty years after emigrating from a rural village in Zacatecas, Mexico, to Filmore, California, the Aparicio family shares its experience of dislocation and the difficulty of cross culture. As young immigrants, Manuela and Ben Aparicio decided that to get ahead they needed to master English. They picked oranges, pushed themselves in school, resisted vocational tracking, and went to universities. They advanced quickly- almost as if they had skipped a generation- and as a result felt dislocated from both Mexican and Anglo communities. Manuela and Ben later returned to work in the Filmore school system, where they help other newcomers integrate and achieve balance between diverse cultures in their multicultural community. Miles from the Border is a story about immigration and the pressure to succeed in a new country. This timely and powerful film offers an inside view of cultural adaptation and survival. At the same time, the film raises question about the nature of identity and assimilation. |
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