Progress is being made, but the list is still too short.
By Roberto Leal
In his book, “The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography,” legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman described the experience of sitting in a dark theater and watching the images on a huge screen fly by at 24 frames per second as the closest thing we have created replicating the dream state. Cinema, in all its various forms, is the only art form that combines theater, literature, painting, dance, photography, sculpture and music all on one celluloid canvas. From the beginning, movies have been a source of inspiration, propaganda, social awareness, education and much, much entertainment.
The pandemic, the emergence of streaming platforms, giant screen TVs and in-home theaters have modified Bergman’s equations to include sitting in your recliner in the comfort of your living room in PJs in front of your 82” Samsung flat-screen TV. But the power of flickering images on a screen that tap into our collective unconscious where the stories of our shared myths and archetypes reside still holds true.
A FORT KNOX FOR FILMS
The National Film Registry was created in 1988 as a place to preserve, honor and celebrate the cultural, artistic, and social contributions of cinema. Each year 25 films are nominated for the registry. The films can be feature length, short films, documentaries, animated films and even home movies are eligible to be put on the list of nominees.
For years Latinos in all sectors of society, like Captain Renault in Casablanca , were shocked, shocked to find so few Latino films making the final cut for the Registry. Slowly but surely more Latino films are being recognized for their artistic and social significance and finding their just place on the National Film Registry. Here are the three Latino films added to that prestigious list in 2021. Drum roll, please…
CHICANA, (1979), Director: Sylvia Morales
This 30-minute documentary was created by Morales when she was a film student at UCLA. Chicana chronicles the story of Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It’s a story of the Chicana’s struggles, pain, strength, endurance, contributions and ultimate triumph. Linda Gross of Los Angeles Times called Chicana “a well-researched and spirited documentary made with much love.”
SELENA, (1997), Director: Gregory Nava
This loving music biopic tribute about the tragically short career of the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla, was also the breakthrough role for Latina superstar Jennifer Lopez. Mexican American director, Gregory Nava’s film El Norte is also on the registry; Selena is his second film to be added to the list. It won’t be his last. This film is credited with launching Lopez’s career but also the careers of half dozen other Latino actors including Jon Seda (La Brea, Chicago PD), Constance Marie (With Love, George Lopez) and Jacob Vargas (Mr. Iglesias)
REQUIEM 29, (1970), Director: David Garcia
In 1970 the Los Angeles Mexican-American/Chicano community, civic and academia leaders staged the Chicano Moratorium Movement, a massive protest against the Vietnam War. The police response to the protest was violent and deadly, resulting in the murder of noted Mexican writer for the Los Angeles Times, Ruben Salazar by the hands of agents from the Los Angeles County Sheriff. This newsreel-like documentary by David Garcia brings those historical events into stark, grainy, black and white reality.
NUMBERS DON’T LIE
Prior to the three new films being added to the National Film Registry, there were 18 Latino themed films or films starring a Latina/o in the lead listed on the Registry. They include:
1. Ben-Hur (Silent), 1925, Director: Fred Nobb
2. Drácula (Spanish), (1931). Director: Alfredo B. Cervana
3. The Revenge of Pancho Villa, 1932, Director: Edmundo Padilla
4. Gilda, 1946, Director: Charles Vidor
5. High Noon, 1952, Director: Fred Zinneman
6. Salt of the Earth, 1954, Director: Herbert J. Biberman
7. West Side Story, 1961, Director: Jerome Robbins
8. Night of the Living Dead, (1968), Director: George Romero
9 Please, Don’t Bury Me Alive, (1976, Director: Efrain Gutierrez
10. Chulas Fronteras, 1976, Director: Les Blank
11. Zoot Suit, 1981, Director: Luis Valdez
12. El Norte, 1983, Director: Gregory Nava
13. Stand and Deliver, 1988, Director: Ramón Menéndez
14. El Mariachi, 1992, Director: Robert Rodriguez
15. The Devil Never Sleeps, 1994, Director: Lourdes Portillo
16. The Pearl, 2001, Director: Alfredo Zacarías
17. Real Women Have Curves, 2002, Director: Patricia Cardoso
18. Fuentes Family Home Movies, 2017, Collection/Caroline Frick
Mathematically speaking the current National Film Registry list of Latino films is desperately lacking Latino representation. There are 825 films on the National Film Registry. With the addition of this year’s three new films, Latino films now total 21. Latinos make up 17 percent of the US population; seventeen percent of 825 is 140.25. With only 21 films reflecting Latino stories, there is a long way to go to reach parity.
In January of last year, the US Congressional Hispanic Caucus has been urging the Registry to consider more Latino films on the annual list of 25 nominations and nominated Selena to one of the films inducted to the National Film Registry.
In December of 2022 there will be a new group of films added to the Registry list. Here are three worthy candidates for the Registry’s consideration in 2022:
Bless Me Ultima, 2012, Director: Carl Franklin
This beautiful film adaptation of Rodolfo Anaya’s classic novel about set in New Mexico during WWII and the relationship between a young man and an elderly medicine woman who helps him contend with the battle between good and evil that rages in his village. Bless Me Ultima which is required reading in any Chicano Literature class should be required viewing by the selection committee of the National Film Registry
Under the Same Moon, 2007, Director: Patricia Riggen
A young Mexican immigrant mother working in LA keeps in touch with her son back in Mexico. The lonely boy embarks on a dangerous, often funny and eventful journey from Mexico to LA to be with his mother. The film was one of the first bilingual stories, a U.S./Mexico coproduction. It starred Kate Del Castillo and Eugenio Derbez. With a budget of $1.7 million, it received international distribution and to date has made $23,313,049 worldwide.
The Three Burials of Melquiades, 2006, Director: Tommy Lee Jones
A Mexican ranch hand working near the Tex-Mex frontera is killed by a reckless Border Patrol agent. The ranch hand’s sympathetic American boss and friend fights to get justice for the Mexican and for a proper resting place for his burial. It stars Julio Cesar Cedillo as Melquiades and Melissa Leo and Tommy Lee Jones, who also directed.
THE 17 PERCENT SOLUTION
In order for the National Film Registry’s film selections to proportionately reflect the U.S. Latino population’s numbers, 119 Latino films need to be added. It’s a long trek, but with the increasingly growing number of films being produced, now is the time to begin the search for this year’s selection.
Featured Photos: ‘Chicana,’ ‘Selena’ and ‘Requiem 29’ (Photo: Courtesy)