In the documentary film, Backside, director/ filmmaker Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana (Border South), has lovingly composed a poetic meditation about the immigrant workers who care, feed, and tend to the million-dollar race horses at the Kentucky Derby racetrack.

Because of its historical association with royalty and nobility, horse racing is often called “the sport of kings.”In the horse racing caste system at the top are the horses, jockeys, owners, and gamblers, followed by the trainers, and beneath them, the workers who work for the trainers.

Pastrana skillfully uses a minimalist, cinema vertité approach to his film to imbue the workers with an aura of grace and nobility of their own.

There is no celebrity narrative voice over or mood setting, ethnically tinged music with a guitar or piano. There are no long-winded testimonials detailing aspects of the story.

Instead, Pastrana slowly lets the story, with virtually no dialog, pictorially unfold and reveal itself naturally by observing the workers going through their daily routine in quiet elegance. Often, the scenes that show the workers doing their jobs are framed and composed in a painterly fashion that evokes Van Gogh’s representations of working-class people in his timeless and iconic artwork.

The deep emotional attachment depicted in the film between horse and worker is one of the more touching and effective storylines of the film. In one scene, a curious wife asks her husband why he gives the horse candy.

“Because he’s my friend,” he whispers to his wife.

In the opening scene, we watch as a horse is being taken onto a ramp from a trailer. In the final scene, the horse is led up a ramp into a trailer to travel south. The scenes act seamlessly as cinematic bookends for the whole documentary.

Pastrana, a Mexican immigrant from Chihuahua, Mexico, now living in Denver, Colorado, is intimately knowledgeable about the immigrant experience in America and the untold value immigrants bring to the U.S. economy. In this unfortunate era of ICE raids and a Mass Deportation agenda, Backside is a gentle but persuasive reminder of the important and often unknown contributions of the immigrant community to America.

The Kentucky Derby Race is often described as the most exciting two minutes in sports.” Pastrana’s moving documentary, Backside, shows us the thousands of hard-working, tireless, dedicated  hours that go into making those “two exciting minutes.”Backside premieres on PBS, Monday, April 13. Check your local listing for times.

Independent Lens: Backside (2026) can be watched primarily on PBS.org and Free PBS App . It is also available for on-demand streaming for PBS Passport members and will have broadcast airings on various local PBS stations and the World Channel.

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Mags (Selina Ringel), is a Mexican-American financial advisor who runs the household and Ash (Ritesh Rajan), an Indian-American, and a great dad who runs a struggling cannabis start-up. The high-power couple seemingly have it all… except happiness.  You, Me & Her is the story of a couple who look to unconventional ways to rekindle their love life.

Leaving the baby with the nanny the two go off on a much needed vacation and a chance to re-kindly the romance they once had.  That’s when two turns into three or at least they are working on it.  They meet Angela, a spiritual digital nomad, who takes a romantic interest in Mags.  Mags is intrigued and starts to question her own sexuality. Suddenly Ash and Mags start to reconnect over the idea of having a threesome, in hopes the sexual experience will save their marriage.

You, Me & Her is a multi-festival winner, most notably taking Best Romantic Comedy at the Los Angeles Film Awards, and Best Feature Film at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival, The New York Film Awards and more recently at the Mexican-American Film & Television Festival.

It is decidedly a favorite of film reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes. Bradley Gibson encapsulates the film perfectly, “…a romantic comedy/sex farce with a bit of introspection around how emotionally healthy adults might act when presented with an option for ethical non-monogamy, then You, Me & Her will be worth your time”.

The director Dan Levy Dagerman does an excellent job of taking the actors through a myriad of emotions. From the opening scene where he sets the stage of the unhappy couple dealing with a new baby, money issues and a seemingly sexless life; to the beautiful vacation beach resort in San Pancho, Mexico where half the film takes place and the audience is set up for a in for quite a ride.

You, Me and Her, also seamlessly and organically dispels the Hollywood stereotype of what a Mexican looks like.  Ringal who not only plays the lead character, but also wrote and produced the film, is a blond haired, hazel eyed beauty, born in Guadalajara, Mexico whose character switches from English to Spanish while in Mexico and when speaking to her Mexican-Indian-American child in the film.  

You, Me and Her is a true delight in so many ways.

Production Company: Irreversible Pictures. Cinematographer: Michael Street Producers:
Anna Campbell | Cameron Fife | Fernando Lebrija | Pablo Lebrija

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Inspired by a true immigration story, Bienvenidos a Los Angeles tells the story of Imani, a 24-year-old Nigerian single mother living and working in Los Angeles who gets the devastating news that the Muslim ban has jeopardized her green card application and she must leave the country. On her shared-ride home, she meets Elizabeth, an undocumented Mexican woman on her way to LAX to reunite with her 6-year-old son whom she hasn’t seen since she left him behind five years ago in search of a better future for her family. Reeling from the total loss of control in her own life, Imani offers to help Elizabeth, not realizing that this simple act of kindness carries immense risk.

“I believe everyone has a story and deserves to be seen. But, when society is driven by fear, people are often relegated to stereotypes. When one takes the time to see beyond labels, complex human beings come into focus and a kinder world emerges,” said Cole.

Lisa Cole is a creative activist, writer, producer and director, who amplifies diverse underrepresented voices and exposes social injustices. Having lived with 201 host families across 12 countries in just three years, Cole’s diverse background fuels her storytelling. She has several feature films in development including working with producers Laura Bickford and Nathan Ross. In addition, Cole has directed and produced documentaries for The Gates Foundation, Sundance Institute, Viacom, BET, and A&E, focusing on women’s health and safety in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

Among the many accolades Bienvenidos a Los Ángeles has received, the film recently won the 2023 Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase, the independent film movement promoting inclusion at the Festival de Cannes. Presented by Diversity in Cannes founder, Yolonda Brinkley, with support from Julius Tennon and Academy Award Winner Viola Davis’ JuVee Productions, the showcase featured uniquely themed films from America, Asia, New Zealand, Nigeria and points in between.

As part of the film’s community-centered immigrant rights impact initiative, Bienvenidos a Los Ángeles has partnered with the Refugee Children Center, a Los Angeles-based non-profit supporting unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the United States. The film is raising awareness and financial support for the organization by hosting community screenings and Q&A’s to spark dialogue about complicated issues surrounding immigration and vulnerable populations. The Center was recently recognized as an organization by the Recognition and Accreditation Program (R&A) from the United States Department of Justice.

“I see the story of Bienvenidos a Los Angeles reflected in each mother and caregiver at the Center,” said Mayra Medina-Nuñez, Executive Director at the Refugee Children Center. “Bienvenidos a Los Angeles highlights the humanity and the solidarity amongst human beings regardless of their legal or socio-economic status. It touches on the complexity of immigration laws in the United States while focusing on the strong love of a mother for their children.”

VIEW TRAILER HERE:  http://bienvenidosalosangeles.com/trailer.html

For more information about Bienvenidos a Los Angeles, please visit: www.balafilm.com

Follow Bienvenidos a Los Angeles on social media:
Facebook: @bienvenidosfilm
Instagram: @bienvenidosfilm

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Written by Roberto Leal

“A dozen press agents working overtime can do terrible things to the human spirit”—Cecil B. DeMille, Sunset Boulevard

Of the countless books and films about Marilyn Monroe almost all without exception have dealt with the well-known established Hollywood datapoints of her life and career: Her phenomenal rise to stardom, her two failed marriages, her miscarriages, her affairs with JFK and Bobby Kennedy, her addictions and the controversy surrounding her suicide in 1962 at the age of 36. But the facts about Marilyn’s Hispanic heritage were also well-documented and well-known but kept secret from the public when Hollywood transformed Norma Jean Mortensen into Marilyn Monroe.

A Mexican by Any Other Name

Hollywood put Marilyn’s ancestral family roots in the Great White American Midwest.  That was partly true, but they left out the fact that Marilyn’s maternal grandparents left the Midwest in the 1890s for Mexico due to financial hardships. They relocated in what is now Piedras Negras just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. they quickly assimilated in the norteño ranching and farming lifestyle and became completely “Mexicanized.” 

Marilyn’s mother, Gladys Pearl, was born in Mexico in 1902, therefore by birthright, Marilyn Monroe was a Latina. Unlike some famous celebrities of that time, like Hall of Fame slugger, Ted Williams, whose mother was a Mexican and who denied his Latino heritage all his life, Marilyn never disavowed her Mexican origins. But due to the pressures and demands put on her by Hollywood to maintain an All-American girl image, she kept them to herself to sustain her career.

Marilyn Reclaims Her Mexican Connection

At the height of her fabulous movie career, Marilyn formed her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP) and at this point no longer felt constrained by Hollywood to hide her Latina pride.

She spent a lot of time in Mexico; Ciudad Juarez, Mexico City, Acapulco and Baja California. There to the horror of Hollywood press agents and publicists Marilyn could be openly and publicly seen being serenaded by mariachi bands, eating tacos, climbing to the top of ancient Mayan pyramids, speaking Spanish in public and even becoming romantically involved with Mexican writer/producer, José Bolaños.

Marilyn bought and decorated her house with Mexican mahogany furniture. She even had her picture taken wearing a China Poblana traditional Mexican outfit  She was also fond of Mexican sweaters. One of the last photos of Marilyn is of her walking on the beach wearing her Mexican sweater. That sweater was found draped over her Mexican furniture the day of her death.

Her Safe Harbor?

There is no question the camera adored Marilyn Monroe. She was uniquely photogenic, sensual, vulnerable, fragile and beautiful. It was those qualities Hollywood packaged and branded into a myth; a product, a persona called Marilyn Monroe they could market to a White majority movie audience. The demands and expectations put on her to maintain this public façade proved painful to her already damaged psyche resulting from a troubled childhood and going from one foster home to another. Clinging to and embracing her Mexican heritage must have been like a safe harbor for Marilyn Monroe. It was a place where she could be a free spirit Latina and bask in the warmth and comfort of her Mexican culture and birthright.

In what must be an unintentional ironic twist of fate, the upcoming NC-17 rated Netflix biopic of Monroe entitled, Blonde, has rising Latina superstar, Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time to Die) in the lead role as the legendary Blonde Bombshell. The movie is based on the highly fictionalized and sensationalized account of Marilyn’s life in a novel by Joyce Carol Oates.

Could it be the producers of Blonde are sending a subliminal message to the audience of Marilyn’s Hispanic heritage by casting Armas, in the role of Marilyn Monroe? Or could it possibly be a guilt-driven casting Freudian slip in an attempt to subconsciously atone for suppressing the Mexican side of Marilyn she always honored but was not allowed to celebrate by the Hollywood establishment?

Regardless, somewhere in her eternal safe harbor, Norma Jean Mortensen must be flashing that million-dollar smile knowing at long last a Latina star is giving life to the truth of “La Mexicana”, Marilyn Monroe.

Blonde is written and directed by Andrew Dominik. The cast is led by Armas and features Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams.

Blonde, starring Ana de Armas, premieres on Netflix on September 23^rd.  

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Written by Roberto Leal

Since its streaming-only debut on HBO Max during Father’s Day Weekend, Father of the Bride has grown into a critically acclaimed mega-hit not only in Latin America, but world-wide. HBO proudly announced that Father of the Bride categorically has had the largest viewing audience of any streaming-only movie on their platform to date.

So why has this third retelling of a popular iconic family romantic comedy struck such a resounding emotional chord globally? What’s in the secret salsa of this wildly popular and successful film? Let’s check out some of the special ingredients that went into the making of Father of the Bride.

The Latino Reimagining

Father of the Bride has been described as a “reboot” or a “remake”, of the classic 1950 original Father of the Bride with Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor or the subsequent 1991 remake with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Martin Short. The only common thread connecting the three films is the basic plot and the title of the movie. 

As written by Matt Lopez (Race to Witch Mountain, Bedtime Stories) and directed by Gary Alazraki(Club de Cuervos, We Are the Nobles) this incarnation of Father of the Bride is not a reboot in the sense they took an old existing movie and simply replaced the old cast with an all Latino one. Additionally, the vision of both Lopez and Alazraki in Father of the Bride was told through the cultural lens of two vibrant Latino communities in the U.S. The Cuban-American and Mexican take on the story make it more than just a mere remake but rather a complete reimagining and creation of a unique, standalone story.

Authentic storytelling from the top creatives who happen to be Latino and know the culture is not lost at all in the success of this film.

Lopez and Alazraki also cleverly start the story with what is often referred to as a “McGuffin” which is an object or device in a movie that serves merely as a trigger for the plot. In this case, the McGuffin is the opening scene in which Billy Herrera played by Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven, The Godfather, Part III) and his wife of 30+ years, Ingrid played Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman and seven-time Grammy winner, Gloria Estefan, decide in one of their marriage counseling session to divorce. 

This turns on the emotional current that influences Billy’s reaction to his daughter, Sophie, Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Emerald City) who comes home announcing she has proposed and will marry Adan Castillo a Mexican EMO man played by Diego Boneta (Terminator Dark Fate, Luis Miguel: The Series). The couple plans to move to Mexico to work at non-profit which helps immigrants along the border.

The Cuban/Mexican Culture Clash

The wedding surprise announcement set off Billy’s traditional protective and cautionary Cuban sensibilities on how the wedding will proceed. His cultural alarm bells are further set off when he meets his future in-laws from Mexico.

The oft-heard claim that Latinos are not a monolith is brought into sharp scrutiny in Father of the Bride in a playful, tongue-in-cheek comic clash of cultures between Mexico and Cuba that delightfully stands every stereotypical portrayal of Latinos on its collective head.

Sophie’s fiancé Adan is the complete antithesis of the stereotypical macho Mexican male. He practices yoga, is a tree-hugger, doesn’t like sports, wears glasses and looks more European than mestizo.

Adan’s flamboyant father, Hernan Castillo, Pedro Damián (Showtime, Like, la leyenda), turns out to be to Billy’s surprise, a bombastic but affable, multi-millionaire business tycoon who owns a super luxury yacht that is so big it has five zip codes and three time zones. Hernan also has a very young trophy wife and child, but still maintains a relationship with his ex-wife. These are different but positive Latino representations rarely seen in Hollywood movies.

Unstereotypical Matters, Matter

Garcia’ career has mostly veered from playing the typical Hollywood Latino stereotypes, but it is a practice that has negatively affected the image of U.S. Latinos around the world and that is an important issue to Garcia. He sees Father of the Bride as a movie that moves the needle forward in the right direction.

“There was both an honor and an obligation to deliver a story that’s within the Latin cultures, in this case, the Cuban and the Mexican, trying to relate to one another,” Garcia told Entertainment Weekly in trying to make the point of the importance in the representation of Latinos in film.  “There’s an obligation to do it right without stereotypes that represent universal themes”

Comedic Chemistry 

The on-screen chemistry and comedic timing between Garcia and Estefan are the result of a 30-year personal friendship and growing up in the Cuban-American culture of Miami. Estefan, who has won more Grammys than the NY Yankees have won World Series proves herself to be as good an actress as she is a singer. As Ingrid, Estefan is strong, funny and loving. Garcia, as the stubborn, tradition-bound, conservative Cuban who came to America as an exile and became the most sought-after architect in Miami, now feels his world crumbling around him. It’s a role and performance Garcia has grown into as an actor. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Billy Herrera or being married to anyone other than Gloria Estefan as his beloved Ingrid.

Father of the Bride ReDux

Because of its enormous popularity and streaming numbers after just one week in release, there is already talk of a sequel to Father of the Bride.  In the current film Cora  (Isabela Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight, Instant Family) Billy’s younger daughter designed and designed the wedding and bridesmaid dresses for Sophie’s wedding. The sequel could have Cora designing her own wedding gown for her nuptials. The question is, will Billy Herrera have the energy and financial wherewithal in  Father of the Bride 2 for another wedding?  One can only hope so.

CLICK HERE for video.

Father of the Bride is currently streaming on HBO Max.

The post Film Review:  Five Reasons ‘Father of the Bride’ Is a Hit first appeared on .

Tickets on sale May 13, 2021

Los Angeles, — MARIACHI USA, the Hollywood Bowl’s spectacular Mariachi extravaganza is back on Sunday August 22, 2021. Creator, producer and host Rodri J. Rodriguez is excited to welcome fans back to this in-person event. The 32nd annual MARIACHI USA festival is the longest running, paid Latino event in the US. Tickets go on sale on May 13, 2021 at www.mariachiusa.com.

“We are beyond excited to return to the Hollywood Bowl after the difficult year we’ve all endured. We have missed our fans as much as they’ve missed us and we can’t wait to celebrate with them again with a phenomenal show and traditional finale fireworks show by Pyrospectacular,” said Rodriguez.

MARIACHI USA, the second largest running show at the Hollywood Bowl. Music is the universal language that has the power to unite people from all walks of life and mariachi music is no exception. MARIACHI USA’s legacy is one that honors culture and tradition while transcending generations, language and borders. It’s truly an event for the entire familia.

“We are working closely with officials at the LA County Department of Public Health and our friends at Kaiser Permanente on a reopening plan that includes distancing procedures, mask policy, contactless ticketing, and cleaning and sanitation schedules, among other safety protocols. In the coming weeks, we will share more with you about what to expect from a visit to the Bowl this summer and the policies and procedures designed for the safety of our guests. We will also continue to review our safety protocols throughout the season to ensure that they follow the latest public health guidance,” said Hollywood Bowl spokesperson Sophie Jefferies.

Tickets can also be purchased at the You can also Purchase at the Hollywood Bowl, located at 2301 Highland Avenue in the corazon of Hollywood, California.

You can also Purchase at theThe Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 Highland Avenue in the corazon of Hollywood, California.

For preferred seating, tickets and more information, please visit: www.mariachiusa.com.

Follow MARIACHI USA on social media:

Facebook – @MARIACHIUSA

Instagram – @MARIACHIUSA

Twitter – @MARIACHIUSA

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Color television was an improvement on monochrome television, a 1926 invention by the Scottish engineer John Logie Baird. Called grayscale, Baird’s system became obsolete with the rapid evolution of other electronic systems in Great Britain and the United States.
Color television worked by diffusing three black-and-white images to each of the three primary colors of light: red, green and blue (RBG). When brought together at a sequential speed, the images intermingled, producing a full-color image, which viewers see from their home.

The person responsible for this idea was the Mexican engineer and researcher Guillermo González Camarena, who called his invention STSC (Trichromatic Sequential Field System, by its initials in Spanish) in 1940. The United States granted him the patent in September 1942.
Color television was a huge step forward for the entertainment industry. *** La televisión a color fue un gran paso en el mundo del entretenimiento. (Simone Daino/Unsplash)

“As a teenager, he built a radio transmitter,” said Porfirio Rosas, an engineer and former professor at the Universidad Veracruzana. “He visited Tepito and La Lagunilla [flea markets in Mexico City.] Where others saw garbage, he found pieces for his inventions. We know that he was a radio operator and that his engineering studies sparked his interest in television, which was a novelty at the time.”
Peter Carl Goldmark, a Hungarian inventor working for the Columbia Broadcasting System, applied for a patent for his television system on September 7, 1942, but it was not granted until August 1949.

“González Camarena invented color television to enhance his personal gear, but he took his discovery to a further level. At age 23, he revolutionized the telecommunication world from his basement,” said Rosas.

Scientists from many countries suggested developments on González Camarena’s original idea, and he presented improvements to his patent in 1958.
Television broadcasting networks updated their systems between the 1960s and 1980s.
(Translated and edited by Gabriela Olmos. Edited by Fern Siegel.)

The post Picture Perfect: Mexican Engineer Invented Color Television appeared first on Zenger News.

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