My apologies to Jimi Hendrix for appropriating the name of his classic album Are You Experienced? for the title of this blog. However, the question remains. Despite the growing demographic and presence of the Latinx community in all parts of the United States, a large percentage of the American population have no idea, or very narrow ones, of what the Latinx culture is all about. 

You will find people with Hispanic surnames in every zip code in America. California and the Southwest have long been the traditional home of the largest Latinx community, especially Mexicans. But Mexicans can also be found flourishing in the Midwest and the South. 

Florida has a huge, vibrant and influential Cuban population. New York and other East Coast cities have been blessed with Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. This colorful and significant Latino tapestry has been enriched by the addition of paisanos from all over Central America to all those parts of the United States previously mentioned. 

A KALEIDOSCOPE OF DIVERSE CULTURES

While Spanish is the common language for all these communities, the Latinx universe is a marvelous, swirling galaxy of diverse ethnic blends of Spanish, Indigenous and African DNA that make Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors look like a pale, tasteless one-trick pony. 

This kaleidoscope of cultures has produced a uniquely beautiful people, the most delicious cuisine of all time, great art, music, dance and without a doubt the greatest baseball players, toughest boxers and best fútbol (soccer) players in the world. 

The PBS film anthology The Latino Experience, which premieres July 6 on PBS SoCal and July 7 on Los Angeles’ KCET and runs through July 20, is an important visual exploration of the many sights, sounds, shapes and colors that make up the Latino mosaic. The series will be available online at PBS.org and the PBS Video App.

WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH

Wendy Llinás, senior director of programming and development at PBS and one of the executives in charge of The Latino Experience, says, “The main point of all the films in The Latino Experience is to illustrate to the viewers that we are not a monolith. These short films told in the forms of narratives, documentaries or satires at once show the uniqueness of Latino culture as well as its universality.” 

No, Latinos are not a monolith. But it could be argued that we Latinos are a megalith. For over five hundred years, Latinos have been the historic bedrock foundation of North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. People of mixed Spanish, Indigenous and African ancestry were living and thriving in this country a century before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The first European language spoken in the New World, including the United States, was Spanish not English. The Latino Experience film series is a cinematic testament to that often inconvenient but unavoidable historical fact and reality.

FEATURED FILMS

Following is the list of some shorts with their respective airing dates and times:

The Blue Cape. July 6 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and July 7 at 9 p.m. on KCET
Set in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico two months after Maria hit the island, ten-year-old Junior (Yanniel A. Arce Rivera) is summoned by his mother to search for the medicine his grandfather so desperately needs. To embark on his journey, Junior wraps himself in a cape made from the blue tarp that covers his roof. Written, directed and produced by Alejandra López. Co-produced by María José Delgado.

Body and Spirit in Times of Pandemic. July 13 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and July 14 at 9 p.m. on KCET.

Edwin Siguenza is a Guatemalan immigrant truck driver and pastor of a Latino evangelical church in Los Angeles. When the pandemic hits, Edwin has to navigate the risks of being an essential worker while attending to the needs of his congregation and the pressure to keep the church open. Directed and produced by Andrés Caballero. 

Pasos de Valor. July 13 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and July 14 at 9 p.m. on KCET

The film tells the story of Val (Nathalie Carvalho), a pregnant university student pursuing a master’s degree whose due date and final exam are in conflict. Determined to create opportunities for her Mexican American family, Val takes the exam despite her professor’s refusal to make accommodations. Written, directed and produced by Natalia C. Bell, the film is inspired by the director’s own birth story.

The Daily War. July 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and July 21 at 9 p.m. on KCET

A co-production with Latino Public Broadcasting, the film is the story of a veteran (Adelina Anthony) and her son, who struggle to make ends meet. When a job opportunity presents itself, it ends up triggering her PTSD. Directed and produced by Karla Legaspy. Co-produced and written by Adelina Anthony.

Noche Buena. July 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and July 21 at 9 p.m. on KCET

This film takes place on Christmas eve as a dysfunctional Cuban family gathers around the dinner table. Caro (Erica Adams) struggles to get through the night as everyone grapples with political correctness, current events and the incessant battle between left and right. As resentment escalates into verbal and literal diarrhea, they uncover hard truths about themselves—all before the ?an. Written, directed and produced by Andres Rovira. Also produced by and starring Ray Tezanos.

All three episodes from The Latino Experience will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV and Chromecast.

Featured Photo: ‘The Blue Cape’ by director Alejandra López (Credit: PBS)

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Los Angeles, CA – Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, awarded twelve film and digital media projects made possible by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The awardees include nine documentary projects and three digital media shorts; ten of the twelve funded projects are helmed by Latina filmmakers.  The projects explore the breadth of the Latino experience, from Puerto Rico to Mexico to Brazil, as well as stories about Latino Americans from coast to coast.  Highlights include Nina Alvarez’s The Temporary Decades, on the fate of over 200,000 Salvadoran-Americans who will face deportation in 2019 when their Temporary Protection Status expires; Cecilia Aldarondo’s Treasure Island, a look at Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane María; and Christina Fernandez and Andrew Shapter’s Porvenir Texas, that revisits the 1918 massacre of fifteen Mexican men along the Texas border.

“We’re very excited about this year’s funded projects – they’re particularly timely and explore issues that our country is grappling with, from immigration to criminal justice to economic inequality,” says Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Executive Director of Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB).  “We’re proud to support these talented filmmakers and bring their unique perspectives to a national audience on PBS.”

Every year LPB invites independent filmmakers to submit proposals for production, post-production and digital support. All proposals are reviewed by a group of public media professionals, including journalists, independent filmmakers, academics, and executives from national funding organizations.

The 2018 awarded projects are as follows:

Current Issues Fund (CIF)

The Temporary Decades

Producer/Director: Nina Alvarez

Category: Post production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes

On September 9, 2019, over 200,000 Salvadorans who have legally lived and worked in the U.S. over the past 17-35 years will be declared illegal. They will either be deported or forced to live in the shadows when their Temporary Protection Status expires.  Three families fight one more battle against U.S. Government policies to reclaim their right to remain in the country they call home.

The Age of Water

Producer/Director: Isabel Alcántara

Co-Producer/Co-Director: Alfredo Alcántara

Category: Post-production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes

The Age of Water follows the story of a young mother who, while trying to find out why her town’s children are dying of leukemia, inadvertently uncovers the Mexican government’s dark business of water.

American Exile

Producer/Director: John Valadez

Category: Post Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes

Fifty years after they fought in Vietnam, two Mexican American brothers face deportation, and discover thousands of veterans who now struggle with the same fate.

The Esparza Project (W.T)

Producer/Director: Maria Agui Carter

Category: Research & Development; 1 Episode/90 Minutes

An exploration of the case of Patricia Esparza who has spent the last six years in prison for a crime committed 20 years ago – the killing of her rapist by her then-boyfriend. Her story encapsulates the contentious and complex system of crime and punishment in America and shows how Patricia’s story unfolds from her not initially reporting the assault to the police, and how many victims are shamed into keeping sexual assault a secret.

Public Media Content Fund (PMCF)

Dear Homeland

Producer/Director: Claudia Escobar, KQED

Executive Producer: Kelly Whalen, KQED

Category: Post-production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes

Dear Homeland is the story of Mexican singer/songwriter Diana Gameros and her 20-year journey as an undocumented immigrant from Cuidad Juárez, Mexico to Grand Rapids, Michigan and San Francisco as she waits to resolve her immigration status.  This is an intimate look at coming of age in a foreign country and finding one’s voice as a performer, told in large part through her hauntingly beautiful folk music.

Porvenir Texas

Producer/Director: Christina Fernandez

Co-Producer/Co-Director: Andrew Shapter

Executive Producer: Hector Galan

Category: Production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes

In the early morning hours of January 28th, 1918, a group of fifteen fathers, uncles, brothers and sons were taken from their homes and executed. The town of Porvenir, Texas was burned to the ground, and the remaining women and children fled. Who were the killers? And why were they never brought to justice?

Skin of Glass

Producer/Director: Denise Zmekhol

Category: Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes

When filmmaker Denise Zmekhol discovers that her late father’s most celebrated work as an architect is now São Paulo’s largest high-rise slum, she returns to Brazil to explore her father’s legacy and confront the harsh reality of inequality destroying the city he loved.

Through the Night

Producer/Director: Loira Limbal

Category: Production; 1 Episode/60 Minutes

Through the Night explores the personal cost of our modern economy for two working mothers and a childcare provider at a 24-hour daycare center.

Treasure Island

Producer/Director: Cecilia Aldarondo

Category: Production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes

A kaleidoscopic portrait of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane María, Treasure Islandinvestigates a storm of a much greater magnitude: the economic crisis that crippled the island long before María arrived, and the disaster capitalism now reshaping it.

Digital Media – Shorts

The Daily War

Producer/Director: Karla Legaspy

Category: Digital Media; 1 Episode/10 Minutes

A struggling single mother who is a veteran takes on a new job only to discover that the work environment triggers her PTSD.

Joyride

Producer/Director: Edwin Gomez

Category: Digital Media; 1 Episode/9 Minutes

Teenage Latina twin sisters break their grandmother out of her assisted living facility for one last joyride.

Luciela

Producer/Director: Erin Ploss-Campoamor

Category: Digital Media; 1 Episode/10 Minutes

Luciela is a fiercely independent Mexican American girl with a tight-knit family that loves celebrating the 4th of July. Everything changes, however, when her beloved father is deported to Mexico.

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