Luis Valdez - Mexican-American History Maker

00:57:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4uucIUdIpg

Résumé

TLDRBu video, ünlü Amerikalı oyun yazarı Luis Valdez'in hayatı, kariyeri ve kültürel kimliği üzerine bir konuşmayı içeriyor. Valdez, Meksika-Amerikan kültürünü ve tarihini sahneye taşıyan önemli bir figür olarak tanıtılıyor. Konuşmasında, sanatın gücünden, eğitimden ve toplumsal adaletten bahsediyor. Ayrıca, genç nesillere ilham vermek için kendi deneyimlerini paylaşıyor ve kültürel kimliğin önemini vurguluyor.

A retenir

  • 🎭 Luis Valdez, Meksika-Amerikan kültürünün önemli bir temsilcisidir.
  • 📚 Sanat, toplumsal değişim için bir araçtır.
  • 🌱 Gençlere, içlerindeki çocuğu korumaları tavsiye ediliyor.
  • 💡 Eğitim, Valdez için çok önemlidir.
  • 🌍 Kültürel kimlik, bireylerin kendilerini ifade etmeleri için gereklidir.

Chronologie

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Bu bölümde, konuşmacı, Luis Valdez'i tanıtarak onun Meksika-Amerikan kültürü üzerindeki etkisini vurguluyor. Valdez'in, El Teatro Campesino'yu kurarak tarım işçilerinin mücadelesine katkıda bulunduğu ve Chicano hareketinin önemli bir figürü olduğu belirtiliyor.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Valdez, Meksika-Amerikan kimliğinin evrimi hakkında konuşuyor. İlk olarak 'Meksikalı' teriminin bir hakaret olarak algılandığını, ardından 'Meksika-Amerikan' ve 'Chicano' terimlerinin benimsendiğini anlatıyor. Bu kimliklerin tarihsel bağlamda nasıl değiştiğini açıklıyor.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Valdez, kendi köklerine olan bağlılığını ve eğitimdeki önemini vurguluyor. Ailesinin ona tarih sevgisini aşıladığını ve bu sayede kendi kültürünü anlamaya başladığını ifade ediyor.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Valdez, çocukluğunda tarım işçisi olarak çalışırken hayal gücünü nasıl geliştirdiğini ve sanatın gücünü keşfettiğini anlatıyor. Yaratıcılığın, maddi koşullardan bağımsız olarak nasıl gelişebileceğini vurguluyor.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Valdez, eğitim hayatında başarılı olduğunu ve öğretmenlerinin ona olan inancının kendisini nasıl etkilediğini paylaşıyor. Bilingual olmanın avantajlarını ve bunun kendisine sağladığı fırsatları anlatıyor.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Valdez, sinema ve tiyatro kariyerinin başlangıcını ve bu süreçte yaşadığı zorlukları anlatıyor. Meksika-Amerikanların sinema endüstrisindeki temsili üzerine düşüncelerini paylaşıyor.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Valdez, 'Valley of the Heart' adlı oyununu ve bu oyunun Japon-Amerikan ve Meksika-Amerikan kültürleri arasındaki bağlantıyı nasıl ele aldığını açıklıyor. Kültürel entegrasyonun önemine vurgu yapıyor.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Valdez, gençlere sanatın önemini ve yaratıcı olmanın yollarını anlatıyor. Sanatın, bireylerin kendilerini ifade etmeleri için bir araç olduğunu vurguluyor.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    Valdez, yeni projeleri hakkında bilgi veriyor ve Filipinli işçilerin tarihini ele alan bir oyun üzerinde çalıştığını belirtiyor. Bu projenin, geçmişteki işçi hareketlerine ışık tutacağını ifade ediyor.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:50:00

    Valdez, sanatın gücünü ve toplumsal değişim üzerindeki etkisini tartışıyor. Sanatın, insanları bir araya getiren ve toplumsal adalet için bir araç olabileceğini vurguluyor.

  • 00:50:00 - 00:57:15

    Son bölümde, Valdez, gençlere hayallerini takip etmeleri ve kendilerini ifade etmeleri için cesaret vermeye devam ediyor. Sanatın, bireylerin ve toplumların gelişiminde nasıl bir rol oynadığını anlatıyor.

Afficher plus

Carte mentale

Vidéo Q&R

  • Luis Valdez kimdir?

    Luis Valdez, Meksika-Amerikan kültürünü sahneye taşıyan ünlü bir Amerikalı oyun yazarıdır.

  • Valdez'in en bilinen eserleri nelerdir?

    En bilinen eserleri arasında 'Zoot Suit' ve 'Valley of the Heart' bulunmaktadır.

  • Valdez'in sanata yaklaşımı nedir?

    Valdez, sanatın bir eğitim aracı ve toplumsal değişim için bir silah olduğunu savunmaktadır.

  • Luis Valdez'in çocukluğu nasıldı?

    Valdez, yoksul bir ailede büyüdü ancak ailesinin sevgisi ve tarihi öğrenme arzusu onu şekillendirdi.

  • Valdez, gençlere ne tavsiye ediyor?

    Gençlere, içlerindeki çocuğu korumalarını ve sanatı hayatlarının bir parçası haline getirmelerini tavsiye ediyor.

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  • 00:00:04
    [Music]
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    [Applause]
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    well the the time that we
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    that we've been waiting for is here
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    it is it is an absolute honor and a
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    pleasure to have you here mr valdez
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    maestro valdes we uh we you know
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    thank you
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    i know in the past we you had allowed me
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    to call you luis may call you louise of
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    course thank you thank you so much
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    you know
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    you are you are you have allowed us to
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    be mexican americans and be very proud
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    of who we are because of all your
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    success you know you you made us proud
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    and then you made us cry
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    and then you made us laugh
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    and and and then you taught us then you
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    taught us so much about our culture
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    about our history uh our place in in in
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    this country
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    so if you allow me i would love to to
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    for a minute
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    introduce you
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    okay uh
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    so
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    i'd like to meet miavik
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    [Laughter]
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    so el maestro bardes is regarded as one
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    of the most important and influential
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    american playwrights living today
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    he's internationally renowned and ob
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    award-winning theater company el teatro
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    campesino the farm workers theater was
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    founded by
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    mr valdez in 1965 in the heat of the
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    united farm workers struggle and the
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    great delano grape strike in california
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    central valley
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    his involvement with caesar chavez and
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    the early chicano movement
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    left an indelible mark that remained
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    embodied in all his work even after he
  • 00:01:55
    left the united farm workers in 1967.
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    the list of his award-winning and
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    empowering place is very long
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    from the early actos las dos cara
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    and the quinta temporada short plays
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    written to encourage campesinos to leave
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    the field and join the united farm
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    workers
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    all the way to of course
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    the play that re-examines the sleepy
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    lagoon trial in 1942 and the suit suit
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    riots in 1943 two of the darkest moments
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    in los angeles urban history
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    suit suit consider a masterpiece of the
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    american theater as well as the first
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    chicano play in broadway and the first
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    chicano major feature film
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    mr vales numerous features filmed in
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    television credits include amongst
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    others the box office hit la bamba
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    starring lou diamond phillips cisco kids
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    starring jimmy smith and cheech marin
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    and corridos tale of passion and
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    revolution starring linda ronson
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    mr vales has never strayed far from his
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    own farm work roots his company el
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    teatro campesino is located 60 miles
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    south of san jose in the rural community
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    of san juan bautista california
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    this theater tucked away in san
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    bernardino county is the most important
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    and longest lasting run in chicano
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    theater in the united states mr roy's
  • 00:03:20
    hard work and long creative career has
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    won him countless awards including
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    numerous
  • 00:03:25
    la drama critics award dramalok awards
  • 00:03:29
    bay area critics award the prestigious
  • 00:03:32
    george peabody award for excellence in
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    television the presidential medal of
  • 00:03:37
    arts the governor's award of california
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    arts council and the mexico's
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    prestigious aguila esteka award given to
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    individuals whose work promotes cultural
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    excellence in
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    an exchange between the us and mexico in
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    september 2016 he was awarded the
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    national medal of the arts by president
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    obama at the white house in may 2017 he
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    was awarded the tower awards by san jose
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    state university the university's
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    highest award given to san jose state
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    exemplars as an educator he has started
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    at the university of california berkeley
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    uc santa cruz francis university and was
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    one of the founding professors at csu
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    monterey bay he is the recipient of
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    honorary doctors from amongst other
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    universities rhode island the university
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    university of south florida cal arts the
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    university of santa clara and his alma
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    mater san jose state university mr valez
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    was included into the college of fellows
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    of the american theater at the kennedy
  • 00:04:40
    center for performing arts in washington
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    dc in 2007 he was awarded a rockefeller
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    fellowship one of the one of the 50 only
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    50 u.s artists so honored
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    the world premiere of this of his latest
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    play valley of the hearts opened to rave
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    reviews and sold out
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    i i sold out audience at san jose state
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    company in 2016. mr valdez new play
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    adios mama carlotta premieres at san
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    jose state company in 2019.
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    what an amazing career my friend thank
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    you thank you for being here and again
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    it's such an honor to have him here with
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    us right
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    this is an amazing opportunity for these
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    young people and for everyone to know a
  • 00:05:26
    little bit more about you because you
  • 00:05:28
    are a true history maker let me start by
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    congratulating you okay and the mexican
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    american cultural education foundation
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    each of those words is uh completely
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    significant
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    um i remember
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    i guess when i was in high school just
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    before
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    i started
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    college at san jose state in 1958
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    and in 1958 uh we didn't call ourselves
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    mexicans
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    nobody called us mexicans
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    we were spanish
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    we were spanish people
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    mexican was it was an insult
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    it still is
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    called cosmetic mexican so we a number
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    of the students then picked up on
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    mexican american who put that together
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    and that seemed uh
  • 00:06:13
    new and refreshing and enlightening to
  • 00:06:15
    us we were americans we're
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    mexican-americans
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    and it worked for a while
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    until that wasn't satisfactory so we
  • 00:06:22
    changed it to chicano
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    we we grounded it you know in our
  • 00:06:27
    bachuco culture in the streets
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    and so we were chicano for a while
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    it was a wonderful chicano movement
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    during the 60s and 60s and 70s
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    uh we have some veterans here more
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    remembers very well
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    uh but the the
  • 00:06:41
    it was changed after that it was
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    hispanic you know from outside and today
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    we have latinx which is fine with me
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    call yourselves whatever you want
  • 00:06:51
    it's not latino and it's not latina
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    probably that's a good thing it's not
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    english either
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    and it's not spanish not any language so
  • 00:06:59
    it's a little sterile in my estimation
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    but i understand what the effort is it's
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    this search
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    to try to get rid of the hyphen and to
  • 00:07:07
    see who we are but ultimately we're all
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    americans in the continental sense
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    we've been americans before america
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    existed we've been americans for as long
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    as humanity has been in this hemisphere
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    if you want to play that game you know
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    so what do we call ourselves i call
  • 00:07:23
    myself an american but a continental
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    american
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    and i share that with any and everybody
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    from any part of the world that wants to
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    come and be an american i'll share that
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    that's right we have that in common
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    that's good you know
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    sometimes i like just to be called a
  • 00:07:38
    mexican
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    american a mexican american a mexican
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    but it's uh is particular to my uh
  • 00:07:46
    background as a as a chicano
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    but i'm willing to open that up and to
  • 00:07:52
    admit uh that the world is complex
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    and that
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    we need to understand each other and
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    that people get assimilation and
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    acculturation confused
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    and so uh i have acculturated as uh an
  • 00:08:06
    american
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    i was an english major i've studied
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    europe i've been there many times i love
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    europe i love europeans you know as far
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    as that's concerned i love white
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    americans listen i have no problem with
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    that you know
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    except the term which is any color any
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    single color is a little too limiting
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    uh
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    white people aren't really white you
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    know they're salmon
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    [Laughter]
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    you know but
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    but the fact is that uh
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    you know these are my friends these are
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    members of my family so how can i deny
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    that that's and i've integrated i've
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    assimilated that i have become
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    european in the process and i can
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    understand what a shock it was for
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    montezuma
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    camina
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    the aztec emperor or speaker
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    to confront
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    uh
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    our other ancestor hernan cortes and
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    meet face to face
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    and to i can appreciate the gap that
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    must exist between these two human
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    beings and malinchi is what was there
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    too as a gap
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    that existed between men and women and
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    between her background
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    she spoke uh
  • 00:09:15
    she was bilingual she spoke now what and
  • 00:09:17
    she spoke maya yukateko which made her
  • 00:09:19
    the translator but in any case uh that
  • 00:09:22
    gap has been getting narrower and
  • 00:09:24
    narrower and narrower for 500 years
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    and you
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    are the end product
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    of that
  • 00:09:30
    you got to know that
  • 00:09:32
    you are america
  • 00:09:34
    you are the sum total
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    of the whole evolution of american
  • 00:09:39
    history for the last 500 years
  • 00:09:41
    and all of the suffering and all of the
  • 00:09:44
    troubles that our people have gone
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    through have been for you
  • 00:09:48
    so you could be where you are today
  • 00:09:51
    so you can pass the torch to the next
  • 00:09:52
    generation but it's an evolving thing
  • 00:09:54
    and but all of these mexican-american
  • 00:09:56
    culture we used to say cultural is
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    political it is
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    and so uh
  • 00:10:02
    we became
  • 00:10:03
    a cultural organization because of
  • 00:10:05
    political reasons you know el chatro
  • 00:10:07
    campesino realized that theater was not
  • 00:10:10
    just theater it was a weapon it was
  • 00:10:12
    it was a way to educate okay education
  • 00:10:15
    so all of that foundation it's a lovely
  • 00:10:17
    title i congratulate you and i hope to
  • 00:10:19
    see much more come from this foundation
  • 00:10:21
    thank you thank you such a such a
  • 00:10:23
    wonderful explanation and you know we
  • 00:10:27
    we can see that that you're a great
  • 00:10:30
    teacher and and very knowledgeable man
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    and and and
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    you have
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    throughout your career always although
  • 00:10:38
    you have so much success you always go
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    back to your roots you always go back to
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    northern california to a farming
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    community
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    and and and and help
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    the the people
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    there you know which is very unique most
  • 00:10:53
    most people that have had your success
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    will be living the hollywood life
  • 00:10:57
    something very powerful in your
  • 00:11:00
    childhood and your upbringing
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    must have given you the the the
  • 00:11:05
    the responsibility
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    to serve the responsibility to educate
  • 00:11:11
    which you have done through your theater
  • 00:11:13
    could you share with us a little bit
  • 00:11:14
    about that childhood experience that has
  • 00:11:17
    created this fire that we see
  • 00:11:21
    well um i
  • 00:11:23
    i come from a very loving family uh we
  • 00:11:26
    were very poor you know we didn't have
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    any money or farm workers
  • 00:11:30
    uh but uh love that's all my parents
  • 00:11:33
    could give us basically my dad never got
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    past the fifth grade his father died
  • 00:11:37
    when he was 12. so he went to work like
  • 00:11:39
    a man he became the sole support of his
  • 00:11:40
    family never went back to school but he
  • 00:11:43
    loved books and uh
  • 00:11:45
    i think that if he'd been able to go to
  • 00:11:47
    university he would have been a history
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    professor
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    because he loved history and he passed
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    that love on to me i love history
  • 00:11:53
    because of him but when we were kids and
  • 00:11:55
    who were migrants
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    going up and down the state he never
  • 00:11:58
    failed to stop at a landmark you know or
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    would go to the missions you know
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    something that was
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    cheap you know it was free
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    and but that's how i began to appreciate
  • 00:12:08
    my history and san juan batista where we
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    live is is one of those places it's not
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    the only place there were 21 missions in
  • 00:12:16
    california
  • 00:12:17
    the la area has many that that are
  • 00:12:19
    significant because they were the first
  • 00:12:20
    ones san gabriel you know
  • 00:12:23
    and you know there was a an indigenous a
  • 00:12:25
    woman leader toy polina i don't know if
  • 00:12:27
    you know about toy purina do you know
  • 00:12:28
    about her she was like
  • 00:12:31
    they call them gabrielenos that's not
  • 00:12:32
    really their names but they they were
  • 00:12:35
    southern california indigenous
  • 00:12:37
    led a revolt
  • 00:12:38
    that was successful in san gabriel
  • 00:12:41
    and the spanish who were here the the
  • 00:12:44
    colonists um
  • 00:12:46
    eventually arrested her
  • 00:12:48
    but instead of killing her they married
  • 00:12:49
    it off to a spanish soldier
  • 00:12:52
    i guess because she was a woman and they
  • 00:12:54
    wanted to humiliate her
  • 00:12:55
    and he got pregnant
  • 00:12:57
    with several children
  • 00:12:59
    and
  • 00:13:00
    eventually
  • 00:13:02
    she died young
  • 00:13:04
    because of all the suffering and
  • 00:13:06
    deprivations who knows what her life was
  • 00:13:07
    like but she's buried in san juan
  • 00:13:09
    battista
  • 00:13:11
    and uh in the unmarked grave there are
  • 00:13:14
    several thousand indians there they
  • 00:13:15
    built the mission
  • 00:13:16
    and we're very conscious of that the
  • 00:13:18
    reason that we settled in san juan
  • 00:13:20
    bautista in 1971
  • 00:13:22
    was because we wanted to resurrect
  • 00:13:24
    resurrect the history of california
  • 00:13:26
    and i wanted to live in a place that had
  • 00:13:28
    once been mexico because all the whole
  • 00:13:30
    state had been mexico but our cities are
  • 00:13:32
    so big that we can't find mexico here
  • 00:13:34
    anymore you know but in san juan you can
  • 00:13:36
    still see it you can see in the land
  • 00:13:38
    and we see it in the mission
  • 00:13:40
    and i said well here at least i can
  • 00:13:42
    imagine
  • 00:13:44
    that i'm at the start again
  • 00:13:46
    of the americanization process and it
  • 00:13:48
    frees me so as a writer i mean you can
  • 00:13:50
    write anywhere
  • 00:13:51
    uh as a as a director and as an actor
  • 00:13:54
    and as a producer
  • 00:13:56
    los angeles is my professional home i
  • 00:13:58
    mean i come here
  • 00:13:59
    to to get my work done or new york or
  • 00:14:02
    chicago or wherever but la is
  • 00:14:03
    particularly special to me because this
  • 00:14:05
    is home as well but the whole state of
  • 00:14:07
    california is my home i'm in california
  • 00:14:10
    so so
  • 00:14:11
    you grew up in in
  • 00:14:13
    in a time
  • 00:14:15
    when when the repression against
  • 00:14:17
    mexicans was very severe and access to
  • 00:14:20
    education was limited
  • 00:14:22
    and and somehow you have achieved this
  • 00:14:25
    amazing success that we see today
  • 00:14:28
    uh i mean being they were surrounded by
  • 00:14:30
    young people and people the the dream
  • 00:14:33
    one day being like you
  • 00:14:35
    tell us tell us what was your secret how
  • 00:14:38
    is that you
  • 00:14:40
    were so capable of achieving this
  • 00:14:42
    success i think you have to you have to
  • 00:14:45
    learn to appreciate what you have and
  • 00:14:47
    what you can work with
  • 00:14:49
    and as a kid working in the fields my
  • 00:14:50
    hands had to stay busy
  • 00:14:52
    my feet my body but my mind was free
  • 00:14:56
    so it didn't matter what we were picking
  • 00:14:57
    tomatoes or strawberries or prunes it
  • 00:15:00
    didn't matter i'd have these wild
  • 00:15:02
    imagination you know the wild journeys
  • 00:15:03
    in my head you notice how i kept myself
  • 00:15:05
    entertained and i had these big plans
  • 00:15:07
    about what i was going to do at the end
  • 00:15:09
    of the day it never worked out because i
  • 00:15:10
    was too damn tired you know with my
  • 00:15:12
    whole family at the end of the day but
  • 00:15:14
    the next day i started dreaming again
  • 00:15:15
    right until one day i mean i actually
  • 00:15:18
    began to do stuff you know and i
  • 00:15:20
    discovered the secret of paper mache in
  • 00:15:22
    the first grade
  • 00:15:23
    and that opened up everything because
  • 00:15:25
    you could take newspaper or paper bag
  • 00:15:26
    and make a mask
  • 00:15:28
    you know make a puppet you know make
  • 00:15:30
    model airplanes whatever it was like
  • 00:15:32
    bamboo became a big discovery for me
  • 00:15:34
    because it was free
  • 00:15:35
    and i could make airplanes out of bamboo
  • 00:15:37
    you know
  • 00:15:38
    and so uh if you discover that you can
  • 00:15:41
    create
  • 00:15:42
    it doesn't matter that you're poor it
  • 00:15:45
    doesn't money is not the issue there
  • 00:15:47
    it's only your imagination and it's what
  • 00:15:49
    your hands can do
  • 00:15:51
    and a lot of people
  • 00:15:52
    a lot of chicanos unfortunately don't
  • 00:15:55
    discover that they're creative until
  • 00:15:57
    they're locked up someplace and they
  • 00:15:58
    begin to draw you'll say oh i can do
  • 00:16:00
    this you know they didn't realize they
  • 00:16:02
    could do that
  • 00:16:03
    well a lot of us know we can make music
  • 00:16:05
    that's one of our first intro and that's
  • 00:16:06
    great that's beautiful
  • 00:16:08
    that we discover that we can dance
  • 00:16:10
    so when we started the teatro campesino
  • 00:16:13
    the the idea was
  • 00:16:15
    to give the people the power of the arts
  • 00:16:16
    directly yes you don't have to be
  • 00:16:18
    educated you don't have to know how to
  • 00:16:19
    read and write
  • 00:16:20
    you can anybody can act you know anybody
  • 00:16:24
    anybody can entertain and some people do
  • 00:16:26
    it naturally natural you know felipe
  • 00:16:28
    cantu one of our original founding
  • 00:16:30
    members of the teatro campesino
  • 00:16:32
    he was an old man at 47 you know when we
  • 00:16:34
    pulled him out of the field uh but he
  • 00:16:37
    was a genius
  • 00:16:38
    he was he was amazing you know the world
  • 00:16:41
    didn't discover him the teatro did you
  • 00:16:43
    know
  • 00:16:43
    uh but uh he was
  • 00:16:45
    an untrained but a natural-born funny
  • 00:16:49
    genius you know he's uh he was in la
  • 00:16:51
    bamba he's a guy with a rattlesnakes
  • 00:16:53
    that's really big
  • 00:16:56
    one thing that you mentioned to me
  • 00:16:58
    was
  • 00:16:59
    that your love and of course something
  • 00:17:01
    that you inherit in in part from your
  • 00:17:04
    father that your love for for it for
  • 00:17:06
    learning you you you mentioned to me
  • 00:17:08
    something that we want to remind our
  • 00:17:11
    our friends the the you you were a great
  • 00:17:14
    student you you earn ease straight ease
  • 00:17:18
    right how many strategies do you get
  • 00:17:21
    the first year 52es yeah
  • 00:17:23
    east in those days were the a's
  • 00:17:26
    they're straight straight
  • 00:17:28
    [Laughter]
  • 00:17:31
    in innovation wonderful i had a
  • 00:17:32
    wonderful first grade teacher mr smiley
  • 00:17:35
    and there were two first grades there's
  • 00:17:36
    an early mark right next to delano
  • 00:17:38
    first grades and miss mrs smiley had one
  • 00:17:41
    class and mrs cheeseman had the other
  • 00:17:43
    class they were two first grades in this
  • 00:17:45
    army bungalow building this was just
  • 00:17:47
    after world war ii
  • 00:17:49
    46 1946 and so miss says smiley
  • 00:17:52
    discovered that i could sing
  • 00:17:54
    three blind mice in spanish
  • 00:17:56
    [Laughter]
  • 00:17:58
    you
  • 00:18:04
    and so i could do the whole thing and i
  • 00:18:05
    love singing it and and she always come
  • 00:18:08
    on sing it so finally mr cheese and said
  • 00:18:09
    when are you going to come over and sing
  • 00:18:11
    it over here so i went to the next class
  • 00:18:13
    and sang three
  • 00:18:14
    you know and and uh and they loved it
  • 00:18:17
    the kids the anglo kids everybody oh
  • 00:18:19
    you're singing three blind mice in
  • 00:18:20
    spanish you know so that that made me a
  • 00:18:22
    performer in the first grade right and
  • 00:18:24
    um but i love school i i love numbers i
  • 00:18:28
    love letters
  • 00:18:30
    um it helps a little bit that my parents
  • 00:18:31
    were born in arizona so i was bilingual
  • 00:18:34
    you know i wasn't
  • 00:18:35
    not perfectly bilingual but bilingual
  • 00:18:37
    you know i was able to communicate so i
  • 00:18:39
    became the translator in school
  • 00:18:42
    and there was a little girl i'll never
  • 00:18:44
    forget um
  • 00:18:46
    you know they that christmas that first
  • 00:18:47
    christmas where you exchanged names
  • 00:18:50
    and uh
  • 00:18:51
    you want the rich anglo kids to get your
  • 00:18:53
    name
  • 00:18:55
    i mean i wear the growers kids who's got
  • 00:18:56
    my name you know and it turns out this
  • 00:18:58
    little girl has my name i said oh my god
  • 00:19:02
    you know i knew i wasn't gonna get very
  • 00:19:04
    much you know and so uh and i got a
  • 00:19:06
    growers kid you know
  • 00:19:08
    so i got him a football you know and she
  • 00:19:10
    got me some little
  • 00:19:12
    wooden thing
  • 00:19:14
    and i mean i i was appreciative
  • 00:19:17
    but i felt guilty i felt oh it was too
  • 00:19:18
    bad she got my name you know then one
  • 00:19:20
    day we come back
  • 00:19:22
    after christmas and
  • 00:19:24
    and she's crying you know they called me
  • 00:19:26
    to the office i didn't know why and they
  • 00:19:28
    called me the office i was the
  • 00:19:29
    translator for the school
  • 00:19:31
    for the kids
  • 00:19:32
    because i was bilingual and and so they
  • 00:19:34
    said what's the matter with her and she
  • 00:19:36
    was crying and weeping she was saying my
  • 00:19:37
    parents left me
  • 00:19:39
    they had spiders you know i said she
  • 00:19:41
    says her parents left her abandoned her
  • 00:19:43
    so
  • 00:19:44
    we took her to her place where she lived
  • 00:19:46
    which is down the street from me they
  • 00:19:47
    were in a little trailer and the trailer
  • 00:19:49
    was gone
  • 00:19:51
    you know the foundation was there and it
  • 00:19:54
    was horrifying they horrified me and
  • 00:19:55
    said oh my god if my parents took off
  • 00:19:57
    like that what would i do and she was
  • 00:19:59
    come totally traumatized crying weeping
  • 00:20:02
    couldn't stop crying and i said
  • 00:20:03
    yesterday
  • 00:20:06
    and so finally her parents did show up
  • 00:20:08
    in the afternoon
  • 00:20:10
    they had told her but she forgot
  • 00:20:12
    that they were moving that they were
  • 00:20:14
    moving to the next town but she was so
  • 00:20:16
    traumatized
  • 00:20:19
    that a few months later i heard she died
  • 00:20:21
    she died of pneumonia
  • 00:20:23
    and i always felt guilty
  • 00:20:26
    about the christmas present
  • 00:20:28
    but i was a translator
  • 00:20:30
    and i always wondered why the hell am i
  • 00:20:32
    the translator i'm a six-year-old kid
  • 00:20:35
    but you know again i helped when i could
  • 00:20:37
    but that stayed with me that stayed with
  • 00:20:39
    me
  • 00:20:41
    well those those are the experiences
  • 00:20:42
    that the the shape our life right yeah
  • 00:20:45
    in in
  • 00:20:46
    in i know you i know i read your your
  • 00:20:51
    story and i know that you were an
  • 00:20:52
    excellent student you got scholarships
  • 00:20:55
    you you you got you went to college
  • 00:20:58
    you know you you are a highly educated
  • 00:21:01
    man and and of course you you then uh
  • 00:21:05
    started some amazing
  • 00:21:07
    you know uh
  • 00:21:09
    institutions for example in monterey and
  • 00:21:12
    you you started the
  • 00:21:14
    the arts let me remember the the
  • 00:21:16
    institution dramatically
  • 00:21:18
    dramatic arts and technology thank you
  • 00:21:20
    for
  • 00:21:21
    uh and and and and of course that was
  • 00:21:24
    incredibly progressive at the time
  • 00:21:26
    and and uh and of course that in a way
  • 00:21:29
    kind of push you into the the the tv and
  • 00:21:31
    film and different things like that tell
  • 00:21:33
    us a little bit about that that's
  • 00:21:34
    actually absolutely tell us about that
  • 00:21:36
    experience because i think it's very
  • 00:21:37
    important for us to know more about that
  • 00:21:40
    your your life in the film and industry
  • 00:21:43
    and maybe how this started or how you
  • 00:21:45
    you've been you know so so influential
  • 00:21:47
    in this part
  • 00:21:48
    and the tv film and how do you feel
  • 00:21:51
    about the tv film
  • 00:21:53
    how how
  • 00:21:54
    how are we today here as mexican
  • 00:21:57
    americans as latinos how are we doing
  • 00:22:00
    have you seen changes you know
  • 00:22:02
    there's changes there are changes it's
  • 00:22:04
    not easy it's it's not going to be easy
  • 00:22:07
    still but
  • 00:22:08
    but there are definite changes
  • 00:22:10
    and we can do it i mean that's that was
  • 00:22:12
    what would be this
  • 00:22:15
    i and uh
  • 00:22:17
    there's a number of ways to approach
  • 00:22:18
    this my dad um
  • 00:22:20
    i was talking about my mother too
  • 00:22:21
    because she's so fundamental to me uh
  • 00:22:23
    but
  • 00:22:24
    my dad was an extra in cimarron which
  • 00:22:26
    was the first western in 1930 it won the
  • 00:22:29
    academy award for the best picture
  • 00:22:31
    it was first sound western and it was
  • 00:22:33
    about the oklahoma land rush and they
  • 00:22:35
    filmed it in the san joaquin valley and
  • 00:22:36
    my dad and my grandfather were mule
  • 00:22:38
    drivers so they hired all kind of there
  • 00:22:40
    was many mule drivers as they could get
  • 00:22:41
    to ride the wagons you know and there's
  • 00:22:43
    this big massive shot in the movie where
  • 00:22:45
    you know people are getting killed looks
  • 00:22:46
    like they're driving across the so my
  • 00:22:48
    dad was one of those mule drivers
  • 00:22:50
    and he put the rest of his life he
  • 00:22:52
    talked about how good catering was right
  • 00:22:55
    that's what he looked like
  • 00:22:59
    and so from as a little kid i said if my
  • 00:23:01
    dad can make movies i can make movies
  • 00:23:03
    you know that's an empowering little
  • 00:23:04
    thing right it was a little thing
  • 00:23:06
    but uh
  • 00:23:07
    all of that led into into the movies and
  • 00:23:10
    it was
  • 00:23:11
    you know it's really important to know
  • 00:23:13
    how much how quickly change has come
  • 00:23:15
    about because when i was a kid we used
  • 00:23:17
    to have this old man that would come to
  • 00:23:18
    early mark
  • 00:23:19
    by delano again that didn't have a movie
  • 00:23:21
    theater
  • 00:23:22
    and i'm very grateful to marcus parson
  • 00:23:24
    for putting a maya theater in delano
  • 00:23:26
    it's so
  • 00:23:27
    significant you know it's incredible
  • 00:23:30
    because i'll tell you all we had when i
  • 00:23:32
    was a kid is this old man would come
  • 00:23:33
    with a tent and set it up and he had a
  • 00:23:36
    kerosene projector
  • 00:23:38
    and it was run by kerosene
  • 00:23:40
    uh the light
  • 00:23:41
    and and uh it was silent movies it's a
  • 00:23:44
    buster crab you know and and uh
  • 00:23:47
    it was amazing but he would get the kids
  • 00:23:50
    to clean this empty lot and then he he
  • 00:23:52
    would let us he would give us a free
  • 00:23:55
    pass you know
  • 00:23:56
    ten cents and we use the ten cents to
  • 00:23:58
    buy popcorn because they didn't watch
  • 00:24:01
    the silent movies but anyway this is
  • 00:24:03
    this i it was like being in the 20s
  • 00:24:06
    and so it was the 40s but for me it was
  • 00:24:08
    like wow i didn't realize but little by
  • 00:24:11
    little you know i began to focus on on
  • 00:24:13
    the movies like everybody and saying i
  • 00:24:14
    can do this i want to do this how can i
  • 00:24:16
    do this
  • 00:24:17
    and i i didn't major in in film or
  • 00:24:20
    anything like that i i became an english
  • 00:24:22
    major
  • 00:24:22
    and came into the theater
  • 00:24:24
    but nevertheless uh the idea of the
  • 00:24:27
    cinematic
  • 00:24:28
    the reality of cinema and the
  • 00:24:31
    cinematic orientation is something that
  • 00:24:33
    we all have in common now because we
  • 00:24:35
    live in the cinematic era
  • 00:24:37
    and uh
  • 00:24:38
    we think visually and so when in at
  • 00:24:40
    monterey bay for instance one of the
  • 00:24:42
    things about tele-dramatic arts and
  • 00:24:43
    technology is that we wanted to teach
  • 00:24:45
    the importance of nonlinear
  • 00:24:48
    uh visions you know non-linear well
  • 00:24:50
    there's linear and non-linear you know
  • 00:24:52
    there's uh
  • 00:24:53
    linear is kind of like logical one after
  • 00:24:55
    the other non-linear is intuitive you
  • 00:24:57
    know you come in this way so it's a
  • 00:24:59
    creative thing and and that has to do
  • 00:25:02
    again with with the fact that we're a
  • 00:25:03
    lot more visual
  • 00:25:05
    we speak a visual language
  • 00:25:07
    and it's a worldwide language now it's a
  • 00:25:09
    global language we have learned a visual
  • 00:25:12
    language through that art form
  • 00:25:14
    and uh we're quite good at it as a group
  • 00:25:17
    actually as a culture
  • 00:25:19
    look at the mayans and what they used to
  • 00:25:20
    do with the hieroglyphs you know
  • 00:25:22
    i mean look at that little
  • 00:25:24
    exactly that's now we already hear you
  • 00:25:25
    know in it the
  • 00:25:28
    the grace of that kind of art the grace
  • 00:25:30
    of mexican art the visuality of mexican
  • 00:25:33
    art
  • 00:25:33
    is is uh the raw stuff that you need for
  • 00:25:36
    great filmmakers so you're all
  • 00:25:38
    potentially great filmmakers if you just
  • 00:25:40
    dip into your culture
  • 00:25:42
    okay and uh that and uh
  • 00:25:45
    it helps to have a knowledge of
  • 00:25:47
    technology i was also a math and physics
  • 00:25:49
    major i discovered i love mate uh
  • 00:25:51
    numbers when i was in the first grade
  • 00:25:53
    one of the first things that mr smiley
  • 00:25:54
    asked me to do is to get up and count to
  • 00:25:56
    100
  • 00:25:58
    which i did quite proudly i stood up
  • 00:25:59
    there
  • 00:26:00
    one two three four
  • 00:26:03
    one hundred you know pilot said 100 buy
  • 00:26:05
    and sit down wonderful you know but i
  • 00:26:07
    became a math major because i discovered
  • 00:26:09
    that i could differential calculus i
  • 00:26:11
    could get into numbers and understand
  • 00:26:15
    the algorithms that dominate the
  • 00:26:16
    universe with a mathematical perspective
  • 00:26:19
    where did that come from from our
  • 00:26:21
    ancestors i didn't find it anywhere but
  • 00:26:23
    in myself i found it through my parents
  • 00:26:25
    i found it in what i had in here and so
  • 00:26:28
    i was able to apply that and that also
  • 00:26:29
    came to bear when i became a filmmaker
  • 00:26:32
    because it's all about angles you know
  • 00:26:33
    it's all about lenses it's all about
  • 00:26:35
    knowing movement and and being able to
  • 00:26:38
    adjust you know you work both sides of
  • 00:26:40
    the brain okay
  • 00:26:42
    work both sides of the brain and one of
  • 00:26:44
    the fine things about being bilingual
  • 00:26:46
    is that your your the synapses of the
  • 00:26:48
    brain work automatically and quietly
  • 00:26:51
    when you're talking bilingually whenever
  • 00:26:53
    you're in the other part in english
  • 00:26:55
    what i just did
  • 00:26:56
    is that synapse you know from the brain
  • 00:26:59
    or anybody that's bilingual regardless
  • 00:27:01
    of what the language is if you're
  • 00:27:02
    multilingual even better because the
  • 00:27:04
    brain really sparks
  • 00:27:06
    so when they're telling you english only
  • 00:27:08
    that's a very ignorant thing to tell
  • 00:27:10
    anybody
  • 00:27:11
    or spanish only or or only tagalog you
  • 00:27:14
    know it's ridiculous learn all the
  • 00:27:16
    languages that you can
  • 00:27:18
    you know and use them and interchange
  • 00:27:20
    them and see how language is very fluid
  • 00:27:23
    you become
  • 00:27:24
    very poetic but all of that too is part
  • 00:27:27
    of filmmaking in the arts and you know
  • 00:27:29
    the the the
  • 00:27:31
    symphony of language is something that
  • 00:27:33
    you can play with you know you know
  • 00:27:35
    definitely definitely you have you have
  • 00:27:37
    shown us that
  • 00:27:39
    that
  • 00:27:41
    art is very important you have that
  • 00:27:43
    natural artistic side but you have also
  • 00:27:45
    committed the effort of learning math
  • 00:27:48
    and physics and all of those things and
  • 00:27:49
    we all want to remember that it takes an
  • 00:27:51
    effort it doesn't happen by luck
  • 00:27:54
    mr valdes is a success is it's been
  • 00:27:58
    it's been a commitment and effort you
  • 00:28:00
    know and and um
  • 00:28:03
    also the passion that you have shown for
  • 00:28:05
    your culture and i go back to that you
  • 00:28:07
    know it seems like like like you
  • 00:28:11
    every every
  • 00:28:13
    movie every every play
  • 00:28:16
    tells a story that brings us a little
  • 00:28:19
    bit back to that that that uh campesino
  • 00:28:22
    area and and it's very interesting how
  • 00:28:25
    how much passion you have for that that
  • 00:28:27
    kind of reminds me a little bit about an
  • 00:28:29
    interview that i recently saw from from
  • 00:28:32
    um
  • 00:28:33
    her name is gina rodriguez from jane
  • 00:28:35
    diversion maybe some of you have heard
  • 00:28:37
    of her and
  • 00:28:38
    and she was asked she was as well you
  • 00:28:40
    know
  • 00:28:41
    in an interview
  • 00:28:43
    there's a lot of critics telling her
  • 00:28:46
    that that she
  • 00:28:47
    the way she presents herself on the show
  • 00:28:50
    is very doesn't represent all latinos it
  • 00:28:53
    represents only a small section and and
  • 00:28:56
    she's puerto rican and then which and
  • 00:28:58
    she said look i i've heard this this
  • 00:29:01
    this criticism but uh i struggle with
  • 00:29:05
    that but at the end i understand that
  • 00:29:07
    that we cannot rep
  • 00:29:09
    if we try to represent everyone we will
  • 00:29:12
    represent no one because we are very
  • 00:29:14
    unique and your your art is often
  • 00:29:18
    represented the chicano the latino
  • 00:29:21
    uh what would you say in regards to to
  • 00:29:24
    to maybe a critic that say well why
  • 00:29:26
    don't you represent everyone
  • 00:29:30
    i do represent everyone
  • 00:29:32
    i mean in the work right exactly um
  • 00:29:35
    it reminds me one of the
  • 00:29:37
    we went to broadway with zoot suit in 79
  • 00:29:40
    um
  • 00:29:42
    you know the critics with the same
  • 00:29:43
    critics have savaged this were the ones
  • 00:29:45
    they were saying bring it out we love it
  • 00:29:46
    you know they saw it here in l.a
  • 00:29:48
    it's great you know
  • 00:29:50
    once we got there i mean their long
  • 00:29:51
    knives came out right and they went
  • 00:29:53
    after us and i was accused of
  • 00:29:55
    manipulating emotions you know
  • 00:29:57
    what else does that but that's what
  • 00:29:58
    filmmaking is right i mean artists
  • 00:30:01
    manipulation of emotions you know
  • 00:30:04
    but uh but the fact is that uh
  • 00:30:06
    the politics got in the way they weren't
  • 00:30:08
    ready they weren't ready you know uh
  • 00:30:10
    to hear about pachucos and they where do
  • 00:30:12
    you recognize la either they weren't
  • 00:30:14
    gonna recognize this western capital
  • 00:30:16
    over here you know
  • 00:30:17
    um
  • 00:30:18
    it did they were backwards that's the
  • 00:30:20
    problem you know they were black and and
  • 00:30:21
    the dean of um
  • 00:30:23
    american uh drama critics to his
  • 00:30:28
    ill fame i think because he was a great
  • 00:30:30
    teacher
  • 00:30:31
    uh walter kerr
  • 00:30:33
    he he said that english was my second
  • 00:30:35
    language
  • 00:30:37
    so this is why there was a line in the
  • 00:30:39
    play that says
  • 00:30:43
    i said this
  • 00:30:44
    oh he's talking about pachuco yo
  • 00:30:48
    he'd understand i was talking in spanish
  • 00:30:50
    but you call yo
  • 00:30:53
    not pachuco but
  • 00:30:55
    you could you know
  • 00:30:57
    which convinces me he read the play he
  • 00:30:59
    read the play and he saw this so they
  • 00:31:01
    got thrown by my bilingualism i
  • 00:31:03
    understood that i was taking a a
  • 00:31:06
    a risk by being bilingual
  • 00:31:08
    but i couldn't express all my reality
  • 00:31:10
    you know in in just
  • 00:31:12
    only in english
  • 00:31:14
    i'm not an only english guy you know and
  • 00:31:16
    that's how we we you know
  • 00:31:18
    we talk about what we know right and how
  • 00:31:21
    we you know that's that you your your
  • 00:31:23
    your beautiful art has represented that
  • 00:31:25
    but most recently
  • 00:31:27
    you your your beautiful your beautiful
  • 00:31:30
    play valley of the heart
  • 00:31:32
    uh
  • 00:31:33
    you know in which you talk about
  • 00:31:36
    the struggles of the japanese americans
  • 00:31:38
    during the second world war which were
  • 00:31:40
    in prison at the same time
  • 00:31:44
    mexican americans were abused and
  • 00:31:46
    deported you know you you
  • 00:31:48
    beautifully
  • 00:31:49
    connected both cultures
  • 00:31:52
    and and i have to admit that the the
  • 00:31:54
    while watching and maybe you know
  • 00:31:57
    shedding some tears
  • 00:31:58
    i was also thinking
  • 00:32:00
    uh uh
  • 00:32:01
    i think that i i think that the luis is
  • 00:32:05
    is telling us that that we need to
  • 00:32:07
    integrate and we need to become united
  • 00:32:10
    not just with the mexican americans with
  • 00:32:13
    everyone would you see would you say
  • 00:32:15
    that the the
  • 00:32:16
    your message or what what was your
  • 00:32:19
    message
  • 00:32:20
    okay well it's a good question and i
  • 00:32:22
    want to entertain this answer very
  • 00:32:24
    carefully because
  • 00:32:25
    belly of the heart
  • 00:32:27
    is about this love story between a
  • 00:32:29
    japanese-american young woman the
  • 00:32:31
    daughter of a grower an essay grower
  • 00:32:34
    and a first-generation japanese and then
  • 00:32:36
    the mexican-american the oldest son of a
  • 00:32:37
    mexican-american family they fall in
  • 00:32:39
    love it's a true story
  • 00:32:41
    i had a childhood friend back in 1947.
  • 00:32:44
    his name was esteban i thought it was
  • 00:32:46
    filipino but actually it turns out he's
  • 00:32:48
    mother was japanese and his father was
  • 00:32:50
    mexican his mother was talma and the
  • 00:32:53
    father was benjamin and they were
  • 00:32:55
    cornejo
  • 00:32:57
    and i didn't know that i didn't i i was
  • 00:32:59
    shocked you know when
  • 00:33:01
    i met the mother i said she's japanese
  • 00:33:03
    you know and and but she was beautiful
  • 00:33:05
    and she cooked she was great she was a
  • 00:33:08
    great cook so i always hung around you
  • 00:33:10
    know for dinner
  • 00:33:11
    they lived in this little shack the the
  • 00:33:14
    kitchen was a cardboard lean too
  • 00:33:17
    and but i first rice ball i ever had in
  • 00:33:20
    my life came from her hands
  • 00:33:22
    you know a rose you know
  • 00:33:25
    simple you know
  • 00:33:27
    but anyway uh it was a revelation to me
  • 00:33:30
    and noodles and stuff that she would
  • 00:33:32
    cook good and then mexican food like my
  • 00:33:34
    mother she could she was a great cook
  • 00:33:36
    you know
  • 00:33:36
    so uh that's my first experience
  • 00:33:39
    literally in life meeting a cultural
  • 00:33:41
    fusion you know somebody that was half
  • 00:33:43
    japanese half mexican so when i wrote
  • 00:33:44
    the play i called the lovers benjamin
  • 00:33:46
    and thelma
  • 00:33:47
    and when we did the first workshop
  • 00:33:48
    production a couple came and said why
  • 00:33:50
    did you name the lovers this
  • 00:33:52
    name and i told her the story and i said
  • 00:33:54
    why did you ask he said because we had
  • 00:33:56
    cousins that were benjamin and kama
  • 00:33:59
    and they're still there their their
  • 00:34:00
    family
  • 00:34:01
    they had died
  • 00:34:03
    how about my friend my friend had just
  • 00:34:04
    died of prostate cancer but the whole
  • 00:34:06
    family came to see the play
  • 00:34:08
    all the children and grandchildren of
  • 00:34:10
    benjamin the original benjamin thomas
  • 00:34:12
    came to see the play now what that
  • 00:34:14
    speaks to is california history what
  • 00:34:16
    that speaks to is the west okay and talk
  • 00:34:19
    about the narrative i love what you had
  • 00:34:20
    to say about the narrative because i
  • 00:34:22
    think re
  • 00:34:23
    retelling the redesigning the american
  • 00:34:25
    narrative is key to the key to the
  • 00:34:28
    future and what we've all learned is
  • 00:34:30
    westward expansion
  • 00:34:32
    westwood expansion the covered wagons
  • 00:34:36
    you know the pioneers
  • 00:34:38
    it's a lovely story i buy into it sure
  • 00:34:40
    hey
  • 00:34:41
    some of it is true
  • 00:34:43
    but the other part which is very very
  • 00:34:46
    gingerly treated in the movies is that
  • 00:34:48
    it meant the slaughter of indians right
  • 00:34:50
    all the way across they were defending
  • 00:34:52
    their homeland but they were getting
  • 00:34:53
    wiped out men women and children
  • 00:34:56
    and then put in concentration camps
  • 00:34:58
    called reservations
  • 00:35:00
    and that's a stain on american history
  • 00:35:02
    that very few people can cop to they
  • 00:35:05
    can't cop to black slavery either you
  • 00:35:07
    know that's the other big stain
  • 00:35:09
    and and then when they got here they had
  • 00:35:11
    mexicans here so they started lynching
  • 00:35:13
    them you know by the dozen
  • 00:35:15
    and then they had to take over the
  • 00:35:16
    ranches so they started marrying the
  • 00:35:18
    daughters
  • 00:35:19
    and they got the old ranchos and then
  • 00:35:21
    they very quickly
  • 00:35:23
    they took over because the winning of
  • 00:35:25
    the west was not
  • 00:35:26
    the narrative tells you they came they
  • 00:35:28
    came and covered the conestoga wagons
  • 00:35:30
    they came as pioneers they came
  • 00:35:32
    well yeah but they came as corporations
  • 00:35:34
    too okay they came as corporations in
  • 00:35:38
    order to take the land and to invest in
  • 00:35:40
    it and once the railroad was established
  • 00:35:42
    here
  • 00:35:43
    it was locked up became frank norris's
  • 00:35:45
    octopus it became the controlling factor
  • 00:35:48
    of california so it was already like a
  • 00:35:50
    big corporate undertaking but anyway it
  • 00:35:53
    was the westward movement and that
  • 00:35:55
    westward movement did not end at the
  • 00:35:56
    pacific coast it kept going it went on
  • 00:35:59
    to hawaii and it went on all the way to
  • 00:36:01
    the philippines
  • 00:36:02
    okay
  • 00:36:04
    it didn't end there though
  • 00:36:07
    it's important to know that isaac newton
  • 00:36:09
    said for every action there's an
  • 00:36:11
    opposite and equal reaction you know
  • 00:36:12
    that basic physics
  • 00:36:14
    well in life too
  • 00:36:16
    what we are experiencing now is the
  • 00:36:18
    eastward movement
  • 00:36:20
    now asians
  • 00:36:22
    and latinos are moving east
  • 00:36:25
    and our covered wagons are heading man
  • 00:36:27
    to new york
  • 00:36:28
    our covered wagons are heading to europe
  • 00:36:30
    as a matter of fact we have a place in
  • 00:36:32
    europe already they're welcome us in
  • 00:36:34
    europe you know but the thing is that
  • 00:36:36
    the whole world is going back now
  • 00:36:38
    and you're part of that wave
  • 00:36:40
    you're part of this eastward movement
  • 00:36:43
    don't let anybody tell you that you're
  • 00:36:45
    not who you are you are who you are
  • 00:36:47
    you're not your grandparents your
  • 00:36:48
    grandparents had a tough my grandparents
  • 00:36:50
    had it tough they couldn't move they
  • 00:36:52
    couldn't go to school they couldn't do
  • 00:36:53
    anything
  • 00:36:54
    my parents had a little bit better but
  • 00:36:56
    not much better my generation had to
  • 00:36:58
    fight for what we got okay
  • 00:37:00
    i mean i had a teacher
  • 00:37:02
    my homeroom teacher in high school my at
  • 00:37:04
    the end of my first year i was a
  • 00:37:06
    straight a student in high school
  • 00:37:08
    and uh i say this because i don't look
  • 00:37:10
    like a straight a student
  • 00:37:12
    but the thing is that that she's had she
  • 00:37:15
    has my grades she gave me two a pluses i
  • 00:37:17
    had two classes from her and i said well
  • 00:37:19
    what are we going to do with you and i
  • 00:37:20
    said well i like college prep and she
  • 00:37:22
    said was that realistic
  • 00:37:26
    is that realistic
  • 00:37:28
    she was talking about this she wasn't
  • 00:37:29
    talking about my mind
  • 00:37:31
    so i said well thank you teacher she was
  • 00:37:33
    pregnant you know and she was going to
  • 00:37:34
    be a mom so i didn't say anything
  • 00:37:36
    but but the fact is that i had other
  • 00:37:38
    teachers that
  • 00:37:40
    that pushed me
  • 00:37:41
    and my
  • 00:37:43
    my english teacher is still alive god
  • 00:37:46
    bless him he's in his 90s he lives in
  • 00:37:47
    texas you know but he he he inspired me
  • 00:37:50
    to become a writer and what what was the
  • 00:37:52
    difference
  • 00:37:54
    i got cardinal from him in class
  • 00:37:56
    he would look at me and teach me because
  • 00:37:58
    i was the only one really looking at him
  • 00:37:59
    all the time you know
  • 00:38:01
    that's a trick by the way you're in
  • 00:38:02
    school look at your teacher in the eye
  • 00:38:04
    they'll teach you
  • 00:38:06
    most students are going oh i didn't do
  • 00:38:08
    my homework you know and
  • 00:38:09
    your teacher right in the eye they love
  • 00:38:11
    that oh you're looking at me okay
  • 00:38:13
    [Laughter]
  • 00:38:15
    i'm going to teach you about math
  • 00:38:16
    because you're looking at me okay
  • 00:38:19
    yeah and so that teacher did the other i
  • 00:38:21
    had a number of muslim anglos frankly we
  • 00:38:24
    didn't have any latino teachers you know
  • 00:38:26
    so there they were great teachers they
  • 00:38:28
    were anglos and i love them for that and
  • 00:38:30
    they love me and the fact is that i
  • 00:38:33
    learned from them
  • 00:38:34
    and the greatest compliment were two one
  • 00:38:37
    was that my english teacher ed farrell
  • 00:38:39
    is his name
  • 00:38:40
    said i've learned a lot from you
  • 00:38:42
    i said you're my teacher you know
  • 00:38:44
    he said yeah i know but i've learned a
  • 00:38:46
    lot from you you're a teacher now he
  • 00:38:48
    said you do me a favor and i said what
  • 00:38:50
    will you speak at my funeral
  • 00:38:52
    oh my god that's amazing you're still
  • 00:38:54
    alive thank god you know but
  • 00:38:56
    but uh but the thing is that that you
  • 00:38:59
    know we have this relationship so we're
  • 00:39:01
    talking about cultural fusion
  • 00:39:03
    and uh valley of the heart is about that
  • 00:39:05
    kind not the one that i invented it's in
  • 00:39:07
    history right there were mexicans in
  • 00:39:09
    japanese that that married they're
  • 00:39:11
    filipinos that married there there were
  • 00:39:13
    punjabi indians that married mexican
  • 00:39:15
    women because they weren't allowed to
  • 00:39:16
    marry anybody else right i think that i
  • 00:39:19
    think that we're we are we have so many
  • 00:39:22
    stories to tell and that's i love what
  • 00:39:24
    you say that that there are so many
  • 00:39:26
    narratives that have to be said just
  • 00:39:28
    like you know the history and the way
  • 00:39:30
    it's been told is is incomplete as mr
  • 00:39:33
    fernandez clearly said and and i think
  • 00:39:35
    that that we have a a lot of you know
  • 00:39:38
    future you know movie directors and and
  • 00:39:42
    and and playwrights maybe amongst us
  • 00:39:44
    hopefully amongst us
  • 00:39:46
    and and what advice
  • 00:39:49
    now you know what advice would you have
  • 00:39:51
    to you know for for young louis valdez
  • 00:39:54
    that is
  • 00:39:56
    is
  • 00:39:57
    thinking i would love one day to be like
  • 00:39:59
    him what advice would you give him
  • 00:40:02
    protect the kid inside okay
  • 00:40:05
    i still have a six-year-old in here you
  • 00:40:06
    know who got hooked on paper mache
  • 00:40:09
    and i i go to him often when i need to
  • 00:40:12
    create
  • 00:40:13
    i put the adult stuff aside and i have
  • 00:40:16
    to be a kid again you know i have to
  • 00:40:17
    have free flowing
  • 00:40:19
    every artist i think can understand that
  • 00:40:21
    you there's some there's a kind of a
  • 00:40:22
    molten version of you inside that you
  • 00:40:25
    have to relate to when you're creating
  • 00:40:28
    uh but it's a lot of it's the fun of it
  • 00:40:30
    right never lose the fun of it
  • 00:40:32
    for the love of music and color
  • 00:40:35
    and drama you know and uh
  • 00:40:38
    all of that storytelling i love to tell
  • 00:40:40
    stories because it's the way that human
  • 00:40:42
    beings learn right we learn through
  • 00:40:44
    stories
  • 00:40:45
    and so i become a storyteller out of a
  • 00:40:47
    necessity really because
  • 00:40:49
    there was so much to learn and so much
  • 00:40:52
    to teach
  • 00:40:53
    and i found that theaters is one of the
  • 00:40:55
    ways to get people together in a living
  • 00:40:57
    situation movies are great
  • 00:41:00
    television is great
  • 00:41:01
    but there's something very special about
  • 00:41:03
    live performance
  • 00:41:05
    and there's a vibration that happens
  • 00:41:07
    actually it was just documented someone
  • 00:41:09
    posted something on the internet about
  • 00:41:12
    how there's a certain thing that happens
  • 00:41:14
    in live performance there's a i call it
  • 00:41:16
    a vibration you know the myers used to
  • 00:41:18
    call us uniquely we're vibrant beings so
  • 00:41:21
    when we're in sync as performers and as
  • 00:41:24
    audience we're vibrating at the same
  • 00:41:26
    level
  • 00:41:27
    okay and it's like music you hit octaves
  • 00:41:30
    you hit octaves and and that's that's
  • 00:41:33
    sensing your life well you sense that as
  • 00:41:35
    little kids
  • 00:41:36
    when all these little kids running
  • 00:41:38
    around playing
  • 00:41:39
    that's that vibration that's that
  • 00:41:40
    vibrant power
  • 00:41:42
    that's why we're all vibrant beings you
  • 00:41:44
    know and so unfortunately as people as
  • 00:41:47
    people get older and they stop being
  • 00:41:49
    kids
  • 00:41:50
    they lose the vibrancy they lose that
  • 00:41:52
    vibration
  • 00:41:54
    allow yourself to vibrate okay
  • 00:41:57
    you are the master of your own mind and
  • 00:41:59
    of your own heart
  • 00:42:01
    okay
  • 00:42:02
    and and and the thing is that uh
  • 00:42:06
    if you don't like a situation change it
  • 00:42:08
    for yourself
  • 00:42:10
    uh
  • 00:42:13
    was it
  • 00:42:14
    ralph waldo emerson i think he said do
  • 00:42:17
    the thing and you shall have the power
  • 00:42:19
    do the thing and you shall have the
  • 00:42:21
    power
  • 00:42:22
    and and people say i might do my
  • 00:42:24
    homework well do it man get it over with
  • 00:42:26
    you know i got this job
  • 00:42:30
    and do the thing and and it's it's not
  • 00:42:32
    that daunting in the final analysis but
  • 00:42:35
    the arts are about that it's about
  • 00:42:37
    taking on tasks and then completing them
  • 00:42:39
    and going on to the next thing and you
  • 00:42:41
    know what you don't have to be famous
  • 00:42:42
    you don't have to be rich
  • 00:42:44
    you don't have to be anything
  • 00:42:47
    an artist
  • 00:42:48
    is
  • 00:42:49
    is an artist for its own sake
  • 00:42:51
    arts for art's sake you know in that
  • 00:42:52
    sense because if you're an artist you're
  • 00:42:54
    vibrating and that's who you are you're
  • 00:42:56
    a vibrant being in this huge universe
  • 00:43:00
    you know it's very important and so i
  • 00:43:02
    recommend uh that you take joy what you
  • 00:43:05
    do find your joys
  • 00:43:07
    and and and enjoy them do that go with
  • 00:43:10
    that
  • 00:43:11
    and if
  • 00:43:12
    write anything
  • 00:43:14
    write
  • 00:43:15
    write poetry write stories
  • 00:43:18
    paint pictures
  • 00:43:19
    it doesn't matter what work with wood it
  • 00:43:21
    doesn't matter work with clay
  • 00:43:23
    it doesn't matter what it is but it's
  • 00:43:24
    very important to be an artist i think
  • 00:43:26
    we all have to have some art in our life
  • 00:43:28
    and and not just in the museums but in
  • 00:43:31
    our lives
  • 00:43:32
    and so that's the power i i'm all about
  • 00:43:35
    the empowering of of the arts you know
  • 00:43:38
    the the the power of the arts empowers
  • 00:43:41
    people
  • 00:43:42
    and that's why the campaign started out
  • 00:43:45
    among
  • 00:43:47
    some farm workers that didn't even know
  • 00:43:48
    how to read
  • 00:43:49
    but they became great actors you know
  • 00:43:51
    because
  • 00:43:52
    of the power of the arts
  • 00:43:55
    well as we as we head towards the end i
  • 00:43:57
    i uh
  • 00:43:58
    i would like to ask you
  • 00:44:01
    what is
  • 00:44:02
    what is what are you passionate about
  • 00:44:04
    what is by making you vibrate right now
  • 00:44:07
    tell us a little tell us what you are
  • 00:44:09
    working on that makes you vibrate right
  • 00:44:11
    now well i'm working on a new play i was
  • 00:44:13
    commissioned uh by the mark taper uh uh
  • 00:44:16
    it's uh
  • 00:44:18
    it's really uh i can't talk too much
  • 00:44:20
    about it but it's it's it's for me it's
  • 00:44:22
    like closing the circle because it's
  • 00:44:24
    about delano it's about the great strike
  • 00:44:26
    but it's about the filipinos
  • 00:44:29
    oh
  • 00:44:30
    who started the grave strike
  • 00:44:32
    and it's got cesar in it it's got other
  • 00:44:34
    characters but the fact is that i wanted
  • 00:44:36
    to put the focus
  • 00:44:37
    where it started
  • 00:44:39
    and that the filipinos are the latinos
  • 00:44:41
    of asia
  • 00:44:43
    okay and there's a big latino presence
  • 00:44:44
    here in l.a not just a few right next
  • 00:44:47
    door here you know and uh
  • 00:44:49
    i was in the philippines in 1971
  • 00:44:53
    uh by chance i i was went with a group
  • 00:44:55
    of
  • 00:44:57
    artists it was the 400th anniversary of
  • 00:45:01
    the philippines this is before marcos
  • 00:45:03
    declared uh
  • 00:45:05
    martial law that's important to point
  • 00:45:07
    out and uh
  • 00:45:08
    but he invited us to malacanang and
  • 00:45:10
    imelda was our hostess and
  • 00:45:12
    and she was gorgeous and all that but
  • 00:45:14
    the fact is that i mean what they were
  • 00:45:16
    doing was not so gorgeous gorgeous but
  • 00:45:18
    the thing is that what i learned was
  • 00:45:20
    that the spanish galleons started to
  • 00:45:22
    sail
  • 00:45:24
    from the from manila to acapulco in 1571
  • 00:45:28
    and for the next 300 years
  • 00:45:31
    there was global trade between the
  • 00:45:33
    philippines
  • 00:45:35
    and acapulco and mexico
  • 00:45:37
    and then all the way across
  • 00:45:39
    to veracruz you know cosmetic mexico
  • 00:45:41
    city
  • 00:45:42
    and to europe so that in manila they had
  • 00:45:45
    this big shopping center a mall
  • 00:45:48
    called el parian the parian in manila
  • 00:45:50
    where all of the chinese silk and and
  • 00:45:53
    the lacquerware and the the riches of
  • 00:45:56
    the orient were brought there
  • 00:45:59
    and and then they were put on ships and
  • 00:46:00
    brought to mexico city and in the
  • 00:46:02
    socallo in mexico city there was another
  • 00:46:04
    parian
  • 00:46:05
    so you could go
  • 00:46:06
    to mexico city and buy chinese pottery
  • 00:46:09
    chinese
  • 00:46:10
    dishes
  • 00:46:12
    porcelain which was not available
  • 00:46:15
    anywhere else there was global trade
  • 00:46:17
    there was global communication between
  • 00:46:20
    mexico and the philippines or china as
  • 00:46:23
    the case may be and the so-called chinos
  • 00:46:25
    that came
  • 00:46:26
    were really filipinos you know
  • 00:46:28
    so uh
  • 00:46:30
    ironically i mean this coming together
  • 00:46:32
    of filipinos and mexicans in the delano
  • 00:46:34
    grave strike
  • 00:46:36
    was historic because it it had not
  • 00:46:38
    happened exactly that way before you
  • 00:46:40
    know but certainly uh people that work
  • 00:46:43
    in the fields have known that all the
  • 00:46:44
    colors have been there all of the colors
  • 00:46:47
    of the human race of course and i grew
  • 00:46:48
    up with okies you know and i really
  • 00:46:50
    discovered
  • 00:46:51
    man they're just as poor as we are you
  • 00:46:52
    know they're just as mexican as we are
  • 00:46:54
    you know
  • 00:46:55
    but the fact is that uh
  • 00:46:58
    the the world has the things upside down
  • 00:47:00
    and and uh there has to be justice for
  • 00:47:03
    farm workers because they're the low
  • 00:47:05
    people in the bottom
  • 00:47:07
    totem pole you know
  • 00:47:09
    and and uh and the people at the top
  • 00:47:11
    don't do much
  • 00:47:13
    except lion steel
  • 00:47:15
    and so we need a more just world i love
  • 00:47:17
    the commentary uh but the culture you
  • 00:47:19
    know
  • 00:47:20
    she's still here
  • 00:47:22
    yes there she is uh about the the um
  • 00:47:27
    the sensibilities of people that come
  • 00:47:28
    and ask for jobs and they're humble
  • 00:47:31
    uh
  • 00:47:32
    that's a weakness in some instances but
  • 00:47:34
    it's also a strength you know i i went
  • 00:47:36
    to talk to a hollywood
  • 00:47:38
    producer once
  • 00:47:40
    and he listened to my pitch
  • 00:47:43
    and he says uh
  • 00:47:46
    okay he said
  • 00:47:48
    let me give you a bit of advice
  • 00:47:50
    you're too articulate
  • 00:47:54
    i said what do you mean
  • 00:47:56
    he said you're just too articulate
  • 00:47:59
    i heard what he said essentially he said
  • 00:48:02
    you know
  • 00:48:03
    don't try to convince me you can't
  • 00:48:04
    convince me in any way but uh
  • 00:48:07
    so for a brown man
  • 00:48:09
    a short brown man
  • 00:48:11
    to speak english
  • 00:48:13
    with love and appreciation you know i
  • 00:48:16
    guess is unacceptable in some ways
  • 00:48:22
    see what i'm saying i i didn't lose my
  • 00:48:23
    bilingualism
  • 00:48:25
    and i speak mathematics too so
  • 00:48:27
    we don't know
  • 00:48:29
    you know
  • 00:48:32
    but uh
  • 00:48:33
    and also i have a very strong company
  • 00:48:36
    and this year we're celebrating 50 years
  • 00:48:38
    of marriage
  • 00:48:44
    it's uh
  • 00:48:45
    a bit of advice to young people we used
  • 00:48:47
    to call it commitment
  • 00:48:49
    back in
  • 00:48:51
    the 60s
  • 00:48:52
    commitment to a cause commitment to
  • 00:48:56
    to people
  • 00:48:58
    and you've got we all have partners we
  • 00:48:59
    need you know i'm not saying that
  • 00:49:02
    everybody needs to spend 50 years you
  • 00:49:03
    can't make it that's okay you know but
  • 00:49:06
    the fact is that that for me
  • 00:49:09
    uh being married to lupe has been you
  • 00:49:11
    know the lifesaver for me because
  • 00:49:14
    i was one angry dude
  • 00:49:16
    before i met her
  • 00:49:18
    she's calmed me down she makes me
  • 00:49:20
    grounded you know
  • 00:49:22
    but more than that she loves me so
  • 00:49:23
    that's really important and we love each
  • 00:49:26
    other and we love our kids and we love
  • 00:49:28
    what we do
  • 00:49:29
    and so that's my advice to you
  • 00:49:31
    love what you do find something that you
  • 00:49:33
    love to do and do it enjoy it and do it
  • 00:49:36
    not just for yourself
  • 00:49:38
    but for everyone else
  • 00:49:39
    especially people like you that are
  • 00:49:41
    still not sure of their own worth we are
  • 00:49:44
    completely
  • 00:49:46
    totally human
  • 00:49:48
    equal to anybody else on earth this is a
  • 00:49:51
    global world now
  • 00:49:53
    we are moving ahead we are moving into
  • 00:49:56
    the sexto sol we are moving actually
  • 00:49:59
    it's the first sword again we're
  • 00:50:01
    starting the whole cycle again the 25
  • 00:50:03
    000 year cycle we just completed in 2012
  • 00:50:07
    our mayan ancestors knew about that
  • 00:50:09
    it is empowering
  • 00:50:11
    and mexico is one of the future great
  • 00:50:14
    countries
  • 00:50:15
    of the americas
  • 00:50:17
    don't let anybody
  • 00:50:19
    dissuade you from that
  • 00:50:20
    the population is half of the population
  • 00:50:23
    is under 25
  • 00:50:25
    they're brilliant they're creative
  • 00:50:27
    they just have to learn how to produce
  • 00:50:29
    more food down there for everybody you
  • 00:50:30
    know without screwing anybody but the
  • 00:50:33
    fact is that it may get things
  • 00:50:35
    straightened out it'll help other people
  • 00:50:37
    as well
  • 00:50:38
    and we're to do pretty well ourselves
  • 00:50:40
    here and and the united states has a
  • 00:50:42
    fighting chance to preserve
  • 00:50:44
    its best qualities but it's going to
  • 00:50:46
    take courage and it's going to take all
  • 00:50:48
    of us to stand up to the liars and the
  • 00:50:51
    phonies
  • 00:50:52
    and the diablo in the white house okay
  • 00:50:55
    it's uh he is uh he's a disgrace
  • 00:50:58
    he's a disgrace but we we don't have to
  • 00:51:01
    accept him i was there
  • 00:51:03
    for the last one of the last things that
  • 00:51:05
    obama did it was wonderful to be there
  • 00:51:08
    for the the national medal to the arts
  • 00:51:10
    he's so he was so cool he's still cool
  • 00:51:12
    you know
  • 00:51:13
    and it was so great to shake his hand
  • 00:51:15
    and to to give him our navaraso and say
  • 00:51:17
    thank you mr president you know i
  • 00:51:19
    finally felt that the white house was my
  • 00:51:21
    house
  • 00:51:22
    [Laughter]
  • 00:51:24
    but
  • 00:51:25
    but
  • 00:51:26
    suddenly you know from one day to the
  • 00:51:28
    other it becomes quite the opposite and
  • 00:51:30
    it's not my house right now i'll tell
  • 00:51:32
    you
  • 00:51:33
    but it will be again
  • 00:51:34
    it will be again we're going to take
  • 00:51:36
    back the house
  • 00:51:37
    and it's going to be called the brown
  • 00:51:38
    house you know right
  • 00:51:42
    i don't know what it's going to be
  • 00:51:43
    called the outhouse i don't know it's
  • 00:51:44
    like the outhouse right now you know but
  • 00:51:46
    the fact is that there's a future here
  • 00:51:49
    and we're headed east
  • 00:51:50
    so load up your wagons people
  • 00:51:53
    right right right right cause we're
  • 00:51:54
    going east man and we're gonna take it
  • 00:51:56
    that's right thank you thank you so much
  • 00:52:00
    oh i have one comment
  • 00:52:03
    uh a wonderful thing that one of my
  • 00:52:04
    friends he just recently passed god
  • 00:52:06
    bless him but uh his name was ernie
  • 00:52:08
    reyes he's the founder of
  • 00:52:10
    of the national hispanic association of
  • 00:52:12
    real estate professionals now rep
  • 00:52:15
    and he said a wonderful thing
  • 00:52:17
    he said
  • 00:52:18
    to anglos
  • 00:52:20
    he says
  • 00:52:22
    you say our response should be anglus
  • 00:52:25
    we come in peace
  • 00:52:27
    but we have you
  • 00:52:30
    surrounded um
  • 00:52:33
    that is absolutely very very well you
  • 00:52:36
    you've been the definition of a life of
  • 00:52:38
    service yeah a life
  • 00:52:40
    you know that has given so much to all
  • 00:52:43
    of us and
  • 00:52:44
    and and we are very very excited that
  • 00:52:46
    you you know gave us the honor of of of
  • 00:52:49
    participating in our launching event
  • 00:52:52
    we uh we i want to remind all of you
  • 00:52:54
    that that
  • 00:52:56
    that we have
  • 00:52:57
    very exciting events upcoming october
  • 00:53:00
    24th we will have alex nogales
  • 00:53:03
    president and president of the
  • 00:53:06
    national hispanic media coalition
  • 00:53:09
    incredibly influential and smart man and
  • 00:53:12
    and we're very excited to have them you
  • 00:53:14
    know we'll have some
  • 00:53:15
    amazing speakers as well that will that
  • 00:53:17
    will inspire us and
  • 00:53:19
    and you have inspired us you have you
  • 00:53:21
    have uh empowers you know we understand
  • 00:53:25
    that a life of service is very very
  • 00:53:27
    important we can't just do everything
  • 00:53:28
    just for ourselves right you you
  • 00:53:31
    clearly exemplify a life of service let
  • 00:53:34
    me just give a shout out because i
  • 00:53:35
    wanted to do this before
  • 00:53:37
    but
  • 00:53:37
    all of you
  • 00:53:38
    in the mexican american cultural uh the
  • 00:53:41
    board you know what you're doing is
  • 00:53:43
    tremendous
  • 00:53:44
    you should know i mean i i
  • 00:53:46
    i appreciate what you've done in this
  • 00:53:48
    acknowledgement really but it's part of
  • 00:53:49
    a long chain
  • 00:53:51
    and i had the privilege of knowing dr
  • 00:53:52
    ernesto valaza i don't know if you know
  • 00:53:54
    his name
  • 00:53:55
    the dean he was one of the first chicano
  • 00:53:57
    phds he went to accidental
  • 00:53:59
    uh he wrote a book called barrio boy
  • 00:54:01
    which i recommend and spiders in the
  • 00:54:03
    house
  • 00:54:04
    workers in the field
  • 00:54:06
    a union leader a scholar
  • 00:54:09
    brilliant
  • 00:54:10
    uh a forerunner of all of our leaders
  • 00:54:13
    bird corona i mean we talk about cesar
  • 00:54:15
    chavez and dolores guerta we know all
  • 00:54:17
    our leaders the ones that we're familiar
  • 00:54:19
    but we're part of a long chain here we
  • 00:54:20
    go all the way i go all the way back to
  • 00:54:22
    francisco coronel who was the alcalde of
  • 00:54:24
    of los angeles and used to stage
  • 00:54:26
    pastorellas here in aqui across the
  • 00:54:29
    street
  • 00:54:30
    and and i think it's important for us to
  • 00:54:32
    know our own history and to share it
  • 00:54:34
    okay one of the things that i love about
  • 00:54:36
    san juan batista is that it was founded
  • 00:54:38
    in 1797
  • 00:54:40
    uh when george washington was still
  • 00:54:41
    president you know people need to know
  • 00:54:43
    that but but the fact is that we've had
  • 00:54:45
    many leaders along the way that have
  • 00:54:48
    contributed to this wave it's just there
  • 00:54:50
    are more of us now
  • 00:54:51
    and that's what people fear
  • 00:54:53
    and and the fact is what they don't
  • 00:54:55
    realize is that we're part of the
  • 00:54:57
    process of america
  • 00:54:58
    this we've been we've been part of the
  • 00:55:00
    process we've been borough of america
  • 00:55:02
    for 170 years right
  • 00:55:05
    170. yeah since we've been we've been
  • 00:55:08
    part of america since america since
  • 00:55:10
    america americans came through
  • 00:55:12
    california and then we're part of where
  • 00:55:14
    we've been we've been here and of course
  • 00:55:16
    way before as you clearly said way
  • 00:55:18
    before but we've been part of america
  • 00:55:20
    and we love america and we
  • 00:55:23
    we want to contribute but we want to
  • 00:55:25
    change the narrative they've discovered
  • 00:55:26
    that cahokia for instance you know which
  • 00:55:28
    is uh st louis you see the mound the
  • 00:55:31
    mound builders you know build a big city
  • 00:55:33
    the biggest indigenous urban center
  • 00:55:35
    which was in kansas you know st louis
  • 00:55:39
    but they'd had links with san juan tioti
  • 00:55:41
    waco in mexico
  • 00:55:43
    you know so in other words these
  • 00:55:44
    connections across the americas have
  • 00:55:46
    been there and know that regardless of
  • 00:55:48
    where you come from that if you're
  • 00:55:50
    coming to america and you're going to be
  • 00:55:51
    american you're going to tap into
  • 00:55:54
    this part of the world
  • 00:55:55
    without losing contact with the rest of
  • 00:55:57
    the world you know be totally and fully
  • 00:55:59
    human exactly we don't have to forget
  • 00:56:01
    our our background to to love america
  • 00:56:04
    just like many other great cultures like
  • 00:56:08
    i said before like the jewish americans
  • 00:56:10
    they love their culture but they're
  • 00:56:11
    great americans and also many other ones
  • 00:56:13
    i just wanna and well first of all
  • 00:56:15
    thanking you our friends for being here
  • 00:56:18
    today is this
  • 00:56:19
    really it means a lot to us that you're
  • 00:56:21
    you're here on our launching event and
  • 00:56:23
    of course we are absolutely honored in
  • 00:56:26
    in uh roxanna moya who was who was
  • 00:56:29
    shaking with the excitement of meeting
  • 00:56:32
    you
  • 00:56:34
    i i want her to personally give you a
  • 00:56:36
    recognition for being the
  • 00:56:39
    mexican-american
  • 00:56:41
    history maker the first the first the
  • 00:56:44
    launching event and thank you thank you
  • 00:56:47
    so much that's a recognition for you my
  • 00:56:49
    friend thank you thank you so much
  • 00:56:53
    and our friends thank you very much and
  • 00:56:55
    we'll see you october 24th thank you so
  • 00:56:58
    much
  • 00:56:59
    thank you taking a photo with the
  • 00:57:01
    children no photo photo
  • 00:57:04
    one photo please
  • 00:57:14
    you
Tags
  • Luis Valdez
  • Meksika-Amerikan kültürü
  • sanat
  • eğitim
  • toplumsal adalet
  • Zoot Suit
  • Valley of the Heart
  • kültürel kimlik
  • genç nesil
  • ilham