Si se puede! Chicano. Huelga.
These are some of the words and phrases that have come to define the history of Latino Americans. Those words also play a prominent role in a new PBS documentary, “Latino Americans.”
The documentary tells the story of Latinos in the United States and their history, culture and experiences. It covers the European conquest of the Southwest, various waves of immigration to the United States, the Latino presence in global wars and the Latino civil rights movement.
“It raises questions that are very much a part of American history and a part of the many groups that make up this nation,” producer Adriana Bosch said. “We also asked the question of ‘What does it mean to be an American?’ and ‘What does it mean to be a Latino in America?’”
On the panel With Bosch were civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski, president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Gonzalo de la Melena and recent high school graduate Maria Rico.
Several of the panelists shared their own stories of growing into their identities as Latinos and seeing social change occur in the communities around them. De la Melena said it’s important that people come together to address issues and bring about change.
“It doesn’t matter what borough or barrio you’re from, what flag is flown, we’re all part of a village, and the more that we can stick together and unify the better off we’ll be in the long run,” de la Melena said.
Bosch said the six-hour film, which is narrated by actor Benjamin Bratt, contains approximately 80 interviews and 1,200 photographs. Viewers are invited to tell their own stories on the PBS website and add to the project.
“It’s about time that we tell our story and have it on television so we can pass it on to our children,” Nowakowski said. “It starts at home. It starts with you, parents.”
Rico told her story of coming to the U.S. at age nine and being placed in English Language Learner classes. Now, nearly ten years later, she is the first from her family to graduate from high school, and plans to attend ASU with a full-ride scholarship.
“All the struggles that I’ve lived, I made it through,” Rico said. “That’s what I want to tell the youth, that it doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter if you don’t speak the language. If you persevere and ask for help, you will get wherever you want.”
Huerta said the documentary will serve as a reminder of what Latinos have accomplished in the past, but it will also bring them into the present and future.
“We know that we have to use the same tactics we did there — of organizing, of marching, of striking,” Huerta said. “Many of us will have to go back to jail again. But we have to do this. This is what we have to do.”
De la Melena said Latinos have the resilience to overcome hardships and challenges in order to create their own opportunities. Latinos now make up a third of Arizona’s population, 42 percent of the city of Phoenix and more than 50 percent of kindergarten through 12th-grade students, he said.
“I think now the opportunity and the call to action for all of us is ‘How do we take that number and population and drive it towards civic engagement?’” de la Melena said.
The panel discussion followed a 30-minute highlight screening of the film. Another screening and discussion took place earlier Thursday for teenagers from several local high schools. Both events were hosted by Eight, Arizona PBS and the City of Phoenix Latino Institute.
Bosch and others connected to the film will travel across the country to host preview screenings and panel discussions similar to the launch event. The first part of the documentary series will air Sept. 17.
Contact the reporter at kimberly.koerth@asu.edu
