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Dolores Huerta is among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Dolores tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice alongside Chavez, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century - and she continues the fight to this day, at 87. With intimate and unprecedented access to this intensely private mother to eleven, the film reveals the raw, personal stakes involved in committing one's life to social change.
Below is a list of feature films from the SWANK database that recount various fictionalized accounts of the Latinx experience.
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La Bamba A biography of Ritchie Valens, the young rocker who died in a 1959 plane with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. |
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Broken Horses The bond between two brothers is tested by the USA-Mexico border wars. |
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City of God Based on the novel by Paolo Lin about gangland violence in the slums of Rio in the 1960s and '70s. Shifting alliances result in a brutal gang war, which is documented on film by an amateur photographer. |
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Frida Best Actress nominee Salma Hayek stars as Mexican surrealist Frida Kahlo in this biopic, which chronicles her turbulent marriage to Diego Rivera, her political activism and the severe pain she experienced following a bus accident. |
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Like Water For Chocolate A young woman is forbidden to marry the man that she loves, and then she secretly discovers a magical skill in the kitchen that will keep their love alive. |
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El Mariachi A wandering guitarist is mistaken for a hit man in a small Mexican town. |
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West Side Story Rival New York street gangs war in Manhattan over turf boundaries while two youths fall in love, but they are from opposing groups. |
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Zoot Suit Luis Valdez weaves a story involving the real-life events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial — when a group of young Mexican-Americans were charged with murder — resulting in the racially fueled Zoot Suit Riots throughout Los Angeles |
Below are links to videos available for free from the web that have been researched as credible by your librarians.
Latino Americans: - The first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape North America over the last 500-plus years and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S. There are 5 edpisodes, #5 may be of particular interest. Brought to us by The Public Broadcasting System (PBS)
