I Am Joaquin

Name: I Am Joaquin
Director: Luis Valdez
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1969-01-01
Rating: 5.8

1969 · 20 min · ★ 5.8 · Documentary

Experimental film woven around a poem about Chicano culture in the U.S. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2017.

Directed by Luis Valdez · Written by Corky Gonzales

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I Am Joaquin

La Bamba

Both from Luis Valdez.

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Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.

Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.

El Corrido: Ballad of a Farmworker · 1976

El Corrido: Ballad of a Farmworker

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The film stars Felix Alvarez as Jesus Pelado Rasquachi, a young Mexican man who travels to the United States in search of work, suffering various unfortunate and comical events along the way.

Fighting for Our Lives · 1975

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Fighting for Our Lives is a 1975 documentary film produced and directed by Glen Pearcy. The film documents the striking of California grape workers from Coachella to Fresno as they negotiate for a United Farm Workers (UFW) contract in 1973. The film also depicts their non-violent struggle against police brutality on the picket lines. It was nominated for the 1976 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940s Los Angeles. Henry Reyna is the leader of a group of Mexican-Americans being sent to San Quentin without substantial evidence for the death of a man at Sleepy Lagoon. As part of the defense committee, Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant miscarriage of justice for the freedom of Henry and his friends.

Which Way Is Up? · 1977

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★ 5.81977

MovieComedy

Orange picker Leroy Jones inadvertently becomes a union leader and is forced out of town, leaving behind his sex-obsessed father, Rufus, and timid spouse, Annie Mae. He heads for Los Angeles, where he falls for union organizer Vanetta. Annie Mae seeks solace from local preacher Lenox Thomas, who eventually impregnates her. When Leroy catches wind, he heads home for a showdown with Lenox.

This update of the 1950 western TV series changes Cisco and Pancho from wandering heroes of the old west to somewhat anti-"gringo" Mexican revolutionaries.

A 1972 television adaptation of Los Vendidos, a one-act play by Chicano playwright Luis Valdez, a founding member of El Teatro Campesino. The play examines and dramatizes stereotypes of Mexican Americans in California and how they are treated by local, state, and federal governments.

Corridos! Tales of Passion and Revolution · 1987

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1987

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Corridos! Tales of Passion and Revolution is a one-hour celebration of Mexican-American music and culture. Long before television and radio, ‘Los Corridos’ were the singing voice of the people along, above and below the two thousand-mile U.S. Mexican border.

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