Mirrors of the Heart

A documentary exploring the varying cultural practices of the Day of the Dead in both Mexico and Chicano/a communities in the United States.

CORPUS explores the mass adulation and explosive posthumous recognition of Selena Quintanilla, the Tejano rock singer murdered by the president of her fan club in 1995. Pushing beyond the mainstream media's fascination with her violent death, Portillo interviews Selena's family and friends as well as the devoted fans that pilgrimage to Selena's grave in Corpus Christi, Texas, to pay homage to the slain star. Moving and provocative, this humble investigative portrait explores Selena's cultural significance as a pop icon and shines a light on the hopes, fantasies, fears, and realities of young Latinas today.

This gripping documentary investigates the disappearance of young women from assembly plants that line the Mexican-American border.

Since its 1988 premiere, this critically acclaimed documentary series has presented hundreds of films that put a human face on contemporary social issues by relating a compelling story in an intimate fashion. "POV" has won virtually every major film and broadcasting award available, including 38 Emmys, 22 Peabody Awards and three Oscars.

1985 Argentine documentary film directed by Susana Blaustein Muñoz and Lourdes Portillo about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.

The Devil Never Sleeps is a “whodunit” documentary about family secrets. Filmmaker Lourdes Portillo received a phone call informing her of the mysterious death of her wealthy Mexican uncle Oscar. Officially ruled a suicide, Portillo’s relatives claimed murder, offering several possible suspects including a business partner, a ranch hand, and Oscar’s young widow who stood to inherit everything. Traveling to Mexico, Portillo attempts to learn the truth about her powerful uncle. Using interviews, old snapshots and home movies, she finds a complicated web of family secrets, intrigue, rumor and betrayal that makes her enigmatic uncle’s murder seem ever more likely, yet ever more obscure. As the Mexican saying goes, “When evil is lurking, the devil never sleeps.”

Wayne Corbitt recites a poem describing the pain he endures living with AIDS.

State of Grace is a short (4-minute) film documenting an artistic rendition of a transformative dream. It is based on filmmaker Lourdes Portillo’s experience confronting illness. After being diagnosed with cancer, Portillo had a vivid dream in which her family members and ancestors who have died surround her in a circle. The film involves a moment when time stands still and one is filled with profound feelings that many think of as fleeting. Gratitude and hope, for example, are rarely discussed in relationship to illness. In the moment of sorrow, pain, and illumination, the film culminates in a state of grace.

"The Five Suns" tells how Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca create heaven and earth, journey to the underworld to create humans and find sustenance for them, and finally create the sun and the moon. Like all creation stories, this one provides mythic answers to life's most perplexing questions and offers an ethical vision of how we should live.

Five Chicana cultural critics gather over a meal to discuss and debate the life, death, and legacy of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez.