Film

7 pm The screen adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya's iconic work, set in the 1940s in rural New Mexico, about a young boy and the mysterious healer who opens his eyes to the wonders of the spiritual realm. As the entire world is plunged into war and Antonio Marez grapples with the harsh realities all around him, his life is forever changed by the sudden arrival of Ultima, a curandera who inspires him to see the world from a new perspective. Presented as part of the Bank of (more...)

7 pm Based on the novel by Richard Bradford, Red Sky at Morning follows an adolescent boy who is relocated with his mother to Corazón Sagrado, New Mexico when his father goes off to World War II. Finding himself a minority in a predominantly Latino community, Josh Arnold must deal with adjusting to a new land and a new culture, making friends, and experiencing first love, as well as the war that is always in the background and ultimately threatens everything he has come to know. Presented (more...)

7 pm A new documentary follows celebrated folklorist Nasario García doing what he loves: wandering through landscape and memory amid the ghost towns of New Mexico's Río Puerco valley, reviving recuerdos (memories) of his youth when the ranching villages thrived and viejitos (elders) told stories beside a river that once ran. Through interviews with Dr. García, oral histories, archival photos, and footage of the landscape, Nasario Remembers the Río Puerco poses the question: do ruins remember us? Presented as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series. Filmmaker Shebana Coelho and folklorist and (more...)

7 pm Born in Costa Rica to pious parents who were embarrassed by their boyish daughter, Isabel Vargas Lizano ran away to Mexico City to sing on the streets. At the peak of her initial popularity in the 1950s, dressed in a poncho, she interpreted the mournful, yearning repertoire of canción ranchera without altering the female pronouns. Her Madrid concert premiere in the 1990s, following years in rural isolation as an impoverished alcoholic, brought her into contact with Pedro Almodóvar, who helped his “idol” fulfill a dream (more...)

7 pm There is a long and surprising history of women fighting in the Spanish bullring—and fighting to have the chance to do so. Maripaz Vega, a Spaniard, is currently the world's only professional female matador and is on the verge of achieving top ranking. Eva Florencia, a young runaway from Italy, is a neophyte driven by a childhood dream. Both women must deal with the legacies of sexism in Spanish bullfighting, yet the passions that propel them are similar to those of male bullfighters—a drive to (more...)

7 pm One of the most important, yet least known activists of our time, Dolores Huerta was an equal partner in founding the first farmworkers’ union with César Chávez. Tirelessly leading the fight for racial and labor justice, Huerta evolved into one of the most defiant feminists of the 20th century—and she continues the fight to this day, in her late 80s. Dolores chronicles Huerta’s life from her childhood in Stockton, California to her early years with the United Farm Workers, from her work with the headline-making (more...)

7 pm A documentary recounting the history of César Chávez and the farmworkers’ movement—a story of hope and courage against overwhelming odds, and a story of poor people taking control of their lives. Chávez, the charismatic co-founder, with Dolores Huerta, of the United Farmworkers Union, inspired a nonviolent movement that touched the hearts of millions and confronted both conservative politicians and the powerful Teamsters Union. The Fight in the Fields is the first film to cover the full arc of César Chávez’s life, using archival footage, newsreel, (more...)

7 pm An innovative, genre-defying look at the life of radical Chicano lawyer, author and countercultural icon Oscar Zeta Acosta. Best known for his volatile friendship with legendary journalist-provocateur Hunter S. Thompson, who used him as inspiration for the character Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Acosta was himself the author of two groundbreaking autobiographical novels, The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo and The Revolt of the Cockroach People. His powerful literary voice, brash courtroom style, and notorious revolutionary antics made him a revered (more...)