Chicano/Latino Studies
Videotapes in the
Media Resources Center

Moffitt Library, UC Berkeley
642-8197

April1995

Highlighted areas of text indicate links to more information

See Also MRC videographies on Latin America/Mexico/the Caribbean and on the Caribbean.

Bibliography of relevant books and articles

A la Brava: Prison and Beyond.

Considers the ideas and experiences of two Chicano prisoners in Soledad Prison in California. Probes their motivations, ambitions, and insights and discusses their struggle for political, emotional, and cultural survival inside and outside of prison. 54 min. Video/C 56

Adelante Mujeres!

Spanning five centuries, this comprehensive video focuses exclusively on the history of Mexican-American/Chicana women; as the center of their families, as activists in their communities and as contributors to American history. 30 min. Video/C 2727

After the Earthquake.

A film by Lourdes Portillo. A young Central American woman living in the United States is joined by her fiance who is escaping the political situation in his homeland. The different courses their lives have taken call into question their values and their engagement. 23 min. Video/C 3355

American Me.

Inspired by a true life story, this is the story of a vicious Latino prison gang leader, Santana, who becomes the leader of the Mexican Mafia while in Folsom prison and is doomed by his past to a life of harsh, unforgiving violence after his release from jail.120 min. Video/C 999:1112

An American Story with Richard Rodriguez.

Parts I and II. Rodriguez talks of his experiences growing up in America as the son of immigrants, the loss of his "Mexican soul", and his first exposure to American culture. Discussion continues on the differences between Mexican and American cultures, including his observations on America's growing sense of loss and the essence of American society today. 56 min. Video/C 2187

Ano Nuevo.

Describes the living and working conditions of undocumented Mexican agricultural workers at the Ano Nuevo flower ranch in San Mateo County, California. Documents the efforts of a group of these workers, fired when they attempted to join a union, to reach a settlement with the Ano Nuevo owner through the U.S. legal system. 55 min. Video/C 1235

Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

The story of a young Mexican man who kills a sheriff in self-defense and the events that follow. Based on the book "With His Pistol in His Hand" by Americo Paredes. 105 min. Video/C 999:252

Ballad of an Unsung Hero.

Uses archival footage, photographs, and recordings, as well as interviews, to chronicle the life of Pedro J. Gonzalez, who served as telegrapher for Pancho Villa, became a radio star and recording artist in the United States, championed the cause of Mexican-Americans, and worked as a prisoner in San Quentin to reform the California penal system. 28 min. Video/C 1763

La Bamba.

Bio-pic on the life of rock n' roll great Ritchie Vallens. 103 min. Video/C 999:269

Biculturalism and Acculturation Among Latinos.

Explores issues of cultural identity among Latino Americans who are pursuing a biculturalism that will offer the Latino community "the best of both worlds". Film addresses the question: What of the Latino cultural heritage should be retained and what abandoned as they are assimilated into mainstream American culture? 30 min. Video/C 2634

Bilingual Education.

Examines Latino consensus on the issue of bilingual education while also looking at efforts to increase literacy levels and English language skills among Latinos. 26 min. Video/C 2870

Birthwrite: Growing Up Hispanic.

Hosted by Cheech Marin. 57 min. Video/C 1956

Bombing L.A.

Documentary about L.A. graffitti artists. approx. 60 min. Video/C 2954

Border Brujo.

A performance art monolog which examines linguistic and cultural stereotypes that create "borders" between people. 52 min. Video/C 3455

Break of Dawn: A True Story.

Based on the life story of Pedro J. Gonzalez who championed the cause of Mexican-Americans in California during the Depression years and who worked for the reform of the California Penal System. English and Spanish. 100 min. Video/C 1758

Campus Culture Wars: Five Stories About PC.

University of Pennsylvania: racially insensitive language, Harvard University: gay rights, Stanford University: multicultural ideals, Pennsylvania State: sexual harassment, University of Washington: radical feminism. 86 min. Video/C 3328

Chicana.

Employs Mexican murals, rare photographs, prints, and documentary footage to trace the traditional and the emerging roles of Mexican/Chicanas from pre-Columbian times to the present, showing how women have made important contributions as workers, mothers, activists, educators, leaders, and in numerous other ways, despite their generally oppressed status in the Latino culture. 23 min. Video/C 3342

Chicano Park.

The history and culture of the Chicano people, who were involved in the establishment of Chicano Park, San Diego, Calif. in 1978. 59 min. Video/C 1294

Chulas Fronteras.

Features music and culture of Mexican-Americans living in southern Texas, showing food preparation, family life, dances, fieldwork,and other social activities. 58 min. Video/C 1304

The Closing Door: An Investigation of Immigration Policy.

Presents an investigation of current United States policy on immigration in light of past history. Includes consideration of both legal and illegal immigration. 58 min. Video/C 983

Color Schemes: America's Washload in 4 Cycles.

The theme is society's intolerance for cultural diversity. 28 min. Video/C 1776

Cultural Bias in Education.

Examines roadblocks to Latino academic advancement as well as productive educational models. 28 min. Video/C 2873

The Culture of Poverty.

Explores strategies for meeting the needs of Latino children, and profiles an independent effort to keep kids off the street and instill in them a sense of pride. 26 min. Video/C 2633

Del Mero Corazon = Straight From the Heart.

A lyrical journey through the musings of the heart in the Mexican-American Nortena music tradition. Various performers are shown in dancehalls and cantinas, presenting songs of passion and death, hurt and humor, and the pleasures and torn dreams of love. 28 min. Video/C 1303

El Super.

A humorous and touching view of Cuban exiles living in a basement apartment during a snowy winter in New York. El Super is the story of Roberto, a superintendent, who dreams of his warm and friendly homeland, and stubbornly refuses to assimilate into the new culture. Spanish with English subtitles. 80 min. Video/C 999:1130

The English-Speaking Amendment.

This program examines a proposed amendment which would mandate that English be the official language of the United States; guests presented arguments pro and con on this issue. 28 min. Video/C 1920

Factory Farms.

1959 documentary by Harvey Richards. Tells the story of California agriculture, a highly capitalized, sophisticated industry with substandard wage rates that keep its workers in poverty. Documents 1959 labor conditions for farm workers. Produced by the United Packinghouse Workers Union. 32 min. Video/C 2794

Frida.

Biopic on the life of Fridi Kahlo. Video/C 294

Frida Kahlo.

Presents the life and work of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. 62 min. Video/C 1297

From Here, From This Side: De Aca de Este Lado.

Mexico's development and its relationship with the United States is examined. 24 min. Video/C 2014

Golden Cage: A Story of California's Farmworkers.

The experiences of Mexican farmworkers in California are chronicled. Using historical footage, interviews, newspaper clippings and black-and-white stills, the documentary traces the history of the United Farmworkers Union from the sixties to its current decline. It also examines the impact of the new immigration law. 29 min. Video/C 1935

Hablas Ingles?

Videocassette release of a segment of the television program Currents.Examines bilingual education in the U.S., focusing on the arguments for and against a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States. Includes interviews with Linda Chavez, president of U.S. English, and Juan Cartagena, of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. 26 min. Video/C 1922

Harvest of Shame.

Shows the degradation and exploitation of millions of migratory farm workers in the United States. Spokesmen for the groups present their views, both for and against the use of migratory workers under the conditions seen. 54 min. Video/C 356

Home is Struggle.

Using interviews, photographs, and theatrical vignettes, the film explores the lives of women who have come to the United States from different Latin American Countries for varying political, economic, and personal reasons. Video/C 3354

Homeboys.

Documentary portrait of a Chicano youth gang. Depicts life in Cuatro flats, a housing project in East Los Angeles, as seen through the eyes of gang members. Video/C 1934

Homelessness Among Hispanics.

Looks at homelessness among Hispanics in San Francisco, in San Antonio's Westside, and at the colonias that dot the Texas-Mexico border. 28 min. Video/C 2871

Images of Chicanos in Film.

A symposium about Mexican Americans in motion pictures. Video/C 2172

In Plain English.

Made by filmmaker Julia Lesage. African-American, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, Chicano/Latin American and Native American undergraduate and graduate students discuss their expectations about college life before they came to the University of Oregon and the reality they encountered while at the university and they examine their experiences with racism and discrimination. 42 min. Video/C 3007

Land is Rich.

Documents the United Farm Workers struggle to organize California farm workers in the early 1960's. Film contrasts the economic strength of California agribusiness and migrant workers poverty and the the effect of extensive exposure to agricultural chemicals on them. The film was used by the United Farm Workers Union. 27 min. Video/C 2800

Latino Employment and Unemployment.

Explores, analyzes, and compares the socioeconomic situation of Latinos and Hispanic Americans with that of the general population, illustrating some of the obstacles Latinos face in making the transition from poverty to financial independence. 27 min. Video/C 2631

Latino Voting Behavior.

Explores the increasingly important role Latinos play in the political arena as voters, as political candidates, as acitivists and the courting of the Latino voting block by politicians. 30 min. Video/C 2632

The Lemon Grove Incident.

Focusing on one of the earliest school desegregation cases, uses dramatizations, archival footage, and recollections of witnesses to examine the response of the Mexican-American community. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. 58 min. Video/C 1295

Luis J. Rodriguez.

Luis J. Rodriguez is a poet, journalist and publisher who grew up in Watts and East Los Angeles. His writings give voice and dignity to those whose lives are scarred by violence, racism and poverty. On December 8, 1992 in Los Angeles, he read from his books of poetry, The Concrete River and Poems Across the Pavement, and from his memoirs, Always Running, La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. and talked with Michael Silverblatt. 60 min. Video/C 3491

Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino.

Valdez is the celebrated founder of the Teatro Campesino, the West Cost theatrical group that has given voice to the struggles of Chicano farm workers. 26 min. Video/C 2872

Mexican Americans (Multicultural Peoples of North America).

One of a 15 part series which celebrates the heritage of fifteen different cultural groups by tracing the history of their emigration to North America, showing the unique traditions they brought with them, and who they are today. Each volume discusses when and why each group emigrated, where they settled, which occupations they engaged in, and who the important leaders are within each community. 30 min. Video/C 3300

Mexican Tapes: A Chronicle of Life Outside the Law.

Chronicles the life of illegal Mexican immigrants in a small border community near San Diego, California, as seen by an outsider. 108 min. Video/C 1391

Miami-Havana.

This video discusses how the relationship between the United States and Cuba has affected Cuban families separated by the political conflict. It includes interviews of children from Cuban families and senior citizens. In Spanish and English, English subtitles. 52 min. Video/C 3392

The Milagro Beanfield War.

Based on the novel by John Nichols. 118 min. Video/C 999:270

Los Mineros.

Videocassette release from the PBS series, The American Experience. This story, spanning nearly half a century, tells the history of Mexican American miners in Clifton-Morenci, Arizona, and their union's battle for fair labor practices in the copper industry. 60 min. Video/C 1925

Mojado Remojado = Mojado Power.

Describes the life of a Mexican undocumented alien in Southern California, his search for work, and the sense of community and power which develops among the undocumented workers as they constantly evade the U.S. Immigration authorities. Video/C 1377

La Musica de la Gente = The Music of the People.

Hispanic folk music as performed today in New Mexico in plazas, dance halls and at state fairs. 28 min. Video/C 2185

La Musica de los Viejos= The Music of the Old Ones.

Songs in Spanish with English translation on screen. 28 min. Video/C 2183

Natives: Immigrant Bashing on the Border.

Documentary on the xenophobia of some Americans living in California along the U.S.-Mexican border. Reacting to the influx of undocumented aliens, who they believe are draining community resources and committing crimes, they are forming activist organizations in an attempt to keep potential immigrants out. 28 min. Video/C 3273

The New Majority: Beyond the melting pot; a report on California's cultural and racial demographics and how they affect our society.

Part of the UC Berkeley Open Window Series. California's cultural and racial demographics - by K. Russell -- Diversity: Changing the face of politics; election reapportionment - by T. Mock -- Hate crimes - by K. Debro -- Labor unions and the new immigrants - by H. Frieze -- University of California, Berkeley: Multicultural education - by W. Lasola -- The arts - by H. Norman -- English only initiative - by J. McKelvey -- The lives of immigrants - by B. Pimentel -- A look at immigration policy - by F. Langner. Video/C 2010

New Harvest, Old Shame.

Discusses the living conditions of migrant farm workers in the United States. 59 min. Video/C 2434

El Norte.

Begins in the remote mountain jungles of Guatemala, tells the story of a brother and sister seeking a better life as they set for the "promised land" to the north. When they finally reach Los Angeles their trials are not over. English subtitles. 141 min. Video/C 999:268

La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead.

In Mexico, on the first days of August, the dead come to visit. They are received and given offerings of their favorite food, flowers, and momentos of their presence on earth. La Ofrenda takes a non-traditional look at the celebration in Mexico and the United States. 50 min. Video/C 1778

The Other Side of the Border.

A documentary on illegal entry from Mexico. Discusses new immigration reform law. 60 min. Video/C 1544

Palabra: A Sampling of Contemporary Latino Writers.

Performer: Octavio Paz, Gloria Anzaldua, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Jose Montoya, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Carlos Fuentes, Gary Soto, Francisco Alarcon, Ernesto Cardenal, Lucha Corpi, Luis Rodriguez, Bernice Zamora, ) Ana Castillo, Juan Felipe Herrera, Demetria Martinez, Elba Sanchez. 52 min. Video/C 3475

Panel on Ethnic Diversity.

With Troy Duster, Elaine Kim and Alex Saragoza, January, 1991, UC Berkeley. Video/C 1932

People of Color Symposium.

Symposium on Clark Kerr Campus, University of California, Berkeley, January 15, 1988. Video/C 2219

Plena, Canto y Trabajo = Plena is Work, Plena is Song.

Brings to life the cultural and political history of Puerto Rican plena, which is a musical blend of African and Spanish idioms. 29 min. Video/C 2534

Power, Politics and Latinos.

Examines the history and impact of Latino voting patterns in the United States. 57 min. Video/C 2925

Puerto Ricans (Multicultural Peoples of North America).

One of a 15 part series which celebrates the heritage of fifteen different cultural groups by tracing the history of their emigration to North America, showing the unique traditions they brought with them, and who they are today. Each volume discusses when and why each group emigrated, where they settled, which occupations they engaged in, and who the important leaders are within each community. 30 min. Video/C 3302

Que Pasa,U.S.A?

A program from a bilingual comedy series developed by WPBT-TV to chronicle the adventures of a Cuban-American family in our fast-paced society. The conflicts between two cultures and how this family solves its problems of culture shock provide a serious view into adjustments required of Cuban-American immigrant families. 28 min. Video/C 3752

Raza Unida.

Documents the national convention of La Raza Unide party in 1972. Video/C 1995

Recordar (To Remember).

Joe Castel captures the changing circumstances and customs of four generations of a Mexican-American family living in Silvis, Illinois through interviews, photographs, home videos and motion pictures related to his own family. 28 min. Video/C 1581

Routes of Rhythm.

Traces the origins of Latin music from Spain and Africa to the New World (program 1). Focuses on pop music developed in Cuba and examines how North Americans began to discover this island's musical treasures (program 2). Shows how Spanish-African music has become the basic part of popular musical culture of the U.S. (program 3). 58 min. ea. Video/C 2535

Salsa: Latin Music of New York and Puerto Rico.

Salsa has influenced jazz and pop, while Latin musicians have been influenced by jazz. Places Salsa in the socio-political context of the Puerto-Rican communities in New York City and Puerto Rico. Video/C 1490

Salt of the Earth.

A semidocumentary of the year-long struggle by Mexican-American zinc miners in New Mexico. When an injunction is issued against the workers, the wives take up the battle with a fury, leaving the husbands to care for home and children. 94 min. Video/C 999:266 Also on laserdisc Video/D 78

Santeros= Saintmakers.

Documents the lifestyle and attitudes of five New Mexican artisans who continue the 300 year-old traditions of the earliest santeros. 33 min. Video/C 1341

Sonia Sanchez.

Sonia Sanchez, poet, teacher, and activist, reads from her books of poetry and talks with students at Georgetown University on September 17, 1990. She is interviewed by Lewis MacAdams in Washington D.C. 60 min. Video/C 3487

Spanish-Speakers and Bilingualism.

Examines the different kinds of Spanish spoken in the U.S. and their relationship to the Spanish of San Juan or the Dominican Republic. 19 min. Video/C 2867

Stand and Deliver.

An East Los Angeles high school teacher refuses to write off his kids as losers. He cajoles, pushes, wheedles, threatens, and inspires 18 kids to become math whizzes. Then they take the National Advanced Placement Calculus exam with surprising results. 103 min. Video/C 999:272

The Status of Latina Women.

This program looks at the differences between the U.S. Latina and her Latin American and American counterparts. Examines how Latino men regard successful Latina women, and the myths and mystique of machismo. 26 min. Video/C 2635

Substance Abuse Among Latinos.

Looks at culturally-specific approaches being generated within the Latino community to combat drug and alchohol abuse. 28 min. Video/C 2869

Tex-Mex: Music of the Texas Mexican Borderlands.

Performer: Flaco Jimenez, Lydia Mendoza, Frank Rodarte, Little Joe Hernandez. Tex-Mex music is an exuberant style with a Mexican soul and a rock'n'roll heart. It combines styles of corrida, norteno and others, is full of joy and energy, but carries significance through its lyrics about social problems. Musicians are shown in performance and conversation. Video/C 3453

Third World Strike, U.C. Berkeley, 1969.

Third world strike panel, U.C. Berkeley, 1989, 20 Years After. Video/C 1403

The Trail North.

Follows anthropologist Robert Alvarez and his ten-year old son as they re-create the journey made by their Mexican ancestors when they immigrated to the United States. 28 min. Video/C 1478

The Trials of Juan Parra.

Records presentation of the play and interviews of Parra, some actors and audience on the firing of Parra from Watsonville Canning & Frozen Food Company. 28 min. Video/C 1399

Troubled Harvest.

Examines the health and safety hazards which confront America's agricultural laborers. 30 min. Video/C 3353

Uno Veintecinco.

1962 documentary film by Harvey Richards. Shows the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), AFL-CIO, strike to get lettuce pickers in California $1.25 / hour. Reviews history of labor organizing in California's fields. 20 min. Video/C 2796

Watsonville on Strike.

Relates events of strike of Mexican American frozen food workers in Watsonville California, commencing September 1985 and lasting 18 months. English and Spanish. 65 min.Video/C 1400

The Wrath of Grapes.

Presents interviews with workers and farm owners on the use of pesticides on commercial grape orchards. Workers discuss the health problems involved in working in various pesticide environments. 16 min. Video/C 1643

Yo Soy.

Many Mexican Americans in the fields of business, education, labor and politics, tell and show how they have been active in today's society, responsible in dealing with some of its problems, while retaining their Chicano heritage and identity. 54 min. Video/C 1248

Yo Soy Chicano.

Examines the key issues, problems, and concerns of the Mexican-American community in the United States, reviews the progress Chicanos have recently made in politics, education, labor, and economic development, and summarizes the ways they are responding to the challenges of the future. 58 min. Video/C 2548

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