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CD-ROM / CD-ROM / CD-ROM / CD-ROM
SALT OF THE EARTH: A Film of Politics and Passion
Mac, $59.95
NOTES: Bilingual. This passionate movie, made during the height of the McCarthy era by blacklisted filmmakers explores the exploitation of women and striking Chicano mine workers. It is based on a 1950 strike by zinc miners in Silver City, New Mexico. Against a backdrop of social injustice, a riveting family drama is played out by the characters of Ramon and Esperanza Quintero, a Mexican-American miner and his wife. The film is extraordinary in its effort to deal with the struggles of workers, an ethnic minority, and women for dignity and equality - and because it was the product of a unique collaboration between mining families and blacklisted Hollywood people. The film's narrator and protagonist is a Mexican-American woman who grows in consciousness and effectiveness through her participation in the community struggle. Rosenfelt's essay, based partly on recent interviews, analyzes the background, history and significance of both the strike and the film.
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LASERDISC / LASERDISC / LASERDISC /
SALT OF THE EARTH
((C)1954, Voyager, 94 minutes, $59.95 laserdisc)
RATED: not rated.
DIRECTOR: Herbert Biberman.
PRODUCER: Paul Jarrico.
STARRING: Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer, David Wolfe, Marvin Williams, David Sarvis, Juan Chacon, Henrietta Williams, Ernest Velasquez, Angela Sanchez, Joe T. Morales.
NOTES: (Black and White, 1954) Salt of the Earth received the Grand Prize at the Karlovy Vary in 1954. Two years later it was awarded the Grand Prize at the Academie du cinema de Paris and Rosa Revueltas was proclaimed Best Actress for her portrayal of Esperanza Quintero. What impresses many first time viewers is how a film made in the 50s should so anticipate the women's liberation movement, which didn't surface until the late 60s.
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BOOKS ON TAPE / BOOKS ON TAPE / BOOKS ON TAPE
Cisneros, Sandra
WOMAN HOLLERING CREEK AND OTHER STORIES AND THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET ((C)1994, Random House Audiobooks, 3 hours, $16 two cassettes) READER: Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago and moved to San Antonio, Texas.
NOTES: From critically-acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros: A special audio presentation that combines the hauntingly lyrical, richly-textured short stories and vignettes from "Woman Hollering Creek" and "The House on Mango Street." Together, they are breathtakingly powerful as they bring us an unforgettable gathering of characters and voices: a Mexican bride brought across the border only to encounter abuse and frustration; a man who seduces a young woman with stories of his Mayan ancestry; an impoverished Latino girl whose writing helps her rise above her hopeless surroundings. These tales, and more, are filled with unending moments of poignancy and wisdom and herald the emergence of a brilliantly evocative talent.
Estes, Clarissa Pinkola Estes
THE GIFT OF STORY
((C)1993, Sounds True Recordings, $9.95 one cassette, 60 minutes, ISBN: 1-56455-252-7)
AUTHOR: Clarrisa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. is a poet, Latina activist and senior Jungian analyst who has practiced and taught for over 20 years. She is the former executive director of the C.G. Jung Institute of Denver and has a doctorate in multicultural studies and clinical psychology from the Union Institute. She is a recipient of the Las Primeras Award from MANA, the National Latinas Foundation. Estes is the author of "Women Who Run With The Wolves (Ballantine, 1992) and "The Gift of Story" (Ballantine, 1993). NOTES: There is a gift so simple that it requires no ribbons for wrapping, yet which is so miraculous, it has the power to transform our lives. This is "The Gift of Story," a tale of love and wisdom from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, eminent psychoanalyst and author. When an old woman flees to a hut in the lonely forest, begins Dr. Estes, she seeks safety from the savage war that has devastated her village. What sustains her is the greatest of all gifts: a story. One healing tale leads to another, creating stories that each speak eloquently to the question. "What is enough?" Handed down to Estes by elders within her own foster family, these stories are born of deep suffering; fertile with strong symbols, "The Gift of Story" is a seed that will bear a rich and lasting fruit within your own family. As Estes says, "Though none of us will live forever, our stories can. As long as one soul remains who can tell a story ... the greater forces of love, mercy, generosity and strength are continuously called into being in the world." Recorded at Sounds True Studio. Music by Steve Trissman.
INFORMATION: Sounds True Recordings, 735 Walnut Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302-9873 or for a free catalog call 1-800-333-9185.
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VIDEO / VIDEO / VIDEO / VIDEO
EL CORRIDO DE CHERRY CREEK
In English, ((C)1995, a gossamer shank, 2 hours)
RATED: not rated.
DIRECTOR: Gwylym Cano.
WRITER: Gwylym Cano
NOTES: "El Corrido de Cherry Creek" is the hilarious story of Rey and Rica, two young Chicanos from Commerce City who work night jobs in Cherry Creek (Denver shopping mall). Rey, a militant Marxist Chicano, falls in love with a suicidal existentialist Cubana, and the world of Che Guevara and Evita Peron, cigarettes and coffee, will never be the same. Meanwhile, Rica, a "hard hitting" young woman, fall sout of love with her boyfriend from Cherry Creek. These synchronicitous love stories "jive" when Rey and Rica are startled to find each other at a ritzy party.
EL NORTE (The North)
In Spanish with English subtitles, (CBS Fox, 141 minutes, $19.95 video, 1983)
RATED: R.
DIRECTOR: Gregory Nava.
PRODUCER: Anna Thomas.
SCREENPLAY: Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas.
STARRING: Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Alicia Del Lago, Lupe Ontiveros, Trinidad Silva.
NOTES: (Color, 1984) Beginning in the remote mountain jungles of Guatemala, awash with the lushness of nature and the rainbow colors of the Mayans, this highly-acclaimed drama about a brother and sister seeking a better life centers on two young Indians. When their father is killed by government soldiers and their mother taken away, they set out for the "promised land" to the north - El Norte. It is a perilous journay frought with dangers. Tijuana is a dismal shantytown inhabited by many people who are ready to cheat and kill for their meager possessions. To cross the U.S. Border they must brave a trecherous rat-infested sewage tunnel. And when they finally reach Los Angeles their trials are not yet over, for they are "illegals" submerged in an alien culture.
MI VIDA: THE THREE WORLDS OF MARIA GUTIERREZ
((C)1986, Chip Taylor Communications, 28 minutes, $175 video) RATED: not rated
PRODUCER: Gold Mountain Productions
STARRING: Maria Gutierrez
NOTES: This incredible triumph of this young Hispanic woman who bridged three disparate worlds to win a four-year scholarship is a story of personal commitment and hope. The daughter of migrant farmworkers, Maria Gutierrez was unable to read or speak English at 14, yet four years later she was awarded a full scholarship to the University of California. Her early life in rural Mexico, through the farm camps, to her new life on the campus of UC are recounted in this moving chronicle of dramatic achievement.
This list is certainly not all inclusive. I hope these recommended multimedia items for Southwest Women's Literature help.
Sincerely,
Ruben Sosa Villegas
Rocky Mountain News
400 West Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80204
(303) 892-5431
fax: (303) 892-2602
e-mail: rubenews@aol.com