The newest summer screening series in town, Cinema en el Parque, in Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, celebrating Chicano Heritage Month, closed on a strong note at the end of August with a salute to the Chicano Moratorium, and famed local Chicano singer, Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez. The last night featured Walkout and an animated short from the Story Project, Facundo the Great, about and voiced by Sanchez, as well as Ken Kramer’s short on Chicano Park.
A collaboration between the San Diego Media Art Center and the Chicano Park Steering committee, the series observed Chicano Heritage month with such classics of Chicano Cinema such as La Bamba and Born in East LA, as well as some recent shorts.
“We are so thrilled to share Chicano cinema and to work with the Committee and see the project come to fruition,” Moisés Esparza, Director of Development at the San Diego Media Art Center told Vanguard Culture.
Esparza said the series was carefully curated to address the Chicano experience, and Esparza is hopeful that the series will continue next year.
Another aspect that excites Esparza is the ability to screen in Barrio Logan’s iconic Chicano Park and to be able to share with the community.
According to Esparza, more than 200 people came out for the various screenings, which included local DJ Ana Brown, music by Cumbia Machín and features like La Bamba, accompanied by local shorts such as Barrio by local SDSU student and director, Sydney Villa.
The final screening, Aug. 29, paid homage to several important events in California Chicano history. This year marks the 25th anniversary of what was known as the 1970 Chicano Moratorium March. At 30,000 people, it was one of the largest ever anti-war protests undertaken by an ethnic group in the US.
The Chicano Moratorium was an anti-war movement organized in 1968 by Chicano activists throughout the Southwest, partially in response to what many believed was a disproportionate number of Latino youth being funneled into the Vietnam War and the high number of young Latinos among the American causalities.
Because of its history of community-based activism and resistance, Chicano Park, established in 1970, was a particularly appropriate venue to observe the anniversary of the Moratorium and to screen Walkout.
Chicano Park, also a product of community and Latino activism with its murals inspired by Chicano history and culture, stands as a monument to community engagement. The land under the 5-Freeway going towards Coronado, was originally promised as a park to the Barrio Logan community. However, when the city of San Diego started building a police substation on the site instead, the community came out and took over the land. Although Pete Wilson and others then tried to stop the creation of the park and threatened the families of some of those involved, the community planted the grounds and grew it into the historic and artistic landmark it is today.
As such, Chicano Park, with its beautiful and vibrant murals is the perfect setting for Walkout, directed by Edward James Olmos. Walkout follows the stories of several LA Latino students (including the producer, Moctesuma Esparza), who, in March,1968, staged a massive walkout (estimated 22,000) to protest the targeted mistreatment of Latino students such as punishment for speaking Spanish and being dissuaded from applying for college as well as having to go to poorly maintained schools.
Some leaders of the movement were arrested and there were reports of police beatings.
Student-led, the Walkouts, also known as the Blowouts, lasted four days, and are credited by historians with helping to ignite the Chicano Movement and moving protest action beyond VFW protests in the fields into urban areas.
Walkout was preceded by Ken Kramer’s (“About San Diego”) short about Chicano Park and the animated short, The Great Facundo, about well-known San Diego Chicano musician and singer for the Farm Labor Movement, the late Chunky Sanchez. The late Cesar Chavez, civil rights activist, and leader of the Farm Labor Movement considered Sanchez one of his favorite activist singers.
The charming animated short recalls a not-so-distant time in California schools when young Latino children would have their names anglicized to allegedly facilitate integration. The story is funny but highlights much of the discriminatory and hurtful behavior in schools that inspired the student walkouts in ’68.
According to Esparza, Sanchez’ family was strongly supportive of Saturday’s screening.
The free screening series was made possible by Arts in CA Parks, an initiative supported by CA State Parks, CA Arts Council, and Parks California. Events partners include the Media Arts Center, San Diego, and the Chicano Park Steering Committee.
