Since 1999, Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rdoriguez has been documenting the history and lives of Latino veterans of World War Tow, Korea and, later, Viet Nam. Each year, Dr. Rivas-Rodriguez conducts an editing contest where students edit a veteran interview into a five-minute docuemntary. Rosa Elena Pruneda won first prize in the 2012 VOCES Oral History Editing Contest. Latinopia is proud to showcase her documentary on pioneering WAC Carmen Contreras Bozak here on Latinopia.com.

Since 1999, Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez has been documenting the history and lives of Latino veterans of World War Two, Korea and, later, Viet Nam. Each year, Dr. Rivas-Rodriguez conducts an editing contest where students edit a veteran interview into a five-minute documentary. Jordan Kerfeld won Second Prize in the 2012 VOCES Oral History Editing Contest. Latinopia is proud to showcase Jordan’s award-winning documentary on Latino fighter pilot Leonard Fuentes.

Since 1999, Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rdoriguez has been documenting the history and lives of Latino veterans of World War Tow, Korea and, later, Viet Nam. Each year, Dr. Rivas-Rodriguez conducts an editing contest where students edit a veteran interview into a five-minute documentary. Sonia Melendez won Third Prize in the 2012 VOCES Oral History Editing Contest. Latinopiais proud to showcase her documentary and wishes her a great career in filmmaking.

Gabe Torres grew up in Aurora, New York and started making films when he was 12 years old. After graduating from the USC Film School, he has gone on to a career in television directing that includes such shows as “Land of the Lost,” “Arrest and Trial,” and “Unsolved Mysteries. ” He has also directed independent films such as “Last Stand,” and “Bartender.” He shares with Latinopia the trailer for his latest action motion picture, “Brake.”  The film is released on March 23rd in New York City and Los Angeles, check it out!

When Professor Emeritus John Crawford of the University of New Mexico heard that the Arizona state legislature had passed a law banning the teaching of ethnic studies in public schools, he was shocked. When he heard that to comply the Tucson Unified School District had removed book written by Latinos from the school libraries, he was even more outraged.  Then he heard about a  Texas caravan bringing the banned books to the children of Tucson and decided that he had to act. On March 4, 2012 he and others organized a benefiit poetry reading for the Caravan which involved leading Albuquerque poets. Filmmaker Daniel Sonis filmed the event and shares the reading here with Latinopia. The poets are, in order of appearance,  Richard Vargas, Andrea Serrano, Jessica Helen López and Levi Romero, Centennial Poet of New Mexico.

During the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846, more than 500 immigrant soldiers, mostly Irish, deserted the U.S. Army and fought on the Mexican side of the war. This battalion of Irish soldiers were known as the San Patricios (The St. Patrick Battalion). Latinopia is proud to showcase this excerpt from the independent documentary “The San Patricios,” written and directed by Mark R. Day.

Elusive Minds is a Latino podcast created by Michael Centeno, Nathan Morales, Adolfo Hernández and Johnny the Geek in response to the lack of online content by and about Latinos. The podcast which can be found at www.elusiveminds.com covers Latino film, culture and the arts. Michael Centeno spoke to Latinopia about this unique podcast.

Roberto Olivares is a Mexican filmmaker who makes films with and about the indigenous peoples of Mexico.  No mere documentarian, he infuses his films with vision, artistry and invention.  He filmed a unique collaboration between the indigenous musical group “Banda Regional Mixe,” and a visiting musical ensemble from Macedonia, the “Kocani Orquestra.” Enjoy this uplifting musical performance…and the filmmaking!

Liz H. Colunga is completing her MFA degree in Film Production at the University of North Texas. Her compassion for Latinos who are serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan fronts inspired this moving documentary on the thousands of Latino soldiers who are “still there.”

The Voces (Voices) Oral History Project at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, was created by Dr. Maggie Rivas Rodríguez and has now recorded more than 800 oral histories of Latino veterans of World War II and the Korean War. “Meet Julian González” is one of these oral histories. It recounts. first hand, the invasion on D-Day of France by Allied Forces. Latinopia is proud to feature this oral history as a “Latinopia Showcase.”

Luis R. Quintero is a director based in Los Angeles whose projects including major studio productions, independent films, television pilots and web series. His short drama “La Hora del Té” (Tea Time) played at the Arc Light Theater in Hollywood as part of the Los Angels International Shorts Film Festival and earned him an International Filmmaker Award nomination at Sundance in 2008. He is currently directing a webisode series starring Mario Lopez. This video is copyrighted by Luis R. Quintero and is posted by permission on Latinopia.com.

Dr. Gilbert González is a Professor Emeritus in Chicano and Latin American Studies at the University of California at Irvine. He has produced a landmark documentary about the Bracero Program which brought Mexican laborers into the United States from 1942 to 1964. Latinopia is proud to showcase “Harvest of Loneliness.” This film excerpt is used by permission of Dr. Gilbert González.  For further information or to purchase a copy of “Harvest of Loneliness” go to www.harvestofloneliness.com

Alejandro Morales is an acclaimed author whose novel “The Brick People” is the story of the Mexicans who worked at the Simons Brick Yard. Their work was crucial to the growth of Los Angeles and Southern California from the 1920s to 1960s. Latinopia is proud to showcase this excerpt from a documentary based on the book by Morales that was directed by Mike Kirsch.

Newstaco.com is an on-line website featuring Latino news and public affairs. With reporters in San Antonio, Texas and Los Angeles, California, it covers a range of stories pertaining to Latino life in the United States. Latinopia asked editor and journalist Sara Inés Calderón to tell us about Newstaco.com

Miguel Torres and Mauricio Mendoza are Los Angeles based filmmakers who have created and are co-Executive Producers  of an exciting new drama web series titled “Encounters” The premise of the series is what would happen if someone who has passed away returns to confront someone with whom he or she has unfinished business? The range of stories you will find on Encounters is truly impressive and Latinopia is proud to feature this “Encounters” introduction by permission of Angel Flight Media, the copyright holder.

A.P. Gonzalez is a director and producer with a life-long passion for baseball. His current project is a major long-form documentary about Latinos in American baseball. Latinopia is proud to showcase this promo of a visionary and long overdue work-in-progress.

Yelyna De Leon is an accomplished actress of stage and screen whose television credits include The Shield, Roswell and Resurrection Blvd. While at UCLA she made her directorial debut with the short drama “Pushing Out Juan,” the story of a young Latino trying to decide on his future. Latinopia is proud to feature Yelyna’s film as a Latinopia Showcase.

Daniel Rios is an eighteen-year-old  high school student at Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas. “Inundation” is a short dramatic film which he wrote, produced, directed and edited. He aspires to be a writer/director and Latinopia is proud to showcase his film.

Alas Media is a multi-media film and video production company based in San Fernando, California. The members of Alas Media are Miguel Duran, Rosa Rubalcava, Elizabeth Rubalcava, Ibarionex Perello and Marco Antonio Torres. They represent a new generation of Latino filmmakers whose focus on producing documentaries, promotional videos, websites and educational workshops also includes representing Latino community artists such as this video which Latinopia is proud to showcase: “Wall with a Mission.”