Chicano Studies

This three-part video series examines different social aspects of the cultures of Mesoamerica (i.e., the nations of Mexico and Central America).

Visually interweaving the Mayan past and the Mexican Revolution with contemporary reality, this documentary portrays an epic confrontation pitting impoverished peasants against large landowners and government forces in Mexico's poorest state.

This documentary follows farmworkers from California's Salinas Valley back to their roots in the fields of rural Mexico, where they recount their everyday struggle to cope in the midst of the globalization of agriculture and the impact of NAFTA.

This video examines award-winning broadcast journalist Amy Goodman, of New York's WBAI-FM radio, at work covering the February 1994 emergence of Zapatista rebels in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

This expose of the plight of undocumented Mexican workers in the U.S. also provides a comprehensive overview of the complex issue of Mexican immigration, including interviews with prominent scholars, attorneys and organizers.

Particularly recommended as a teaching tool regarding issues of Latino Studies, Chicano Studies, Immigration, and Cultural Studies.

Documents the efforts of a group of American volunteers--including architects, artists, teachers and psychologists--in building and operating a primary school in a poor Tiajuana neighborhood.

Depicts life in Cuatro Flats, a housing project in East Los Angeles, as seen through the eyes of Chicano gang members, or "homeboys."

Chronicles the remarkable life of 89-year-old Pedro J. Gonzalez, from his early years as a telegraph operator for Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution to his pioneering career as a radio and recording star in Los Angeles, his 1934 arrest on trumped-up charges and subsequent imprisonment, his deportation to Mexico and eventual return to the U.S. some thirty years later.

Examines the key issues, problems and concerns of the Mexican-American community in the U.S. through interviews with prominent Chicano leaders and activists.

Follows anthropologist Robert Alvarez and his 10-year-old son Luis as they recreate the journey which their family's ancestors made in coming north from Mexico several generations ago.

Portrays the Chicano experience, from its roots in pre-Columbian history to Mexican- American struggles in the early '70s.

Chronicles the history of Chicano Park, famous for its giant murals painted on freeway pillars, which became the focus for the revitalization of San Diego's Chicano community in the 1970s and '80s.

Surveys the history of the Mexican community-its origins, culture, achievements, and difficulties-in the Los Angeles basin, from the establishment of the city in 1781 by Mexican settlers to the present-day Chicano struggle for civil rights.