Daniela preps ink
Courtesy of Jessica Daugherty
The Latino Experience
Explore Latino/a/x identity in the contemporary U.S. through a variety of short films.
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Fred Vigeant
Courtesy of Jessica Daugherty
Daniela preps ink
Watch The Latino Experience Tuesday, July 6 at 9pm on WITF. You can stream WITF TV live on our website and through the PBS Video app on Roku, Apple TV and iPhone and Android smartphones. The program is also available on-demand through the PBS Video app.
The Latino Experience is a new three-part anthology series of short fiction and nonfiction films. Featuring 13 original films made by filmmakers working across genres, the shorts explore a wide range of experiences, perspectives and styles to highlight the rich diversity of the Latino/a/x community across the United States and Puerto Rico. From dramas to documentaries, comedies to magical realism, The Latino Experience showcases an exciting lineup of creative talent, both in front of and behind the camera.
Stories featured in the first episode on Tuesday July 6:
“Death and Deathability: A Period Piece.” Mystified by the unexpected arrival of her first period, Ceci (Blanca Ordaz) concludes she must be dying. She prepares a bucket list to accomplish on her final day, including her first real kiss and her own funeral, because death should be an art. Written, directed and produced by Maria Victoria Ponce. Produced by Sofia Cortez, Vincent Cortez and Heather MacLean.
“Folk Frontera” is a magical-realist portrait of life in the borderlands. The film follows two fronteriza women as they struggle to find their place in the vast Chihuahuan Desert, a region whose culture is thousands of years old, but which is bisected by the U.S.-Mexico border.
Directed and produced by Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn. “Folk Frontera” is a co-presentation of INDEPENDENT LENS.
“The Blue Cape” is set in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico two months after Maria hit the island. Ten-year-old Junior (Yanniel A. Arce Rivera) is summoned by his mother to search for the medicine his grandfather so desperately needs. To embark on his journey, Junior wraps himself in a cape made from the blue tarp that covers his roof. Written, directed and produced by Alejandra López. Produced by María José Delgado.
“La Tienda” profiles Daniela del Mar and Camila Araya Pérez, two artists and Latinx letterpress printers in Portland, Oregon, whose work intertwines social justice and Spanglish with the craft of traditional printing techniques. Directed by Karina Lomelin Ripper. Produced by Ripper and Jessica Daugherty.
“Dear Queer Dancer” follows two LGBTQ trailblazing couples¬—Angelica and Jahaira and Luis and Ngoc—on their way to compete at the World Latin Dance Cup. Defying the genre’s legacy of machismo, their message to the Latin dance world is “make room. We’re here.” Directed and produced by Sarah Taborga.
Watch The Latino Experience Tuesday, July 6 at 9pm on WITF. Two more episodes in the series premiere on subsequent Tuesdays.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
