PHOTOS: Dia de los Muertos in Watsonville Plaza

Photos by Tarmo Hannula, The Pajaronian.

Link to Photos

Watsonville springs to life honoring the dead for Día de Los Muertos

Watsonville springs to life honoring the dead for Día de Los Muertos

Lookout Santa Cruz

By Wallace Baine, October 26, 2023

Traditional ceremonial dances from various localities in Mexico are a big part of Watsonville’s Día de Los Muertos celebration. Credit: Via Huve Rivas

A decade ago, it was incumbent upon anyone writing or talking about Día de Los Muertos, especially anyone addressing a primarily Anglo/white audience, to explain exactly what it is, and what it is not.

Today, talking about Día de Los Muertos is not such a heavy lift, thanks in large part to the celebrated 2017 Pixar animated film “Coco,” which put a humane and emotionally powerful story behind a revered Mexican cultural/spiritual tradition that goes back generations.

Unlike in years past, many people in the American mainstream now get that Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), usually celebrated on Nov. 1 or 2, is not merely a Mexican-flavored Halloween, that it is, in fact, a more meaningful celebration of family and a festive and yet heartfelt remembrance of those who’ve passed on.

“In Spanish, we have a saying: When somebody dies, we say they just went ahead of us.” That’s how Consuelo Alba sums up the spirit of the holiday. Alba is the executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival and the leading organizer of Watsonville’s free annual Los Muertos celebration, to take place this year on Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Watsonville Plaza.

The downtown celebration has been going on since 2017 — with an online-only event in the pandemic-lockdown year of 2020 — and it’s become part of the tradition of the event that it culminates in a free outdoor screening of “Coco,” in Spanish with English subtitles. The celebration will coincide with Watsonville’s weekly downtown farmers market.

The Los Muertos observance will also include live music and dance from groups such as Folklorico Olin, Raíces Mestizas, Mariachi Ilusión, Estrellas de Esperanza and White Hawk Aztec Dancers. Alba said that many of the dance performances to be shared are rooted deep in Mexican culture.

“The tradition of Day of The Dead is actually different in different [Mexican] states,” she said. “So we have two specific dances: One coming from Oaxaca, ‘Danza de Los Diablos.’ And people do this dance especially for Day of the Dead. A lot of people are not even familiar with this dance, because it’s very regional and very time-specific. And the other one is ‘Xantolo,’ from Veracruz.” The latter is an elaborate and colorful ritual designed to welcome the dead for their annual visit to the world of the living.

There will also be a Mercado de Muertos of locally produced art pieces and a “Catrina Catwalk,” celebrating the holiday’s most enduring icon, La Catrina, the ornately dressed skeleton, or calavera, that is the theme of a wide variety of costumes of men and women alike. Those attending are encouraged to come to the event dressed in their best calavera finery.

“Now, it’s a big thing. Everybody dresses for the occasion,” said Alba.

At the heart of the event are the many community altars, or ofrendas, a Día de Los Muertos household tradition during which families build altars in tributes to deceased loved ones. The mix of the solemn and the festive is the characteristic vibe of the event.

“It’s really important that people know this is not Mexican Halloween,” said Alba. “The essence of each is very different. Halloween is all about being scary and funny, and though Day of the Dead can be funny, too, they just come from different places. This is grounded in the traditions and the arts of Mexico and it’s now a legacy that we carry on, even though it keeps evolving.”

The Day of the Dead event in Watsonville represents a broad community collaboration among the Watsonville Film Festival, Hospice of Santa Cruz County, the County Office of Education and the Watsonville parks department. Adults, teens and kids all participate in the creation of flower headbands and sugar skulls.

A course of poached tuna belly with caper berries and pickled onion at a Lago di Como winemaker dinner. Credit: Via Reynaldo Barrioz

In addition to Friday’s event, Día de Los Muertos is also the focus of the latest exhibit at Pajaro Valley Arts in Watsonville. The new exhibit is part of the annual “Mi Casa Es Tu Casa” tradition at the PVA Gallery. Titled “Honoring Our Ancestors,” it features art inspired by Los Muertos. On Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., a free opening reception at the gallery will feature many of the same performers who will participate in Friday’s event.

Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, the Museum of Art & History is presenting its own Día de Los Muertos event Saturday at Evergreen Cemetery in co-sponsorship with the Santa Cruz arts and cultural organization Senderos. That free event will also feature live performances in the spirit of the holiday. The Evergreen celebration takes place from noon to 4 p.m. The MAH is also displaying a Día de Los Muertos community altar, on display free in the MAH’s atrium, through Nov. 5.

Consuelo Alba estimated that the 2022 Día de Los Muertos event at the Watsonville Plaza attracted about 1,500 people — and, of course, that number counts only living people. The spirit behind the observation is that the dead are present as well, at least in the hearts and minds of the living, as expressed in the ofrendas. Día de Los Muertos is a way to remember deceased loved ones in a context other than grief or pain, and that’s a ritual that many cultures around the world lack, said Alba.

“Mexico has given this gift to the world,” she said, “this way of embracing the cycle of life and death.”

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(Photo Huve Rivas)

Día de Muertos festival returning to Watsonville with new activities

by Nick Sestanovich, Santa Cruz Sentinel

October 23, 2023

WATSONVILLE — Nov. 1-2 are typically designated as Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a traditional Mexican holiday that celebrates loved ones who have died.

Watsonville will be getting a head start with its 6th annual Día de Muertos celebration in downtown. Presented by the Watsonville Film Festival, it will once again provide an evening of reflection, dancing, food and all of the other hallmarks of the holiday.

Consuelo Alba, executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival, said the primary additions this year are the inclusions of two new traditional Mexican dances. One is the Xantolo dance from the Huasteca region of Veracruz, and the Danza de Diablos from Oaxaca. Both are traditionally performed in association with Día de Muertos.

“It’s very special to be able to share these dances with the community,” she said.

The event will also feature the work of two artists for the first time. The first is Ignacio Muñoz, a Cine se Puede fellow who is making a movie about Día de Muertos.

“He’s going to be sharing more about his project and asking the community to support his project as he starts production,” said Alba.

The second artist is Ildefonso Lopez, a painter from Oaxaca who will be creating a live painting.

The event will also feature face painting, sugar skull decorations, catrinas y catrines skeleton catwalks and performances by Folklorico Ollin, Raíces Mestizas, Mariachi Ilusión, Estrellas de Esperanza and White Hawk Aztec Dancers. Arte del Corazon will also be selling Día de Muertos artwork across the street from the City Plaza.

The centerpiece of the festival is the ofrendas, or altars, created by local organizations, where people will have the opportunity to place locally harvested marigolds, locally baked pan de muerto, letters and photos of loved ones, as is Día de Muertos tradition.

“When you see an ofrenda, it’s not just something that looks beautiful,” said Alba. “There is actually a story behind each one of them, so people have the opportunity to learn more about the loved ones that we lost.”

As with previous years, the festival will close with a screening of the 2017

Pixar film “Coco,” about a boy named Miguel who seeks to get in touch with his deceased great-great-grandfather through a realm called the Land of the Dead and encourage him to end his family’s ban on music.

Alba said the movie is always a hit.

“It’s part of our tradition now to share ‘Coco’ at the plaza,” she said. “All the families love to come with their little ones, some of them are dressed like ‘Coco’ characters, and there is a big singalong because we all know the songs and it’s such a beautiful film.”

Alba likes that the festival brings the traditions of Día de Muertos closer to home.

“It’s something that you would have to travel to Mexico to see it like the way we do it here in Watsonville,” she said.

Alba said it is more than a celebration.

“It’s a time to reflect about the cycle of life and death and honoring the ones that were important in our lives and honoring them as a community,” she said. “It’s a very beautiful and heartfelt event, and it inspires a lot of pride in our community.”

The event is from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday in the City Plaza, 358 Main St. All activities are free.

Activities lined up for Dia de Muertos celebration

Staff Report

Live music, dance performances, community altars and family activities will fill the afternoon in Watsonville Plaza Friday during the annual Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration.

Hosted by Watsonville Film Festival, the sixth annual event will also feature a free showing of the movie, “Coco.”

“Families love coming to the Plaza to watch the beloved movie ‘Coco,’ and observe this heartfelt and festive holiday that honors loved ones who are no longer with us,” WFF Executive Director Consuelo Alba said. “This celebration brings the community together in a meaningful way and is a healing experience for many.”

New this year are authentic dances rarely seen in the U.S. or in Mexico as they are only performed during Day of the Dead observances, Alba said.

WFF is partnering with Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Watsonville Parks and Community Services and online resources to present the free family event.

“Día de Muertos is an important cultural tradition that honors and celebrates those who have passed on, and reminds us that death is a natural part of the human experience,” County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah said. “We are thrilled to work with the Watsonville Film Festival to continue this long-standing community celebration, and invite community members of all ages to join us in the Watsonville Plaza on October 27.”

Arte del Corazón will host a Mercado de Muertos at Romo Park across Main Street from the plaza. Local arts and crafts by community artists will be for sale.

Starting at 4pm, and coinciding with the Watsonville Farmers’ Market, visitors will be treated to performances by Folklorico Ollin, Raíces Mestizas, Mariachi Ilusión, Estrellas de Esperanza and White Hawk Aztec Dancers. The public will be invited to dress like fancy skeletons to participate in the Catrina and Catrin Catwalk. “Coco” will screen in Spanish with English subtitles at dusk. People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and warm clothes.

At the heart of the celebration are the altars—set up by families and nonprofit organizations—that honor ancestors and loved ones who have

passed on. Pan de muerto (Bread of the Dead) made by local bakeries, and marigolds harvested in Pájaro Valley fields, will accompany the photos and mementos on the ofrendas (altars). The public is welcome to bring their own flowers and offerings to leave on a community altar.

“Watsonville Parks and Community Services is so excited to partner again with the Watsonville Film Festival to bring this wonderful event to our downtown,” said Nick Calubaquib, director of Watsonville Parks and Community Services. “A big thank you to the staff, volunteers and sponsors that make this possible.”

Art Seen | Consuelo Alba leads the way in Santa Cruz County arts community

Shmuel Thaler, Santa Cruz Sentinel

October 25, 2023

Consuelo Alba, executive director and co-founder of the Watsonville Film Festival, is a cultural leader currently serving as the board chair of Arts Council Santa Cruz County. She is an award-winning bilingual documentary filmmaker, film producer, journalist and inaugural member of Rise Together, a coalition of BIPOC leaders working for racial equity. Under her leadership, the Watsonville Film Festival developed from a grassroots collective into a nonprofit arts organization offering year-round multimedia programming. For 11 years, Alba has led an amazing team presenting hundreds of programs, leveraging the power of film, and redefining what a film festival is and the transformative impact it can have in a community. Her work has been featured in festivals around the world and broadcast on Mexican public television. ( – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Fiesta Mexicana features film, dance and musical performances

September 14, 2023

Watsonville Film Festival is partnering with Cabrillo College’s “Hispanic Serving Institution Week” to celebrate Mexican Independence Day at the Watsonville Plaza on Friday from 5-7:30pm.

This free family event will feature live music by Mariachi Juvenil Corazón Jaliscience from Hollister and Laura Rebolloso, a singer, dancer, poet and co-founder of the Son Jarocho band from Veracruz, Son de Madera. Rebolloso is considered a virtuoso of the four-stringed instrument known as leona. She will be performing with Son Jarocho Santa Cruz.

The celebration at the Plaza will also include a dance performance by the Watsonville-based Folkloric group, Esperanza del Valle. The festivities coincide with Mexican Independence Day.

At 7:30pm there will be a free screening of the comedy “El Rey del Barrio/King of the Neighborhood” with actor/comedian Tin Tán at Cabrillo College’s Watsonville Center. This special screening is a collaboration with the Mexican Consulate from San Jose and the Mexican Film Institute.

“We are honored to feature such talented musicians and dancers at our Fiesta Mexicana and to bring people together in celebration,” said Consuelo Alba, executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival. “Closing the night with a classic Mexican film from the 1950s will be a lot of fun.”

This third annual community celebration is presented by the Watsonville Film Festival in partnership with Cabrillo College, City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department, Consulado General de México en San José, Santa Cruz County Office of Education and 23Hrs Entertainment who curated the music program.

Photo by Paco-Serrano

Cultural events take center stage in Watsonville’s big upcoming weekend

September 7, 2023

Wallace Baine, Lookout Santa Cruz

While you’re visiting this year’s Santa Cruz County Fair at the fairgrounds next weekend, you might want to make it a double shot of cultural fun in Watsonville.

Fridays at the Watsonville Plaza are already a fun stop thanks to the weekly farmers market. But next Friday, Sept. 15, “Fiesta Mexicana” — brought to you by the Watsonville Film Festival — comes to the plaza with live music and folklorico performances on stage by Son Jarocho Santa Cruz, Esperanza Del Valle and Mariachi Juvenil Corazon Jalisciense, followed by a screening of the classic 1950 Mexican comedy “El Rey del Barrio” with the beloved comedian Tin Tan, just right across the street at the Cabrillo Watsonville Center. It’s all free.

Then, on Saturday evening, Sept. 16, the Mello Center in downtown Watsonville will be the site for a “Celebration of Music & Culture.” Yes, they could have come up with a catchier name, but it’s still a big show of music and folklorico dance including such beloved community performers as Esperanza Del Valle and the White Hawk Indian Council for Children, among several others. It’s all in support of the Watsonville Center of the Arts and its efforts to make these kinds of culturally significant art forms a part of locals’ daily lives.

But that’s not all. On Sunday, Sept. 17, back at the plaza, the Mexican Independence Day Festival will feature music, food, dance and art, all from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., again free and family-friendly.

It’s a wow weekend for Watsonville.

Watsonville Film Festival to host free screening of award-winning documentary

by Nick Sestanovich, Santa Cruz Sentinel

WATSONVILLE — On Sept. 19, Rodrigo Reyes’ documentary “Sansón and Me” will make its television premiere on PBS’ “Independent Lens,” having already been screened at many national and international film festivals.

Watsonville residents will not have to wait that long, as the Watsonville Film Festival will be hosting a free screening at CineLux Green Valley Cinema Saturday, with the director, one of the actors and family members of the documentary’s subjects in attendance.

The film was actually scheduled to make its regional premiere at the festival March 11, but the breech of the Pajaro River levee earlier that morning and subsequent flooding resulted in it being postponed. Consuelo Alba, the festival’s executive director, said staff arranged to have it shown locally.

“We’re very excited to be able to do it at CineLux this time,” she said. “It’s the first time we’ve worked with them. We’ve presented films at the Green Valley Cinemas before, but this is the first time that we’re collaborating with CineLux, and we’re very grateful for the opportunity to present this film at a movie theater.”

“Sansón and Me” tells the story of Sansón Noe Andrade, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who came to California and ended up being the driver in a drive-by gang shooting, resulting in him being charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in Pelican Bay State Prison without parole.

His interpreter during his trial was Reyes, then working a day job as a court interpreter in Merced County who became well-acquainted with his client’s story. Born in Mexico City, Reyes would go on to direct several documentaries touching upon themes of Latine social justice, including “Purgatorio: A Journey into the Heart of the Border,” “Lupe Under the Sun” and the award-winning “499.” After becoming engrossed in Andrade’s story and the unhappy life he lived, Reyes sought to make a movie about him. However, being denied permission by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to interview him on camera at the prison meant Reyes had to tell his story through other means.

Andrade corresponded with Reyes through letters and used actors to reenact scenes from Andrade’s childhood.

“This film is very sobering and talks about immigration and the system in the U.S. and (Andrade’s) personal life,” said Alba. “It’s a very personal film talking about big things.”

“Sansón and Me” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2022 and also won the Best Film award at the Sheffield DocFest, the top documentary film festival in the United Kingdom.

“This film has had a great trajectory,” said Alba. “It has been in major film festivals and many festivals in the U.S., in Mexico and many different universities, and we’re very excited because this is a community screening.”

The screening will be attended by Reyes, who will host a Q&A at the end of the movie. Also in attendance will be Watsonville-based actor Mario Velasquez, who portrays Isaac in the movie, and members of Andrade’s family, many of whom reside in Watsonville where Andrade lived and worked for a brief period.

“It is very special and meaningful to screen ‘Sansón and Me’ in Watsonville, a beautiful community that is rooted in the Latino immigrant experience,” Reyes said in a statement. “When he was young, Sansón himself lived and worked in the area for a brief time, and so it feels like his story is coming home. I could have made a lot of stories about incarceration and immigration, but the fact is that Sansón is my friend. I love and respect him and I don’t want his story to be erased because of his race, his class or his language. This film is my contribution to his resistance, and I hope that his struggle rings true for the community of Watsonville, who understands first- hand the impact of the prison system on our Latino young men.”

Among other things, Alba said the film examines the relationship between race and incarceration, which might be a topic of discussion at the screening.

“A lot of Black and brown people are in jail,” she said. “We want to talk about

the reasons and the systems that are in place that make that possible, how to address that, how to talk about that in the community.”

Alba said the film will also put a human face to inmates, as they are often largely just viewed by the public as statistics.

“We just hear numbers,” she said. “‘This many people are in prison.‘ ‘This many people are in jail.’ I’m hoping that ... people see the people as human beings being incarcerated and the reasons why they get there and how, as a society, we can do better.”

“Sansón and Me” will be screened at 6 p.m. Saturday at CineLux Green Valley, 1125 S. Green Valley Road. Tickets are free, but people must register in advance at EventBrite.com. As a very limited number of tickets are currently available, people can email [removed] to request to be placed on a waiting list. Ticketholders are urged to arrive at least 15 minutes before the screening, or their seats will be given to those on the waiting list. Donations to support the Watsonville Film Festival at the event are encouraged.

Watsonville Film Festival To Present Sansón and Me

Staff Report

The Watsonville Film Festival will partner with CineLux Green Valley Cinemas to present the documentary film “Sanson and Me” Aug. 26 at 6pm.

Award-winning filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes will participate in a post-screening Q&A with the audience. Watsonville-based actor Mario Velasquez, who appears in the film, will also be in attendance, as well as family members of Sansón, the protagonist of the documentary. 

“Sanson and Me” focuses on two Mexican immigrants; one serving a life sentence in prison and the other, the filmmaker, who served as his court interpreter. The two formed a bond over the years, writing letters that serve as the basis of the film.

“We are thrilled to finally be able to share this powerful film in Watsonville,” said Consuelo Alba, executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival. “‘Sanson and Me’ was part of our annual festival last March, but had to be rescheduled due to the severe flooding. We look forward to presenting it at CineLux Green Valley Cinemas along with the director, actor and Sanson’s family.”   

Admission to the film event is free, but donations to support the Watsonville Film Festival are welcome. To secure a spot, register at tinyurl.com/55kw3rfs. Ticket-holders must arrive at least 15 minutes early or their seats will be given to people on the waiting list. 

Watsonville Film Festival invests in local talent

CINE SE PUEDE FELLOWSHIP GIVES FILMMAKERS A HEAD START

By:COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

April 20, 2023

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival announced the launch of its 2023 Cine Se Puede Fellowship, a program designed to support emerging Latine filmmakers in the region. 

The fellowship is a year-long program that provides funding, mentorship, industry connections, workshops and master classes, as well as peer support and promotion. Fellows receive cash awards to support their projects and help them realize their potential.

This year’s cohort includes four filmmakers with deep roots in Watsonville, Mexico and the Central Coast.

“We’re engaging award-winning talent with our Cine Se Puede Fellows and showcasing Watsonville and what’s possible when you invest in local creatives,” said Consuelo Alba, co-founder and executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival. “The Cine Se Puede Fellowship is a crucial investment in the future of our community and the art of filmmaking.”

Cine Se Puede was launched at the 10th annual Watsonville Film Festival in 2022, thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County’s Rise Together Initiative. Three fellows from the inaugural cohort premiered films at the 2023 Watsonville Film Festival.

The 2023 Cine Se Puede Fellows are all local, emerging filmmakers: Genevieve Rico, Hector Águila, Teotl Veliz and Iggy Figueroa. As cinematographers, filmmakers, writers and documentarians, the Fellows explore themes of grief and loss, joy, cultural pride, struggle and the pursuit of dreams.

Cine Se Puede offers access and personal connections that expand their networks and can jumpstart projects, including meetings with industry members from Netflix, Sundance and PBS, workshops with award-winning filmmakers, and conversations with funders and partners such as SF Film and the Bay Area Video Coalition. Last year’s Fellows also collaborated on various projects, including a short film, three web episodes, two crowdfunding campaigns, and pre-production work with an Oscar-winning team.

At this year’s Film Festival, the 2023 Fellows spent a day with L.A.-based screenwriter and producer Ligiah Villalobos, of the film “Under the Same Moon.” Fellows were also inspired by Carlos Pérez Osorio, award-winning Mexican director of “Los Tigres del Norte: Stories to Tell” and “The Taco Chronicles.” He shared his experiences and insights working with streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon. 

“The Fellowship has organically evolved into a community of local Latine filmmakers. It’s becoming a visible space for outside productions to find local talent,” Alba said. “We are excited to begin this year’s fellowship, and proud to support the Fellows on their journey. We’re excited to be connecting our local filmmaking pipeline that starts in elementary schools, support our emerging filmmakers in their professional career and connect them to the larger film industry.”

A number of Cine Se Puede workshops will be open to local emerging filmmakers this summer. Topics include Fund Your Film Sessions: Crowdfunding/Grants and Fellowships and Build Your Team: Find the Crew and Community for your Project.

To learn more about the Cine Se Puede Fellowship and the Watsonville Film Festival, visit watsonvillefilmfest.org/cine-se-puede.

2023 Marks the Watsonville Film Festival’s Largest Yet

The South County festival will screen over 40 feature-length and short films, hold several special events and more—accessible to all

ByAdam Joseph, Good Times

February 28, 2023

As a kid, Juan R. Fuentes liked to hang around with the braceros close to his Castroville home. These farmworkers would spend hours picking, plucking, snipping, cutting, digging and watering fields laden with DDT; some had threadbare bandanas to cover their noses and mouths. Fuentes was inexplicably drawn to these men. He recalls watching a man carve a bird from a wood block. 

Eugenia Rentería’s 2023 short film Strawberry Picker—the world premiere happens Saturday, March 4, at the Mello Center with special guests Juan Fuentes, director Eugenia Rentería and producer Maria Cano—captures Fuentes reflecting on that moment with intimacy. It happened in the early ’60s, but it was the epiphany of a lifetime.

“It was magic to me,” Fuentes says through tears. “Because I love to carve.”

Fuentes began working in those same fields when he was in middle school. It was the only life he and his 10 siblings had known. 

Watsonville High didn’t allow Chicanos to take fine arts classes, so Fuentes had to wait until college to delve into his passion. 

“I had no idea what the hell I was going to do; I just knew this was my place,” Fuentes recalls. “I could do something here.”

The “here” Fuentes speaks of is the arts building at San Francisco State, where he found a new and wonderful reality. He was able to carve as much as he wanted.

Strawberry Picker starts with the beginning of Fuentes’ life. Still, it centers on the artist’s contribution to “Watsonville Brillante,” a 12,500-square-foot mosaic mural installed on the exterior of the Civic Plaza parking garage in downtown Watsonville. Spearheaded by local artist Kathleen Crocetti, the massive public artwork features several artists, but Fuentes’ “Mayan Warrior,” one of four vertical 1,200-square-foot pieces he designed, was the first. A Mayan god is depicted on the top. Below, a young man, hunched over, works in a field picking strawberries; though the face is strategically shadowed, Fuentes says it’s “almost a self-portrait.” A line of barbed wire runs across the horizon above the fieldworker’s head, denoting “the border” and “our people’s migration from Mexico” to the United States. “Mayan Warrior” mirrors the struggles and reliance of Fuentes’ life and the Chicano community—the line between art and life is blurred; it’s autobiographical, political and symbolic.

“People can see [the mural] and make their own connections,” Fuentes says. “It’s not only for my family, it’s for the people [in Watsonville] to reflect on.”

Strawberry Picker is a 20-minute portrait of Fuentes and his seminal mosaic mural, but it also embodies the spirit of the Watsonville Film Festival.

“It’s important to select inspiring films that connect with what’s happening in the community,” says Consuelo Alba, co-founder and director of the WFF. “We select films about ordinary people overcoming significant obstacles to do the extraordinary.”

Alba looks back on last year as one of the event’s most poignant iterations yet. In addition to celebrating its 10th anniversary, it also marked a time when the world was slowly coming out of the pandemic and returning to in-person events. The festival’s hallmark event featured a showing of Real Women Have Curves for its 20th anniversary. The film’s screenwriter Josefina López spoke about the importance of the movie as a landmark—the film was accepted into the National Film Registry shortly after the festival.

“There was electricity in the room,” Alba recalls. “So many people, women specifically, can relate to the story; the film was ahead of its time regarding body acceptance and positivity. [López] said Watsonville was the first festival to honor [the film].” 

Comments like that are the payoff for Alba. WFF is painstakingly intentional about every selection it makes and ensuring everyone has access to the films, which is why this year, the entire festival is available on a pay-as-you-can basis.

“We want to make sure the entire community can see this amazing program,” Alba says. “WFF uplifts Latino voices, Latino stories and Latino artistry.”

___________

Forever Serna [Interview]

Pepe Serna doesn’t like to say “no.” Even if his name doesn’t ring a bell, there’s a good chance you’ve seen him in a few of the 400-plus film and television appearances he’s made over the last 50 years. In Scarface, Serna played Tony Montana’s Cuban drug dealer buddy, who meets his gory demise on the wrong side of a chainsaw. In Car Wash, Serna appeared alongside George Carlin and Richard Pryor and in the comedy classic The Jerk, he played “Punk #1” in an early scene with Steve Martin. The prolific character actor played Edward James Olmos’ brother on the run in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez—Serna also joined OImos in the cult classic American Me.

There have been some awards, too. Serna scored a special Screen Actors Guild Heritage Achievement Award for all the character roles he played “when Latino actors didn’t make it into Hollywood films.” He also received the prestigious Estrella Award for Arts & Culture from the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

At 78, Serna says he’s experiencing a “rebirth.” He recently wrote and performed a one-person show and planned to take it on the road. Serna also has a couple of movies in the can and begins shooting another film this month. 

“The [filmmaker] asked, ‘Do you work on Saturday and Sunday?’” Serna says. “I said, ‘Every day [I’m working] is Saturday, Sunday or Christmas!’”

While he’s in town, Serna will also teach some improv classes to Pajaro Valley Unified School District students. 

How do you teach improvisation?

PEPE SERNA: We’ve all been doing [improvisational acting] since we were born. We don’t know what our next step will be or what the next word out of our mouth will be, depending on who we are talking to. We don’t know what question the teacher will ask or what a friend will ask or tell us, so we’re already improvising every day.

In Oaxaca, [Mexico], they shake hands by sticking their hand out and not touching the other person’s hand; they just keep it an inch apart. They feel the energy between them. So, we start with that [in my class], then I go into “the mirror exercise.” [Students] stand 12 to 20 inches apart and stare at each other. It’s hard not to laugh if they’re kids or uncomfortable. They just look at each other for as long as they can, then one [person] starts a movement—if I move my right hand to my chest upward, my partner will move their left hand; we’re mirroring movements, slowly, not fast, we have to be in sync. There are a lot of different games.

What was the most challenging role of your career?

The toughest was creating my one-person show, [El Ruco Chuco Cholo Pachuco], and all the characters I created. Even though I wrote them, I have to remember everything I wrote: El Ruco Chuco Cholo Pachuco, a zoot suiter who got railroaded into prison in 1942. Then, all his imaginary offspring go to prison, every different generation. So, I had to write and then perform all those different characters and different times.

What inspires you?

I was born to do this. I love performing and enticing people into conversations. If I’m at the mall, I’ll jump into a family’s conversation, especially if they have kids, and say something that triggers me as I pass by—something usually that has humor, something that’s going to lighten their load. I love to do that. And it usually works. In improv, it’s called the “Yes/And Adjustment,” which means keeping an open mind to new ideas. Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

How does Hollywood treat Latinos in your personal experience?

We don’t really get treated at all. I disprove that statement because I’ve done so much, but I didn’t get to do many of the stories I could have done when I was younger because they didn’t tell our stories. And if they did, they had a Caucasian guy writing the story, not somebody that knows or lived our story, breathed it, eaten it, slept with it, woken up with it. 

You’ve been married for over 50 years. What’s your secret?

George Harrison’s wife, Olivia, was asked how she stayed married, and she said, “It’s easy; you just don’t get divorced.” 

For us, we’ve been very compatible. [Diane] created me as a visual artist. I didn’t know I could do that until she encouraged it. She saw my doodling and art that I started while shooting a film in Santa Fe. I got some watercolors and acrylic paints and started painting. And she loved it. How do you encourage? By encouraging people with the “Yes/And,” you can create miracles. We’re not in a contest. Even with our spouses. It’s not 50/50; it’s 100/100. You have to be willing to give it all, all the time. We’re all different. We’re together all the time. It’s going to be 54 years on March 18. They took me to her door the second day I got to Hollywood. My friend from Acapulco was there with me, and he was a friend of hers. Six months later, she came to one of my [improv] workshops and invited me home. I never left. 

It’s all about being kind to each other and waking up the next morning, not worrying about anything negative that happened the day before.

You’re in Flamin’ Hot, a movie due out this year about the origin and popularity of Hot Cheetos directed by Eva Longoria. 

It’s a feature-length film, and I play the grandfather. I couldn’t do as much as Eva wanted me to—she’s from my hometown in Corpus Christi, Texas. I’ve known her since she started, and now, she’s running her own company. It’s incredible what she’s done.

It’s a small part, but I’ve never looked at parts as being small. There are no extras in this life. Everybody is just as important as everybody else. Not that I hate the star system, but maybe I do. I don’t like what it pretends to be. Everybody’s just as important as everybody else. That’s my mantra to the kids: You’re not in competition with anybody else. Your race is only with yourself.

What’s one of the most difficult decisions you’ve ever made?

I’ve been pretty lucky, but I had to turn down a part in Desperado that would have had me working with Robert Rodriguez. I had just finished two [television] series with Jennifer Lopez, “Second Chances” and “Hotel Malibu.” I played her father.

What’s one thing you haven’t done that you hope to do in your lifetime?

Have universities and schools come after me for my [improv acting] workshop. I have my memoirs and the documentary—I want to show all the people I’ve worked with how I’ve done it, and how I’m still doing it and still have that same passion I did as a three-year-old when I got my first applause. 

With the Academy Awards coming up, what’s your favorite film of 2022?

I am in the Academy. I just love films. I really liked The Whale—it’s amazing what [Brendan Fraser] did. It’s exciting to see Latinos getting nominated, like [Ana de Armas] from Blonde. But we have a long way to go. [Latinos] are at the Academy Awards, but we’re still serving the food and parking the cars. I want to see more [Latinos].

___________

Opening Night: Honoring Pepe Serna (screening his documentary Pepe Serna: Life is Art and new short film Abuelo; director Luis Reyes will join Serna) Friday, March 3, at 7pm. Free (donations appreciated). Mello Center, 250 E. Beach St., Watsonville. watsonvillefilmfest.org

World Premieres 

Oaxaca en Santa Cruz: Comida, Medicina and Música – Directed by Megan Martinez Goltz (2023) While finding ways to recover during the COVID-19 post-pandemic era, indigenous elders share how accessing traditions from their homelands in Oaxaca is vital for healing themselves and their communities in Santa Cruz, California. This three-part series explores elements of food, medicine and music and how each carries specific traditions helping to uplift all aspects of life. (10 minutes for each part; Spanish with English subtitles; all ages)

Influenced – Directed by Alondra Zamudio (2023) When Sam, a 17-year-old influencer, quits her online persona, she must grapple with the harsh realities of life. As she navigates the difficulties of her mother becoming ill again, Sam is also in turmoil with her best friends, Emily and Marisa. (13 minutes; English; all ages)

Living In Exile: Carlos Mejía Godoy – Directed by Jon Silver (2023) Forced into exile and living in California, Carlos Mejía Godoy is a legendary musician and poet of Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Mejía Godoy shares his music, poetry and paintings as he reflects on Nicaragua’s historic fight for liberty and the betrayal of the original Sandinista Revolution. (14 minutes; Spanish with English subtitles; all ages)

Los Tigres del Norte: Historias que contar – Directed by Carlos Perez Osorio 

The legendary Norteño band came to San Jose with nothing in the 1960s and rose to sell more than 60 million records, winning six Grammys and 12 Latin Grammys along the way. Co-presented by the Mexican Consulate of San José. (105 minutes; Spanish with English subtitles; ages 13+)

Local Connections 

Sansón y yo – Directed by Rodrigo Reyes (2022) Award-winning documentary film presenting a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of the criminal justice system while pushing the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young migrant’s story from oblivion. The family members of the protagonist live in Watsonville. (83 minutes; Spanish and English with English subtitles). 

Santos: Skin To Skin – Directed by Kathryn Golden (2022) A film portrait of community activist and seven-time Grammy nominee John Santos, a “keeper of the Afro-Caribbean flame.” Rich in musical performances, Santos links the rhythms of his ancestors to contemporary struggles of identity and social justice. Co-presented by Kuumbwa Jazz, Santos premiered at SXSW and won the Mill Valley Film Festival Audience Award. (75 minutes; English; all ages) 

Eternidad – Written and directed by Gabriel J. Medina (2023) In this local short film fusing horror and magical realism, a disoriented woman stumbles into an eerie bar and accepts an odd challenge from a blind man. She then finds herself trapped in a performance that may never end. Produced by Watsonville filmmakers Alejandro Santana Jr. and Shadé Quintanilla at El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista. (8 minutes; English) 

The Watsonville Film Festival in-person/online screenings and special events begin March 3 and run through March 12. Free (donations appreciated). watsonvillefilmfest.org

Juan Fuentes art exhibit on display at Watsonville Film Festival

By Leslie Duarte. KSBW Action News 8

WATCH REPORT HERE

WATSONVILLE, Calif. —

On Sunday, the Watsonville Film Festival showcased more than just movies. In a special exhibit, the festival unveiled the artwork of Watsonville native Juan Fuentes.

Fuentes said he feels honored to come back to his hometown, where he once helped his family pick strawberries from the Pajaro Valley Fields.

“Both of my parents had no schooling, no education. Neither could read or write, but we had a family, and we worked in these fields,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes graduated from Watsonville High School at a time when art classes were not available to Chicano students.

“We didn't have any galleries. The downtown galleries weren't showing our work. The museums weren't interested in our work, so we had to create our own venues for it,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes took his first art class when he enrolled at the University of San Francisco in 1970. That is where he learned to use designs on woodcuts, screen prints and posters to tell the stories of farm workers and other political issues. He said the social movements inspired his work and empowered him to keep going.

“I embraced it because I knew exactly what it meant for people working in the fields,” Fuentes said.

His pieces have continued to inspire artists far beyond the frame. Consuelo Alba is the executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival, and was one of Fuentes' art students at Cabrillo College. She invited him to present his work at the film festival.

“It's very powerful work that we can all connect with because we can only identify with it," Alba said.

The art exhibit is on display at the Pajaron Valley Arts building in Watsonville and will stay open until May. It will open to the public on Fridays.

The film festival will run until Sunday, March 12. For more details on other events, visit: www.watsonvillefilmfest.org.

‘Scarface’ and ‘American Me’ actor visits students in Watsonville to inspire upcoming actors

By Ricardo Tovar, KION 46

WATCH REPORT HERE

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Watsonville Film Festival is a way to help bring the community together and keep culture and tradition alive through film.

This year Pepe Serna, whose fifty-year career includes 100 films and 300 TV shows, visited local students in Watsonville to teach them the tools of the trade.  He played Al Pacino’s partner in Scarface, a lowrider in Steve Martin’s hit comedy, The Jerk, and was cast with Edward James Olmos in American Me.

"The kids are our future," said Serna. "They're the ones that are holding the stories that need to be told. We've worked a lifetime to give them an opportunity to tell their stories."

Serna answered students' questions on how he got his start in film and what it takes to make their dreams a reality.

"It was a great chance to see Pepe Serna and learn more about this business," said Jose Alcaraz, a high schooler at Pajaro Valley High School. "Ever since I was 8 years old I always wanted to be an actor. Like Pepe said you are just born with it."

Serna also made guest speeches at Pajaro Middle School, Watsonville Charter School, and Cesar Chaves Middle School on Friday.

Serna will receive be present Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Menlo Center for the Opening Night of the festival. He will present his latest film, "Abuelo" and "Life is Art."

The Watsonville Film Festival was created to bring the community together and shine a light on our cultures and traditions, our creativity, and our resilience.” says Consuelo Alba, Co-Founder and Director of the Festival. “After all we’ve been through over the past three years, we wanted to make this year’s Festival accessible to everyone on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.” This is possible thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters who truly understand our vision.” 

The 11th annual Watsonville Film Festival runs from March 3 – 12. For more information on the festival click here.

The Star of His Own Film

Hollywood actor Pepe Serna will receive a tribute for his lifelong career at the opening of the Watsonville Film Festival

By Claudia Meléndez Salinas, Voices of Monterey Bay

For Pepe Serna, there are no “extras” in life. Every role he’s had in his 75-year career as an actor has been an important one. Be it the shadow boxer who jumped in the ring when he was only 3 years old, or the cameo appearance at the homemade film of his friend’s birthday party, or his role in “Scarface,” every part he’s played is like a piece of the mosaic of his rich life on the screen.

“I love (acting) so much that, from working with the biggest actors to not-so-big actors, my mantra and my philosophy is that we’re all the same,” said Serna, 78, by phone from his home in Palm Springs. “I don’t like the star system … I like to tell the kids ‘we are all producers, directors, stars of our own movies. You’re not going to be a writer, a painter, an actor. You already are.”

In spite of his extensive Hollywood acting career, Serna is not a household name, not someone you’d recognize like Al Pacino, Steve Martin or Edward James Olmos. And yet he’s had supporting roles in movies that featured those actors — in fact, in more than 100 films and 300 TV shows, including such iconic films as “Scarface,” “Silverado,” “The Rookie” and “American Me.” His multifaceted acting career is now chronicled in “Life is Art,” a 2022 documentary that he produced and will be featured during the opening event of the Watsonville Film Festival on March 3.

“For the festival’s opening night, we will roll out the red carpet to honor the trailblazing Latino actor Pepe Serna,” festival director Consuelo Alba said in a statement. In addition to the documentary, Serna will present his film “Abuelo.”

"I don't like the star system … I like to tell the kids ‘we are all producers, directors, stars of our own movies. You're not going to be a writer, a painter, an actor. You already are."PEPE SERNA

Serna’s documentary will launch 10 days of in-person and online movies that will be free to all this year through the WFF website.

“After all we’ve been through over the past three years, we wanted to make this year’s festival accessible to everyone on a ‘pay what you can’ basis,” Alba said. “This is possible thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters who truly understand our vision.”

Screenings will be held at the Mello Center (the site of the opening night event) and Watsonville Public Library. There will also be online viewing opportunities. This year’s festival offers an array of films about ordinary people overcoming great obstacles, such as the premiere of “Strawberry Picker,” a short film documenting the life of Juan Fuentes, a renowned Chicano artist who grew up in Watsonville. The documentary is directed by Watsonville filmmaker Eugenia Renteria, another sign of the festival’s commitment to highlighting local talent.

Fuentes created the main images of the monumental mosaic murals in downtown, and the premiere of his documentary coincides with the opening of his retrospective “RESILIENCE: Works of Strength and Dignity” at the Porter Building on Sunday, March 5.

Highlighting Serna’s career is central to the festival’s commitment to showcasing Latino films and talent. Born in Corpus Christi, Serna acquired a love of film by watching movies of the “Golden Era” of Mexican Cinema. Movie stars like Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete populated his imagination growing up and inspired him to pursue a life of acting. It helped that he discovered he had a knack for making people laugh, that he loved the attention he garnered up on stage.

“My godfather had a boxing ring in the backyard. I jumped up, I was shadow boxing, and I accidentally knocked myself out, and people laughed. I tried doing it again, but people didn’t laugh the second time, so I learned that you can’t do the same joke twice,” Serna said. “But entertainment became my performance mode. If I’m out on the street, I interrupt people’s conversations, I interject whatever comes to mind. I like to play. I never stopped being a kid.”

Of all the roles he’s played over his 50-year-plus career in Hollywood, Serna said his favorite is the one-man show “El Rucho Chuco Cholo Pachuco” on stage for three days in 2008. In the show, Serna transforms himself into different characters, a parade of historical figures that echo the history of Latinos in the United States.

“I just loved doing it,” he said. “And of the big ones, Scarface — because of its popularity with the kids who have seen it. It became really important. For a child, the first thing you have to do is get their attention, and that gets their attention the minute I walk in. Then they want to see what’s going to come next.”

"If I’m out on the street, I interrupt people’s conversations, I interject whatever comes to mind. I like to play. I never stopped being a kid."PEPE SERNA

Another offering in the film festival is 'Eternidad,' a short film by Watsonville native Gabriel J. Medina, a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz.

Serna will be teaching an acting workshop to high school students on Saturday, under the auspices of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.

The documentary 'Here to Stay' features Mexican American Giselle Martinez, 23, running for office in a town in New York. It will be shown at this year's Watsonville Film Festival.

The Chicano actor loves having an audience so much that, after a bit of prompting, he starts rapping as one of his characters in “El Ruco Chuco Cholo Pachuco” over the phone: “Get me the hell out of this cage, mijo, yo soy tu abuelo, el brujo curandero. Levitating on the bones of your ancestors. They sent me to bring you messages from the past to find your way into the future. Welcome to my stage.”

Because for Serna, the main character in the movie of his life, the entire world is his stage. You can watch his next act at the Watsonville Film Festival on Friday.

Opening Night of the 2023 Watsonville Film Festival will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts, 250 E. Beach St., Watsonville. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, and the festival’s complete lineup, visit https://watsonvillefilmfest.org/

Watsonville Film Festival honors iconic Latino actor

Christian Balderas, Action News 8

As part of the first day of the Watsonville Film Festival, actor and honoree for the evening, Pepe Serna, made it a top priority to visit students in the Pajaro Unified School District.

"I want to jump start every young mind's heart to say, 'I can do it, I have a right to do it,'" Serna said.

From Thursday to Friday, Serna visited six schools in the district.

“At first I didn’t know who he was, and then searching him up knowing what he looks like and what kind of movies he's in I was like holy moly, like I've seen this guy in so many other movies,” Pajaro Valley High School student Cassandra Hernandez said.

The visit was made possible by the festival’s partnership with the district and the Youth Cinema Project, a nonprofit program by the Latino Film Institute.

Students in the program are tasked with creating a film and premiering it at the end of the year.

The program has been in PVUSD schools for 6 years and was ushered in by Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez.

“Stanford University did a whole study regarding this and found that students are not only performing better in things like language arts and articulation, speaking ability but also mathematics,” Rodriguez said.

Watsonville Film Festival returns for 11th year

By Tarmo Hannula, The Pajaronian

March 1, 2023

WATSONVILLE—The 11th Annual Watsonville Film Festival rolls out the red carpet March 3-12.  

Co-Founder and Director Consuelo Alba said the festival will have screenings at the Mello Center and the Watsonville Public Library as well as online viewing opportunities. 

“This year’s Festival presents an exciting line-up of films about ordinary people overcoming great obstacles to do the extraordinary,” Alba said. “The main themes are art and music, as well as honoring heroes and ‘sheroes.’”  

Organizers are rejoicing in the ability to have in-person meetings and showings once again following the pandemic. 

“We are excited to be back in-person, to walk the red carpet and watch films on the big screen together and to have live conversations with filmmakers while also being able to reach a wider audience with some of the festival’s films online,” Alba said. “We are proud of the ripple effect the WFF has in and on the community, like our collaboration with Pajaro Valley Arts to present a retrospective of renowned Chicano artist Juan Fuentes as well as celebrating Santa Cruz-based Senderos through film. We are also incredibly proud to present the work of local emerging filmmakers and award-winning directors such as Rodrigo Reyes, and Carlos Perez Osorio who won an Ariel (Mexican Oscar) last year.”

Alba added that there are no other similar festivals between San Francisco and Los Angeles that continues to focus on “shining a light” on the contributions of often overlooked Latino stories. 

WFF and the Pajaro Valley Unified School District will co-present the classic film “Under the Moon” about a family separated by immigration, and have a discussion with the film’s screenwriter, Ligiah Villalobos, about making it in Hollywood. 

“We will also showcase films by local emerging directors such as Eugenia Rentería, Gabriel J. Medina and Megan Martinez Goltz, as well as up-and-coming youth filmmakers from Digital NEST and local schools,” Alba said. “We partner with arts organizations, community groups, schools and individuals to make the Festival a rich experience for everyone who attends.”

Other highlights include the following world premieres of local shorts:

• “Strawberry Picker,” a short film documenting the life of Juan Fuentes, renowned Chicano artist who grew up in Watsonville. Fuentes is a chief creator of images of Watsonville Brillante, the massive mosaic murals sprawled across the parking structure on Rodriguez Street. The Festival will co-host the opening of his retrospective “RESILIENCE: Works of Strength and Dignity” at the Porter Building on March 5.  

• “Stories of Culture: Oaxaca in Santa Cruz County” was filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Elder members of the indigenous group Senderos share how their food, medicine and music are tools for healing their communities.

• “Living in Exile: Carlos Mejía Godoy” by filmmaker Jon Silver. Forced into exile and now living in California, Carlos Mejía Godoy is a legendary musician and poet.

• “Sansón & Me” is an award-winning documentary about an unusual friendship that grows out of a young immigrant who gets caught up in the criminal justice system.

• “Los Tigres del Norte” tells the story of the Norteño band that came to San Jose with nothing in the 1960s and rose to sell more than 60 million records, winning six Grammys and 12 Latin Grammys along the way. Co-presented by the Mexican Consulate of San José.

“Pepe Serna will receive a hero’s welcome at the Watsonville Film Festival where the celebrated actor will present his latest films, ‘Abuelo and Life is Art,’” Alba said. 

Serna’s acting career spans more than 50 years, 100 films and 300 TV shows. He played Al Pacino’s partner in “Scarface,” a lowrider in Steve Martin’s hit comedy, “The Jerk,” and was cast with Edward James Olmos in “American Me.” Serna received the prestigious Screen Actors Guild Heritage Achievement Award for his many character roles. 

Serna will be joined by the film’s director, Luis Reyes, author of “Viva Hollywood” on March 3 at 7pm at the Mello Center.

Alba said the Festival continues to have a call for volunteers. 

“We need photographers and videographers, ushers and general support; the volunteers are the heart of the Festival,” she said.  

To sign up, visit bit.ly/VolunteerSignUpWFF.

For information on the Watsonville Film Festival, visit watsonvillefilmfest.org.

•••

Watsonville Film Festival schedule

• March 3, Mello Center

Opening Night

Honoring actor Pepe Serna in-person

Life is Art + Abuelo

Film starts 7pm | Doors open 6:30pm

• March 4, Mello Center

Para Familias

Under the Same Moon | La misma luna

Screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos in person, plus PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez

Film starts 1pm | Doors open 12:30pm

• March 4, Mello Center

Shorts: Shifting the Paradigm

Premiere of Eternidad & Influenced

Plus Bad Hombrewood, Here to Stay, Farm to School

Filmmakers in attendance

Introducing 2023 Cine Se Puede Fellows

Film starts 4pm | Doors open 3:30pm

• March 4, Mello Center

Shorts: Arte y Cultura

Premiere: Historias de Cultura (Oaxaca en Santa Cruz) and Strawberry Picker

Filmmakers and artist Juan Fuentes in-person

Film starts 7pm | Doors open 6:30pm

• March 5, PV Arts Porter Building

Art opening: Resilience: Works of Strength and Dignity

Juan Fuentes Retrospective

Reception and mural walk with artists Juan Fuentes and Kathleen Crocetti, 1-3pm

• March 8, Watsonville Public Library

Women’s International Day

Matronas: The Struggle to Protect Birth in El Salvador; filmmakers in attendance

Co-presented by Campesina Womb Justice

Program starts at 6pm.

• March 9, Watsonville Public Library

Golden Era of Mexican Cinema

El Rey del Barrio with German Valdes “Tintan”

Co-presented by Mexican Consulate, San Jose

Program starts at 6pm

• March 10, Watsonville Public Library

Shorts: Perseverance

Elefan, Colors in Harmony, U.S. vs Beltran, Fertile Land, Chicago Story: Resettlement

Filmmakers in attendance

Co-presented by Reel Works Labor Film Festival

Program starts at 6pm

• March 11, Mello Center

Regional premiere: Sanson & Me

Director Rodrigo Reyes in person

Co-presented by Reel Work Labor Film Festival

Film starts 1pm | Doors open 12:30pm

• March 11, Mello Center

Jazz on Film: Santos: Skin to Skin

With filmmakers Kathryn Golden and Ashley James

Co-presented by Kuumbwa Jazz

Film starts 4pm | Doors open 3:30pm

• March 11, Mello Center

Los Tigres Del Norte: Historias que contar

Director Carlos Perez Osorio in person

Co-presented by UCSC and Mexican Consulate

Film starts 7pm | Doors open at 6:30pm

• March 12, Palenke Arts (Seaside)

Shorts: El Poder del Arte

Strawberry Picker and To Mend the Heart (Remover el Corazon)

Filmmaker in attendance

Films and reception 6-8pm

More films online March 5-12 at watsonvillefilmfest.org

Watsonville Film Festival Is Back For Its 11th Year

Christian Balderas, KSBW Action News 8

Watch Report Here

WATSONVILLE, Calif. —

The Watsonville Film Festival kicks off Friday, marking its 11th year showcasing local talent and stories.

The film festival runs from March 3-12 and will primarily be held at Watsonville High School's Mello Center for Performing Arts.

Co-founder Abuelo Alba says this year, every day of the event is free to the public.

"We are about connecting with our community, inviting everybody in. Breaking down barriers to access, so the festival is a place where everybody can feel welcome, connected and inspired by the stories and by the conversation around the films and with the filmmakers," Alba said.

The first day's itinerary will welcome Hollywood Latino icon Pepe Serna, known for starring in over one hundred films like Scarface, The Jerk and Kill Bill. The festival will debut a new documentary on Serna's life and career, Life is Art + Abuelo.

Over the course of eight days, the festival will showcase over 40 films and shorts about Latino stories — a lot of which are tied to the local Watsonville community.

"It's stories about regular people doing extraordinary things," Alba said.

Alba and her small team of film enthusiasts and filmmakers were tasked with dwindling down 80 submissions received this year to about 40.

"When I see these films about people who are just thriving against all odds, it's really inspiring to me, and I think it's inspiring to a lot of people," Alba said. "It's not just about Hollywood and the stars, it's about our own stories. It's about how we can share these stories with everybody and make it a community thing. I want people to feel like, 'I belong, I'm proud of my heritage, I'm proud of the place I was born.'"

Watsonville Film Festival returns with an exciting 2023 line-up

The Watsonville Film Festival is set to return for its 11th year and will run from March 3rd to 12th. This year’s Festival will feature an exciting line-up of films about Latino art, music and inspiring stories about ordinary people overcoming great obstacles to achieve the extraordinary.

The Festival will roll out the Red Carpet on March 3rd in honor of actor Pepe Serna who has appeared in over 100 films and 300 TV shows. Serna will present his latest films, Abuelo and Life is Art, followed by a Q&A with Luis Reyes, the film’s director and author of “Viva Hollywood.”

The Festival will take place at the Mello Center and the Watsonville Public Library, with online viewing opportunities also available. This year’s festival will also be accessible to everyone on a “pay what you can” basis, thanks to the festival’s generous sponsors and supporters.

Festival highlights include the world premiere of Strawberry Picker, about the life and work of Juan Fuentes, a renowned Chicano artist who grew up in Watsonville. The Festival will co-host the opening of A Retrospective of Fuentes’s art “RESILIENCE: Works of Strength and Dignity” at the Porter Building on March 5 along with an art tour of the giant mosaic murals of Fuentes’s art in Downtown Watsonville.

Latin jazz lovers will enjoy Santos: Skin to Skin, a portrait of Bay Area legend and seven-time Grammy nominee John Santos whose music links the rhythms of his ancestors to contemporary struggles of identity and social justice. This screening on March 11 is co-presented by Kuumbwa Jazz.

Award-winning director Rodrigo Reyes will present his latest documentary film, Sanson & Me, a compelling story about two Mexican migrants, a young man serving a life sentence in prison and a filmmaker who was his court interpreter, who become intertwined through life and cinema. Co-presented with Reel Works Santa Cruz Labor Film Festival.

The Watsonville Film Festival will also present the world premiere of Historias de Cultura: Oaxaca in Santa Cruz, a series of three short films about how Senderos uses music, traditional medicine and food to uplift and heal the local Oaxacan community.

Watsonville Film Festival begins Friday

By ALLISON GARCIA | Special to the Santa Cruz Sentinel
PUBLISHED: March 1, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. | UPDATED: March 2, 202

In its 11th year, the Watsonville Film Festival has developed from a grassroots collective into a nonprofit arts organization offering dynamic year-round programming.

The festival will screen scores of full-length and short films in- person at the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts, at the Watsonville Public Library and online.

Opening night on Friday will pay tribute to iconic Hollywood actor Pepe Serna in the documentary “Life is Art,” and Serna’s newest film, the short “Abuelo,” followed by discussion with Serna and the filmmakers.

Sunday is the opening of the art exhibit, “Resilience: Works of Strength And Dignity Juan Fuentes Retrospective.” The life and art of Fuentes, who grew up in Watsonville and now lives in San Francisco, is featured in the film, “Strawberry Picker.” The public can also participate in an art walk with the artist to see the collaborative work of Fuentes and Kathleen Crocetti.

All films and events are free and open to the public. Watsonville Film Festival runs from March 3 until March 12. For a complete schedule go to watsonvillefilmfest.org.

How Rise Together Became a Model for Philanthropic Groups

BIPOC-led organizations awarded $400K in new grants

by Liza Monroy, Good Times

When community members gather on Friday to celebrate $400,000 in new grants that will be awarded to BIPOC-led organizations, it will also be a celebration of how far the Rise Together initiative has come in the last two years. 

The coalition of BIPOC community leaders was originally formed in 2020 to help the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County distribute $350,000 in pandemic-era funding to BIPOC-led organizations. However, it soon became obvious to Community Foundation CEO Susan True and Engagement Officer Stacey Marie Garcia that this was about far more than distributing money. What began as a way to bring representation to local philanthropy became a movement, as the network of leaders continued supporting one another’s vision of racial equity, working together to ensure its success in a structure that ensured BIPOC leaders had decision-making power over the process. 

Ultimately, Rise Together became a model for how philanthropy can be done, with decisions around funding BIPOC-led communities and organizations being led by members of the communities themselves.

Following this initial success, the initiative continued to grow. In April of this year, Rise Together added 11 new members to the circle, including Esabella Bonner of Black Surf Santa Cruz and Blended Bridge; María Ascencion Ramos Bracamontes of Campesina Womb Justice; Angela Chambers from the Tannery World Dance & Cultural Center and Santa Cruz County Black Health Matters Initiative; Dr. Rebecca Hernandez of UCSC University Library; Jaime Molina of Community Action Board and National Compadres Network; Thomas Sage Pedersen, Speak for Change Podcast and Everyone’s Music School; Jennifer Herrera, County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency; Elaine Johnson, Housing Santa Cruz County; Chairman Val Lopez, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Amah Mutsun Land Trust; and Kara Meyberg Guzman, co-founder of Santa Cruz Local. 

Beneficiaries of the latest round of funding include the Cine Se Puede Fellowship, an initiative launched by Watsonville Film Festival to support local, emerging Latinx filmmakers. 

“We work with a cohort of filmmakers for a year, providing funding of up to $1000 per project, offer ongoing mentorship, masterclasses and workshops with award-winning directors, peer-to-peer support and meetings with industry representatives, including Netflix, Sundance, Latino Public Broadcasting and California Humanities,” says Consuelo Alba, co-founder and Executive Director of the Watsonville Film Festival. “The Rise Together grant made our dream of supporting local Latine filmmakers possible.”

Cine Se Puede Fellow Megan Martinez Goltz appreciates “accountability and community” as the most influential aspects of the fellowship, she says. “Being part of this process has encouraged me to commit to a project with realistic goals, timelines and resources. It has helped connect me to a community of filmmakers who I can call on for support and who can call on me. I know my most recent productions have been my best work yet because I was able to work with other fellows and see how we can all come together in a way that elevates the entire project, rather than always trying to do multiple jobs on set by myself because I didn’t know who to work with or how to finance a way for us to work together.”

A $50,000 grant made it possible for Senderos—“an organization focused on helping folks preserve their cultural identity through art, music, dance and navigating through the resources that are available here in the community,” as Board President Helen Aldana explains—to hire Gabriela Cruz as executive director. Cruz is the first full-time paid employee in the organization’s 20-year history—after being 100% volunteer-run for 20 years. 

Similarly, the Santa Cruz County Black Health Matters Initiative received $40,000 to hire a part-time director, part-time program manager, curator for community events and coordination and a finance manager.  

Kara Meyberg Guzman, co-founder of news site Santa Cruz Local, which was awarded an $18,000 grant to help fund a part-time staff position to “help us develop a Spanish news product,” says that, “Working with the coalition has made me appreciate how philanthropy could work differently.” Guzman has been thinking about “what fundraising looks like for our newsroom and how we could take a more collaborative and relational approach” ever since.  

New Rise Together member Stephanie Barron Lu of Positive Discipline Community Resources feels the impact of being invited to be a part of the group. “Being given a seat at this powerful, diverse table of hard workers and heart workers has helped to validate within myself that I am not an emerging leader; I have fully arrived,” Lu says. The organization’s $35,000 grant will be used to fund a “robust transformative and inclusive strategic planning process,” and strengthen PDCR’s work of “bringing connection-based, trauma-informed support and learning groups to caregivers, educators, parents, farm working families and now youth in the Pajaro Valley across diverse sectors of our community.” The grant will also partially fund a program manager position for one year, supporting the organization’s sustainability and growth. 

Community Archivist at UCSC’s University Library, Rebecca Hernandez, PhD, whose program “employs a variety of community-centered approaches to the work, including developing and advising on oral history projects, pursuing post-custodial collection models, assisting with preservation and conducting community outreach,” sums up an overarching takeaway of being a Rise Together member: “I really appreciate that we represent a wide cross-section of people who bring many different perspectives,” she says. “It reminds me to keep an open mind.”

New members and a next round of funding is only one more step along the way of Rise Together’s ongoing ascent. “We know that communities of color and organizations that are led by and for people of color are often under-resourced,” says Community Foundation CEO True. “We have a long history of under-giving to people of color organizations in this country. We’re excited to offer donors a chance to connect, make meaningful relationships and to be a part of community-centered solutions. The more we grow, the more solutions and more dreams that we’re able to fund. We’re really excited for the leaders that are a part of Rise Together, but also for community members who want to see this county do better than we’re doing now.”