The four honorees have been chosen based upon their commitment and contributions to their local communities and the Bay Area community at large. The 2012 Latino Heritage Month Local Hero honorees are:
- Rafael Diaz, PhD (Former professor of ethnic studies, San Francisco State University, San Francisco)
- Dr. Concha Saucedo (Founder and former executive director, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, San Francisco)
- Eva M. Terrazas (Director of public policy and government affairs, EMQ Families First, San Jose)
- Deisy Vargas (Strengthening families facilitator, Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, Sonoma)
MARIACHI HIGH AND TALES OF MASKED MEN:
A FREE LATINO HERITAGE MONTH FILM SCREENING AT SAN JOSE’S MEXICAN HERITAGE PLAZA
KQED, Latino Public Broadcasting, Councilman Xavier Campos, Mexican Consul Office of San Jose and other community groups in San Jose sponsor a screening of the films Mariachi High and Tales of Masked Men on September 27, 2012 from 6pm to 9pm at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza. There will be live entertainment by Mariachi Azteca. Mariachi High documents a year in the life of competitive high school mariachi musicians in the top-ranked ensemble Mariachi Halcon in the small border town of Zapata, Texas — a flash point for the complex issues facing the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US. Tales of Masked Men explores “Lucha Libre” and its role in Latino communities in the United States and Mexico.
LATINO HERITAGE MONTH PROGRAMMING ON KQED 9
KQED Public Television will feature over one hundred programs that focus on Latino themes and issues throughout the month of September. Highlights include:
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FINDING YOUR ROOTS
Sunday, September 9, at 7pm on KQED 9
Learn about the ancestry of famous Latino figures Adrian Grenier, Michelle Rodriguez and Linda Chavez. The 10-part series, with renowned cultural critic and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., journeys deep into the ancestry of a group of remarkable individuals and provides new understanding of personal identity and American history. |
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MARIACHI HIGH
Saturday, September 15, at 6pm on KQED 9
Mariachi High captures a year in the life of top-ranked student musicians in "Mariachi Halcon," the varsity-level championship ensemble at Zapata High School on the border of South Texas. The film follows the students as they move from school to stage in competitions that are fierce battlegrounds filled with the flash and fire of musical virtuosity. Intercut with these high-stakes competitions are the real lives of the students with their families. |
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EL VELADOR (THE NIGHT WATCHMAN)
Thursday, September 27, at 10pm on KQED 9
Award-winning director Natalia Almada returns with a beautiful and mesmerizing new film. From dusk to dawn, El Velador (The Night Watchman) accompanies Martin, a guard who watches over the extravagant mausoleums of some of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords. In the labyrinth of the cemetery, this film about violence without violence reminds us that, amid the turmoil of a drug war that has claimed more than 50,000 lives, ordinary existence persists in Mexico and quietly defies the dead. |
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TALES OF MASKED MEN
Sunday, September 30, at 6pm on KQED 9
From the director of the acclaimed Foto-Novelas, Tales of Masked Men explores the fascinating, mysterious world of lucha libre and its role in Latino communities in the United States, Mexico, and Latin America. Famous for its masked wrestlers and called by one aficionado "a sport in the key of melodrama," lucha libre is part circus, part athletic contest, part theater. The sport inspires passionate loyalty while contributing a lasting cultural idiom to America's pop culture landscape. |
Programs and resources are listed in KQED’s online Latino Heritage Month Resource Guide with program listings and descriptions in English and Spanish. To download a copy or to learn more about our Latino Heritage Month programs and events, visit kqed.org/heritage.
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ABOUT KQED
KQED has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area) and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco and 89.3 FM Sacramento); the interactive platforms kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; This Week in Northern California; Truly CA; and Essential Pépin. KQED’s digital television stations include KQED 9, KQED Plus, KQED Life, KQED World, KQED Kids and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public Radio, home of Forum and The California Report, is one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service delivering more than eighteen local weekday newscasts and news features. KQED Interactive provides KQED’s cross-platform news service, KQEDnews.org, as well as several popular local blogs, video and audio podcasts, and a live radio stream at kqed.org. KQED Education brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources.
