Esparza and actor Edward James Olmos have worked together on films that are praised as landmarks of Chicano cinema. There are fewer Mexican-Americans at UCLA film school than when I was in film school 50 years ago. One of the projects that Esparza and Olmos worked was a 1982 film called “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.” That film has now been added to the National Registry of film. “It’s the very first Latino hero that’s ever been placed on the big screen in the history of film. Olmos talked about fostering the next generation of filmmakers and encouraging Latino kids to learn more about film.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 26, 2023 22:49 UTC