Documentaries
Chicano Legacy: 40 Years
Think you know what a Chicano is? Well think again, this documentary guarantees to challenge your perception of this culture. For 40 years, the Chicano movement has been at the forefront of Chicano Rights through its political activism and artwork. One man in San Diego encompasses the revolutionary spirit of both art and activism – world famous "artivist" Mario Torero. This documentary reveals the story of how Mario together with UCSD students and faculty were able to create the first permanent minority art installation on the campus of the University of California San Diego.
Chicano Legacy: Students Empowering Students
The Chicano Legacy Mural was commissioned at UCSD in 2011 as a response to racist incidents at UCSD. The film explores how the first ever permanent, minority inspired public artwork on campus has inspired students and it impact on campus life.
Produced by: www.cinemaviva.com
The chronicle of a chicano mural, the muralist commissioned to create it, and how students and faculty at UCSD rallied to turn a temporary mural installation into the first permanent minority mural installation allowed on campus. – Since 1971, the Chicano movement has been at the forefront of Chicano rights through its political activism and artwork. One man in San Diego encompasses the revolutionary spirit of both art and activism – world famous artivist Mario Torero.
This documentary reveals the story of how Mario together with UCSD students and faculty were able to create the first permanent minority art installation on the campus of the University of California San Diego. For years, minority students have been suggesting that the campus of UCSD lacked art which reflected their cultures. In 2009, Mario met with Chicano students at UCSD and they created a mural reflecting the struggles of the Chicano movement featuring artistic depictions of historical icons like Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta. They proposed the mural to the administration for permanent installation, but were only granted a temporary mural on the face of Peterson Hall. After a spat of racial incidents on the campus in Winter 2010, the students rallied and sent a list of demands to the administration. One of these demands was to make the mural installation permanent. In an effort to quell the unrest, the Chancellor acquiesced and UCSD funded the permanent mural installation. After the approval, Mario decided to work with a group of artistic muralists in China to create the huge 57 foot mosaic mural. He even got to travel to China to provide the final artistic direction. The documentary chronicles the back-story, installation and final unveiling of the mural.
TheArtistOdyssey.com presents:
Mario Torero: Artivist
Mario Torero: Artivist tells the story of Mario Torero – painter, muralist, teacher, social activist, community leader. The film explores how Mario’s work is informed by his painter father Guillermo Acevedo; his upbringing in a bohemian arts culture in Peru; the influence of the maestro painters; the history of the mural movement; and the struggles of the Chicano movement over the last few decades. (12:46)
