IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT IN OUR SOCIETY, OUR CULTURE AND OUR GIRLS HAVE THEIR DREAM COME TRUE. AND
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING ALL THIS
.OUR BOYS ARE STILL OUR
COMMUNITY. SO I HOPE THE WHOLE
WORLD WILL FIND OUT HOW GREAT
IT IS TO BE IN THE RIO GRANDE
VALLEY. SOME MANY TEXAS. WOW.
WELL, HE CREATED A TRADITION TO
MAKE SURE HIS STUDENTS DIDN'T
MISS OUT ON THIS RITE OF
PASSAGE. AND THEN SHE WANTED TO
HELP SHARE HIS STORY. TOMORROW
YOU CAN SEE OUR KIDS IN YARA.
THAT'S PART OF THE SAN DIEGO
LATINO FILM FEST. AND JOINING
US NOW DIRECTOR GRUNDY, A
PRINCIPAL OF SAN BENITO
VETERANS MEMORIAL ACADEMY,
GILBERT GALLO VINE. SO WE'RE
GOING TO START WITH YOU,
GILBERT. NOW SINCE 2015, SAN
BENITO, YOU'VE HOSTED THESE
ANNUAL KINGSTON HEROES FOR ALL
OF THOSE YOUNG GIRLS AND THEIR
BEAUTIFUL DRESSES. GILBERT, HOW
DID THIS BEGIN? WELL, YOU KNOW,
9TH GRADE IS THE YEAR THAT KIDS
IN AND GETTING READY SO MANY
AND I SAW SOME GIRLS STUDENTS
AT THE CAFETERIA. I SAID ARE
YOU HAVING ONE? NO. I SAID WHY
?AND SHE SAID WELL WE CAN
AFFORD IT. I SAID YOU WANT ONE?
WE'LL PUT ONE TOGETHER FOR YOU.
AND THAT'S HOW WE STARTED TO
HELP THEM AND THE WHOLE
COMMUNITY HELPS I GET. I HAVE
TONS OF DRESSES AND THEN I TOLD
MY SON GILBERT GALVAN THE STORY
ABOUT IT AND HE INTRODUCED REID
TO AND HER HUSBAND AND
THE BALL STARTED ROLLING. AND
IT'S BEEN GREAT. IT'S KNOWN OUT
THROUGH THE WHOLE STATE OF
TEXAS AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO
HAVE ONE THIS BUT YOU KNOW
THE PANDEMIC WE COULDN'T. BUT
NEXT YEAR WE'RE GETTING READY
FOR IT. AND THAT GIRLS HAD
CHOSEN THEIR DRESS AS SOMEONE
TO SHARE SOMETHING WITH YOU.
AND THAT WAS AND I FEEL BAD
BECAUSE WE COULDN'T HAVE IT. SO
WILL MY LIBRARIAN MY COMMITTEE
SHE'S THE CHAIRMAN NOW AND SHE
SAID WHY DON'T WE DO KIDS
INDIANA SLASH SWEET 16. AND
THOSE GIRLS ARE CHOSEN DRESSES
CAN DO IT. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE
GOING TO TRY SOMETHING A LITTLE
DIFFERENT THIS YEAR BECAUSE
THEY HAD ALREADY CHOSEN THEIR
DRESS AND EVERYTHING AND IT WAS
CANCELED. BUT WE'RE WORKING ON
IT FOR NEXT YEAR ALREADY. THEY
CAN STILL TAKE GORGEOUS
PICTURES NO MATTER WHAT. AND
WE'RE WATCHING CLIPS FROM YOUR
FILM OUR KIDS AND YARA IS
THE NAME OF IT. TELL ME HOW
THIS CAME ABOUT. I MEAN WHAT
GOT YOU INVOLVED? WHY WERE YOU
SO PASSIONATE ABOUT PUTTING
THIS TOGETHER? WELL, GILBERT'S
SON IS VERY GOOD FRIENDS WITH
MY HUSBAND. NELSON MANDELA WAS
ONE PRODUCERS AND HE SAID,
LISTEN, I HAVE TO TELL THIS
STORY ABOUT MY FATHER. SO YOU
KNOW, I'VE DEDICATED MY ENTIRE
CAREER AS A FILMMAKER TO TELL
STORIES THAT UPLIFT
THE COMMUNITY AND THAT
TRANSFORM THE STEREOTYPES. AND
I JUST THOUGHT THIS IS SO
BEAUTIFUL WE HAVE TO DO IT AS
POSITIVE LED THE YOUTH. IT ALSO
EXPLORES THE ISSUES OF BEING AN
AMERICAN WHILE EMBRACING YOUR
ETHNICITY. AND IT'S ALSO
BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE I'M
ORIGINALLY FROM VENEZUELA. AND
I HAD A KEY SAID I WAS VERY
MODERN AND I WENT THROUGH OTHER
PEOPLE'S MENTAL ALL
THE COUNTRIES MOST COUNTRIES
AROUND THE LATIN AMERICAN AND
THE US OBSERVE THIS. SO IT'S
GREAT TO EXPLORE HOW IT'S
DIFFERENT IN EVERY COUNTRY AND
HOW WE CAN STILL EMBRACE OUR
ROOTS AND BE AMERICAN AND
THE CULTURE AND HAVING THE KIDS
AND YOU'RE SO SPECIAL TO
FAMILIES FOR PARENTS TO BE ABLE
TO DO THAT FOR THEIR KIDS. BUT
UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, YOU
CAN'T AFFORD IT ALL THE TIME.
NOT ALL FAMILIES CAN AFFORD IT.
SO THE FACT THAT GILBERT YOU
CAN DO THIS FOR SO MANY I MEAN
HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? WE
SEE THESE GIRLS WITH THESE HUGE
SMILES AND IT JUST MAKES ME
EMOTIONAL TO WATCH THAT. WELL,
I GOT SEVERAL PEOPLE INVOLVED
AND I GET DONATIONS FROM ALL
OVER THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY
WHICH WAS USED TO BE CALLED
THE MAGIC VALLEY. AND NOW WITH
WITH THIS CONTINUE TO GET
DONATIONS FROM THE WHOLE
COUNTRY. KARL, WE'RE GOING TO
SHIP YOUR ADDRESS. WHAT DO YOU
NEED? AND EVERYBODY COMES
TOGETHER THAT THE LOCAL
COMMUNITY, THE WHOLE RIO RANDI
VALLEY. AND IT'S BEEN AWESOME.
AND THEY MISS IT BECAUSE WE
DIDN'T HAVE IT THIS YEAR BUT
WE'RE WORKING ON IT AGAIN FOR
THIS COMING MAY. OH, IT'S GOING
TO BE BIG. NEXT YEAR I'M
BRINGING AND FINALLY TELL US
YOU KNOW, OF COURSE
THE IMPORTANCE OF PUTTING THIS
FILM TOGETHER TO SHARE
THE CULTURE. AND NOW AS YOU
HEARD FROM GILBERT, I MEAN
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY WILL
KNOW ABOUT WHAT HE'S BEEN DOING
.WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO
STILL CREATE THESE FILMS TO
SHOW YOUR CULTURE, SHOW WHAT
KISSINGER IS ALL ABOUT? YEAH,
IT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT BECAUSE
OF THE MOVIE NOW PEOPLE ALL
OVER THE COUNTRY ARE REACHING
OUT TO THE SCHOOL AND SENDING
DRESSES OR THEY SHOW UP AND
THEY WANT TO DO THEIR MAKEUP
FOR FREE. SO IT'S BECOME LIKE
THIS NATIONAL THING AND WE HOPE
THAT THIS TRADITION IS COPIED
IN OTHER SCHOOLS. YOU KNOW WE
LATINOS ARE THE LARGEST
MINORITY IN THIS COUNTRY YET
WE'RE THE MOST UNDERREPRESENTED
COMMUNITY ON TV AND FILM. AND
USUALLY IF YOU SEE US WE'RE
STEREO TYPES. YOU KNOW, I'M AN
ACTOR AND I'VE PLAYED THOSE
STEREOTYPES WAY TOO MANY TIMES
SO THAT'S WHY I DECIDED TO
START MY FILMS. WE SPENT
THE MOST MONEY ON MOVIES. WE
CONSUME A LOT OF MEDIA. AND I
THINK IT'S JUST FAIR THAT WE
SEE OURSELVES REPRESENTED AND
THAT OUR KIDS CAN SEE
THEMSELVES AND CAN SEE SOMEBODY
LIKE MR. ABOUT MONICA WAS A
REAL LIFE HERO AND NOT, YOU
KNOW, THE NEGATIVE STEREOTYPE
WE USUALLY SEE. THIS IS WHY WE
DO WHAT WE DO AMAZING WORK AND
IT LOOKS LIKE A BEAUTIFUL FILM.
I MEAN I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE EVEN
JUST CLIPS SUCH A TEASE. I WANT
TO SEE IT ALL BUT YOU CAN OUR
VIEWERS AT HOME RIGHT NOW WE'RE
WATCHING. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO
WATCH THIS TOMORROW AT THE SAN
DIEGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL AND
ACTUALLY AIRS AT 7 P.M. AND
THE WAY THEY'RE DOING IT THIS
YEAR YOU CAN SIGN UP, LOG ON
VIRTUALLY AND WATCH IT. THE SAN
DIEGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL WILL
LAST UNTIL THE TWENTY SEVENTH.
BUT YES, OUR KIDS SENIORA
AIRING TOMORROW 7:00 P.M..
THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING ON
WITH US. THANKS FOR HAVING US.
CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU.
NELSON AND GILBERT. AND WE'RE
GOING TO CONTINUE AND I EVEN
GOT AN OFFER THEY MIGHT COME
FROM ENGLAND TO COME AND FILM
IT. YOU LOVE IT. THAT'S GREAT.
IT