VOCES on SDPB (Voices on SDPB)

Building the American Dream SDPB1: Tuesday, September 15, 9pm (8 MT)

In Texas, the site of a massive construction boom heralded as the “Texas Miracle” has dirty secret: the abuse of immigrant workers. This film captures the rise of a workers’ movement, fighting widespread construction industry injustices – from non-payment of wages to deadly work conditions. Grieving their son who died a heatrelated death on a construction site, the Granillo family campaigns for a much-needed safety law that would allow workers 10-minute breaks for every four hours of labor. Claudia and Alex, a Salvadoran couple, are skilled electricians owed thousands in back pay who fight for their children’s future. And Christian, a bereaved son, hopes to protect others from his family’s preventable tragedy. Through their stories of courage, resilience and community, the film reveals eye-opening truths about the hardworking immigrants who build our American Dream.

Latino Americans SDPB2: Monday, September 26, 6pm (5 MT)

Explore the history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape North America over the last 500- plus years and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S. The changing and yet repeating context of American history provides a backdrop for the drama of individual lives. It is a story of immigration and redemption, of anguish and celebration, of the gradual construction of a new American identity that connects and empowers millions of people today.

Our American Family: The Barreras SDPB2: Tuesday, September 22, 8:30pm (7:30 MT)

Life in the remote companyowned town of Madrid, New Mexico in the 1920s and ’30s was a mixture of hard, dangerous work offset by the joy of baseball and celebrations. Our American Family: The Barreras tell the extraordinary story of a Latino American family with an unwavering commitment to staying together.

Children of Giant SDPB2: Saturday, September 26, 7pm & 11pm (6 & 10 MT)

In the summer of 1955, it seemed as if all of Hollywood had descended on the dusty West Texas town of Marfa as production began on the highly anticipated movie Giant. The film starred a legendary trio — Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean — along with actor Earl Holliman and 16-year-old Elsa Cardenas, who portrayed Juana, the MexicanAmerican girl who marries into the powerful Benedict ranching dynasty. Based on Edna Ferber’s novel, Giant was a different kind of western, one that took an unflinching look at feminism and class divisions and one of the first films to explore the racial divide between Anglos and Mexican Americans in the Southwest.

Now, 60 years later, Children of Giant returns to Marfa to explore the dramatic story behind the making of the film and its enduring legacy.