“A Product of the Chicano Movement” Dr. Virgilio Licona, MD
When director and founder of Down to Earth Media Rick Vigil set out to make a series of documentaries based on health, education, business and arts, he did not have any specific subject in mind. As fate would have it, the man he went for to help him seek a subject possessed all the qualities he was looking for in a subject.
“It happened that Dr. Licona fit everything I was looking for,” Vigil said. “Somebody that was in the [Chicano] movement, somebody that went back to the community, somebody who was doing health care. It’s funny how that just came to be.”
Dr. Virgilio Licona was a Chicano activist and a health care professional that focused on giving back to his community. The documentary “A Product of the Chicano Movement” focuses on Licona’s contributions to the community health center movement from the early 1970s to the present. The documentary, however, is not a typical documentary as it was also made with the intent to be remembered and studied.
“The whole point was that this piece was not going to just be a documentary, but it was going to be a documentary in the sense that we were going to do modules, that we were also going to include a curriculum and study guides that teachers can use in the classroom.”
The individual in charge of creating the study guide for “A Product of the Chicano Movement” was Antonio Esquibel, emeritus professor of Spanish, Metropolitan State College of Denver and a well-known Chicano activist who stood alongside Corky Gonzales during Colorado’s Chicano movement.
“We tried to put together a video that would be directed towards several audiences,” Esquibel said. “One of them is students that want to get into the medical field and the other is for people who are interested in the Chicano movement. Dr. Licona was a product of the Chicano movement.”
Indeed Dr. Licona, who earned his Doctorate in Mexico before obtaining his licens
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"A Place of Miracles" Film Trailer
Almost 90 years to the day, the Our of Lady Guadalupe church experienced an electrical fire on the eve of Ash Wednesday, February 9, 2016. The majority of the church survived, but much of the art and building were heavily damaged by smoke. The Our of Lady of Guadalupe Church is part of the oldest Catholic parish in the San Luis Valley, located in Southern Colorado. The present church dates to 1927/48. The original structure was an adobe church built in 1863 that partially burned down on February 17, 1926, and was rebuilt and added onto in 1927, using some of the original facades that survived the fire. In 1948, it underwent further renovations and reconstruction of a new front and bell towers. The church serves a heavily Hispano or Neuvomexicano parish that had long-standing ties to the Spanish settlement of the San Luis Valley beginning in the late 1840s-early 1850s. Hispano brought with them traditions that had developed over two centuries of Spanish and Mexican control of the Southwest. These Spanish-speaking settlers primarily resided in New Mexico and the southern part of Colorado. Hispanos identify strongly with their Spanish heritage and varying levels of Native American ancestry.
The 2016 fire caused an estimated $500,000 total loss and fueled much preservation and restoration work on the damaged art and statues. The painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe located right above the altar and the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary located outside in an enclave were two pieces that received significant restoration. In both restoration processes, the conservators from Colorado Art Restoration Services retained most of the original materials and paint. The goal was to restore them as close to the originals as possible, and the conservators also took steps to ensure the permanence of each of the art pieces. Rev. Sergio Robles, C.R., the current parish administrator, understands the importance of this church in Conejos county and the need to preserve it. This church i
"My Hometown" Produced by Rick Vigil
La Misión de San Miguel: St. Michael from the Mountain
Spirituality and Its People (Penitentes)
