Film turns lens on Latino impact
By Aviva Altmann
May 9, 2004 9:00 p.m.
One-third of California’s population has been scheduled to
“disappear” on May 14.
UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center hosted a free
preview of “A Day Without a Mexican” on Friday. The
mockumentary film is directed by Sergio Arau, a former Mexican rock
star and cartoon artist.
“A Day Without a Mexican” illustrates the social,
political and economic devastation that hits the state of
California when its entire Latino population vanishes. Streets are
littered with trash, fresh fruits and vegetables become a rarity,
and white residents everywhere are forced to wash their own cars,
resulting in ultimate chaos.
Students and community members filled the James Bridges Theater
in Melnitz Hall to see the screening. After the showing, audience
members had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion
with the film’s director, screenwriter and senior research
consultant.
During the discussion, the panel addressed the controversy
surrounding the film and their intentions in making it.
The filmmakers said one goal of producing the satire is to force
Americans to deal with what they believe is the neglect of 32
million Latino residents.
“We need to make the invisible visible,” said Raul
Hinojosa-Ojeda, senior research film consultant and assistant
professor in the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social
Research.
Though the film will be released to audiences Tuesday, the
publicity for the movie has already provoked debate nationwide. A
billboard put up in Los Angeles on April 23 at noon offended
several passersby. Viacom was forced to take it down by 1:30 p.m.
the same day.
The film was created as a direct result of the passage of
California’s anti-illegal immigration Proposition 187, Arau
said.
The legislation, passed in 1994 and declared unconstitutional by
the state Supreme Court in 1998, denied health care and education
to illegal immigrants.
Not only did the creation of the act ignite the making of this
film, but it also put fear into the hearts of Latino immigrants,
who believed the government was effectively trying to make them
disappear, said Yareli Arizmendi, lead actress and screenwriter of
the film.
General audience reaction to the film was positive. During the
panel discussion, many spoke about how the film brought up issues
of neglect they had experienced firsthand. Most attendees believed
it was informational, funny and not offensive.
Hinojosa-Ojeda alluded to the film’s human principles, and
the connection they draw from the audience.
During the discussion, the panel referred to the film’s
Web site, which allows viewers to see the controversy the film has
incited.
The site gives a synopsis of the film and summarizes the issues
behind it, and also hosts a discussion board on which people have
posted different reactions to the film. Some praise the film, while
there are many racially charged insults flung between people of all
different ethnicities and backgrounds.
Producing the film and sparking discussion nationwide tells the
Latino population, “Yes, you do exist,” Arizmendi
said.
