Latinx Heritage Month
Latinx Heritage Month (also called Hispanic Heritage Month) is from September 15-October 15. This is an opportunity to learn and reflect on Latinx & Hispanic cultures, languages, traditions, and forms of resistance.
The U Turn, the third documentary of Luis Arugueta’s immigration trilogy, tells the story of a group of Guatemalan immigrant women who broke the silence about abuses committed against them at the Agriprocessors, Inc. plant in Postville, Iowa. These women are precursors of the #MeToo movement, and were supported by the U Visa, part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA 2000) created to protect unauthorized immigrant victims of crimes of violence.
Vida Diferida (Life, Deferred) by Brenda Avila-Hanna, tells the story of Vanessa, a teenager born in Mexico who has lived in the US since she was six years old. This film highlights the uncertainties haunting undocumented youth and their families in the United States, including the promise that DACA has offered to students like Vanessa, and the fears that come with increasingly harsh immigration policies.
Our Disappeared / Nuestros Desaparacidos begins its story when filmmaker Juan Mandelbaum learns that a long-lost girlfriend from Argentina is among the thousands who were kidnapped, tortured and “disappeared” during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. Juan documented his journey to find out what happened to Patricia and others he knew who disappeared, including the stories of parents, siblings, friends and children, and his own reflections on the losses endured by generations of Argentinos.
You can find these and more in New Day’s collection of Latinx Studies films.