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FRESNO– Screening of Adios Amor: The Search for Maria Moreno with Q&A with Filmmaker Laurie Coyle and Gilbert Padilla, Subject of Film
May 10, 2019 @ 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Free
Maria Moreno. Photo Credit: George Ballis/Take Stock Images of Change FRESNO–Arte Américas, CineCulture (CSU Fresno), and California Humanities present a screening of California Humanities-supported documentary film ADIOS AMOR: THE SEARCH FOR MARIA MORENO at California State University, Fresno. See Cine Culture CSU Fresno webpage for more information. Screening followed by a discussion with Laurie Coyle (Director/Producer) and Gilbert Padilla (featured interviewee) May 10, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Peters Education Center Auditorium (West of Save-Mark Center in the Student Recreation Center Building) California State University Fresno, 5241 N Maple Ave, Fresno, CA 93740 Synopsis: Before Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, there was Maria Moreno. In ADIOS AMOR, the discovery of forgotten photographs taken more than fifty years ago sparks the search for an unsung hero: Maria Moreno, a migrant mother who sacrificed everything but her twelve kids in the passionate pursuit of justice for farmworkers. Haunted by a personal tragedy and blessed with a gift for oratory, Maria rolled up her sleeves, collected signatures, and electrified audiences. Elected by her fellow Mexican American, Filipino, Black and Okie farmworkers to represent them, Maria became the first farm worker woman in America to be hired as a union organizer. Her charisma drew crowds, but her independence got her into trouble with her labor bosses, who fired her for her outspokenness. Were it not for the maverick photographers and journalists who captured her story, Maria’s trailblazing legacy might have been lost. The search for Maria guides this documentary, where ghosts fade in and out and magic underpins a rawboned reality. In the end, whose stories get told may hinge on memories, coincidence and—in Maria’s case—an insistence on pursuing a path that touches the lives of others. From California’s great Central Valley, to the Arizona desert and US-Mexico border, the journey yields buried treasure…and stories told with passion and humor. A deeply human drama also comes to life, of Mexican American farmworkers living in dire poverty at a time of unprecedented abundance, whose faith, family values, and working class culture sustained them. ADIOS AMOR-THE SEARCH FOR MARIA MORENO pays tribute to the people whose hard work feeds the nation, and celebrates the courageous woman who told their story to the world. For more information, contact: Dr. Mary Husain (Instructor & Club Adviser) at mhusain@csufresno.edu Co-Sponsors: College of Arts and Humanities, Arte Américas, California Humanities, El Concilio de Fresno, Radio Bilingüe, and Valley Public History Initiative CineCulture is a film series provided as a service to Fresno State campus students, faculty, and staff, and community. CineCulture is also offered as a 3 unit academic course (MCJ 179) in the Media, Communications and Journalism Department. CineCulture fulfills General Education Integration Area Multicultural International (MI). For students entering Fresno State Fall 2018, the course satisfies a university graduation requirement. 
This screening is in association with the CAMINOS Exhibition at ARTE AMERICAS On View Thursdays- Sundays: March 3 – June 30, 2019 1630 Van Ness Ave, Fresno, CA 93721 Arte Américas returns with its first exhibit of 2019, CAMINOS (translated as roads or paths). The exhibit presents the history of the Central Valley’s Latino community, told as a journey. The exhibit is comprised of various forms based on interviews, photographs, posters, and maps—many from community participants. The story is pieced together against a historical framework developed by a team of researchers, community scholars and student interns, led by historian Dr. Alex Saragoza, professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, and a native of Madera, California. CAMINOS follows the paths that brought people to the valley, primarily from Mexico, and their diverse experiences over time and generations. The narrative takes into consideration international, national, and local events and their impacts on the formation of the Latino community. For example, the exhibit underscores the ways in which anti-immigrant legislation against the Chinese, Japanese, and southern and eastern Europeans contributed importantly toward the recruitment of Mexican farm labor as agricultural production increased at the turn of the twentieth century, especially during WWI and the boom that followed through most of the 1920s. As a result, many Mexicans settled in the valley, establishing a network that would facilitate further migration from their erstwhile homeland. The exhibit begins in 1772 with the first Spanish explorations through the valley and then turns toward the Mexican (1821-1848) and Early American (1848-1900) periods that witnessed the economic transformation of the valley and attracted so many groups from the eastern and southern parts of the U.S. as well as immigrants from Asia, Europe, and eventually from Mexico in particular. Subsequently, in a series of chronologically arranged intervals, the exhibit takes the story to the present. The narrative highlights the development of a community bound by language and culture whose integration—however fitful and uneven—has enriched valley life. The story is one of change, resilience, and resistance, from the struggles of the Great Depression years and the civil rights era to the achievements of Latina entrepreneurs and the brave service of Latino soldiers. Some information may be scarcely known facts, such as the “Fiesta” put on by the KKK in the 1920s at the Fresno Fair grounds, while in the same year the Mexican community celebrated their own “Fiestas Patrias.” Or that in 1960 only about a dozen Mexican origin students graduated from Fresno State College, but by 2018 over a thousand received degrees at Chicano Commencement at CSUF. This is Arte Américas’ first foray into historical representation, still utilizing the creativity of its artistic community to tell the story. The project began with an initial seed grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and then matched with a grant from the California Council for the Humanities. A team gathered from scholars, college interns and volunteers took on the project throughout 2018 with the indispensable aid from librarians and museum curators from Madera, Fresno and Tulare counties. California State University, Fresno, and the State Center Community College District came on board with sponsorships and student assistance. Additional organizations, businesses and individuals also are contributing to the realization of the project. The exhibit represents an initial phase of a larger collection documenting the community’s history, the culmination of the collective work to date. Arte Américas opens its center again for the CAMINOS exhibit on Sunday, March 3, through June 30, 2019. Regular hours are 11:00 am – 4:00 pm Thursdays through Saturdays and 1:00 – 5:00 pm on Sundays (with Guided Tours from 1:00 – 2:00 pm on Sundays) Admission is free with the support of our sponsors, though donations are welcome to support programming related to the exhibit. Fee-supported guided tours are available. In addition to regular hours, Arte Américas will be presenting weekly Sunday programs of discussions and films beginning March 17 and continuing throughout the run of the exhibit. Additional Public Programming includes: Check https://www.facebook.com/arteamericas/ for time and locations.
This screening is in association with the CAMINOS Exhibition at ARTE AMERICAS On View Thursdays- Sundays: March 3 – June 30, 2019 1630 Van Ness Ave, Fresno, CA 93721 Arte Américas returns with its first exhibit of 2019, CAMINOS (translated as roads or paths). The exhibit presents the history of the Central Valley’s Latino community, told as a journey. The exhibit is comprised of various forms based on interviews, photographs, posters, and maps—many from community participants. The story is pieced together against a historical framework developed by a team of researchers, community scholars and student interns, led by historian Dr. Alex Saragoza, professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, and a native of Madera, California. CAMINOS follows the paths that brought people to the valley, primarily from Mexico, and their diverse experiences over time and generations. The narrative takes into consideration international, national, and local events and their impacts on the formation of the Latino community. For example, the exhibit underscores the ways in which anti-immigrant legislation against the Chinese, Japanese, and southern and eastern Europeans contributed importantly toward the recruitment of Mexican farm labor as agricultural production increased at the turn of the twentieth century, especially during WWI and the boom that followed through most of the 1920s. As a result, many Mexicans settled in the valley, establishing a network that would facilitate further migration from their erstwhile homeland. The exhibit begins in 1772 with the first Spanish explorations through the valley and then turns toward the Mexican (1821-1848) and Early American (1848-1900) periods that witnessed the economic transformation of the valley and attracted so many groups from the eastern and southern parts of the U.S. as well as immigrants from Asia, Europe, and eventually from Mexico in particular. Subsequently, in a series of chronologically arranged intervals, the exhibit takes the story to the present. The narrative highlights the development of a community bound by language and culture whose integration—however fitful and uneven—has enriched valley life. The story is one of change, resilience, and resistance, from the struggles of the Great Depression years and the civil rights era to the achievements of Latina entrepreneurs and the brave service of Latino soldiers. Some information may be scarcely known facts, such as the “Fiesta” put on by the KKK in the 1920s at the Fresno Fair grounds, while in the same year the Mexican community celebrated their own “Fiestas Patrias.” Or that in 1960 only about a dozen Mexican origin students graduated from Fresno State College, but by 2018 over a thousand received degrees at Chicano Commencement at CSUF. This is Arte Américas’ first foray into historical representation, still utilizing the creativity of its artistic community to tell the story. The project began with an initial seed grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and then matched with a grant from the California Council for the Humanities. A team gathered from scholars, college interns and volunteers took on the project throughout 2018 with the indispensable aid from librarians and museum curators from Madera, Fresno and Tulare counties. California State University, Fresno, and the State Center Community College District came on board with sponsorships and student assistance. Additional organizations, businesses and individuals also are contributing to the realization of the project. The exhibit represents an initial phase of a larger collection documenting the community’s history, the culmination of the collective work to date. Arte Américas opens its center again for the CAMINOS exhibit on Sunday, March 3, through June 30, 2019. Regular hours are 11:00 am – 4:00 pm Thursdays through Saturdays and 1:00 – 5:00 pm on Sundays (with Guided Tours from 1:00 – 2:00 pm on Sundays) Admission is free with the support of our sponsors, though donations are welcome to support programming related to the exhibit. Fee-supported guided tours are available. In addition to regular hours, Arte Américas will be presenting weekly Sunday programs of discussions and films beginning March 17 and continuing throughout the run of the exhibit. Additional Public Programming includes: Check https://www.facebook.com/arteamericas/ for time and locations. 
