Our first event was presenting the short film "First Time Home."  It is a Powerful film! The creators are four Mixteco teens: Esmirna Librado, Noemi Librado Sanchez, Esmeralda Ventura, y Heriberto Ventura.  Also joined us was the producer, Seth Jones. 

At the end of the short film, We had about 30 minutes for questions to the film's creators and producers.

When they learn their grandfather is ill, four cousins travel from their Triqui immigrant community in California to their ancestral village in Mexico for the first time. The teens record videos to share with their family members, who are farmworkers in the United States. Through a mixture of Spanish, Triqui, and English, they get to know their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The cousins forge a link across thousands of miles, with a newfound pride in their Indigenous identity.

https://www.firsttimehomefilm.com/

FIRST TIME HOME is a film directed and shot by young people who are Indigenous Triqui, second-generation immigrants: Noemi Librado Sanchez, Heriberto Ventura, Esmirna Librado, and Esmeralda Ventura. This is their story, told as they wish to tell it. When the four cousins learned their grandfather in Mexico was gravely ill, they traveled from their immigrant community in California to their family's ancestral village in Oaxaca for the first time. The teenagers recorded video letters to share with their parents and other relatives in the U.S., who are farm workers and have not seen their relatives in Mexico in over 15 years. Through a mixture of Spanish, Triqui, and English, they got to know their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. In the midst of border politics and violence, the group of cousins forged a link across thousands of miles, developing a newfound pride in their indigenous immigrant identity and a new understanding of the meaning of family.