Eyewitness: A Filmmaker's Memoir of the Chicano Movement (Hispanic Civil Rights

by Jesús Salvador Treviño

Please refer to the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage section for Black Cuban, Black American, by Evelio Grillo and the Pinata Books section for Julian My Mexican-American by Julian Nava and Cesar A Struggle for Justice I Cesar Chavez; La lucha por la justicia, by Richard Griswold del Castillo.

380 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kim Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

While researching the Chicano movement of the late 1960s/early 1970s, I found my way to this book. Trevino's voice struck me as being confident but not cocky; calm but not passive; and above all intelligent. He recounts how he became involved in the movement - in the beginning, he did not see how it related to him. And as he began to understand how hard he had tried not to seem Mexican, and how ashamed he had been made to feel of being of Mexican descent, he found himself drawn to the movement, as a participant, but also as an observer. Trevino was a seminal filmmaker, working for public television and producing documentaries, and through his work he shares his understanding of Chicano politics. But his story, ultimately, is personal; he is very honest about his torn feelings toward his white stepfather, his relationship with his wife, and his sometimes contradictory feelings about the movement. I'm sad that many of the episodes of Ahora! that he produced for local public television are lost (back then, film was expensive and it was often re-used). But I do plan to track down his PBS series: Chicano! Though I think I need to also track down a videocassette player, since my library doesn't have this on DVD. For those interested in the Chicano movement, this book is definitely worth reading.

[Charles Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you watch television very much, you've seen Trevino's work. He did episodes on "Bones,", I think "Criminal Minds," and others, I think "Babylon 5," he documented the Chicano Movement in Southern California at the time. He's a great guy, very good writer, and fellow alumnus of Occidental College, 1968. In one of those 'too good to be true,' things that is true, I wrote a book, "Two Years at Occidental College in the Late Sixties," that parallels in time some of Trevino's book, "Eyewitness." After graduation, I went to work in downtown Los Angeles and Trevino went on to document history. So, look at Trevino's record on IMdb on the internet, read this book, and check his other books on Goodreads.

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish their were more people with his ethics