Latino artists across the United States take center stage in VISIONES: LATINO ART AND CULTURE, a groundbreaking six-part television series airing on PBS Sundays, September 5-October 10, 2004. Viewers experience the world of Latino artistic expression as the series journeys throughout the country, capturing rich stories about theater, music, dance, spoken word and the visual arts. From New York City's hip hop culture to mural painters in Los Angeles and Chicago to theater in Texas, the series offers a unique cross section of Latino artists working today. VISIONES: LATINO ART AND CULTURE is the first PBS series to focus exclusively on Latino artistic expression in the United States. Through storytelling and vivid imagery, the fast-paced and entertaining series leads the viewer to understand the origins of Latino art and culture. It also depicts the struggles and victories of the artists as part of their artistic interpretation. Additionally, it examines the nation's diverse Latino communities and how they were able to keep their artistic expressions alive while creating new and unique visions that contribute to art in America. The series incorporates extraordinary archive material to give historical depth to the ongoing work created by a new generation of Latino artists. Each episode presents six to seven stories designed to electrify viewers with their sheer creative energy. Independent Latino producers based in cities throughout the country contributed story-driven segments, bringing a fresh, innovative film style that captures today's Latino art scene. "VISIONES is about awareness, about acknowledging the pivotal role Latino artistic expression has played and continues to play in shaping the U.S. cultural landscape," comments series executive producer and director Hector Galan. The six episodes cover topics and artists such as the Latino Mural Movement of the 1960s, Nuyorican spoken word, Miriam Colon and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Company (PRTT) of New York, the Santero art tradition of New Mexico, Luis Valdez and the legendary Teatro Campesino, performance artists, Latino hip hop dance and culture, the variety of music styles in Miami, Latino poetry, dancer Rudy Perez, the first Mexican-American Prima Ballerina Evelyn Cisneros and much, much more. Hector Galan has produced documentaries for PBS for more than 20 years, including the award-winning four-hour public television series CHICANO! HISTORY OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (1996). He has produced 11 episodes of the award-winning series FRONTLINE and two films for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, "Los Mineros" and "The Hunt for Pancho Villa," an Imagen Award and Cine Golden Eagle Award-winner. Other specials include SONGS OF THE HOMELAND (1995), a journey into the heart and soul of Tejano music and its reflection of Mexican-American history and culture; THE FORGOTTEN AMERICANS (2000), a day in the life of America's poorest people along the U.S./Mexico border; and ACCORDION DREAMS (2001), a documentary that examines the arrival of the European button accordion to Texas and its merging with traditional Mexican songs, giving birth to a whole new American music genre.
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