California Documentary Project
Chicano Rock!:
Rock ‘n’ Roll and Latino Identity in California
Historical Society of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles
Project Director: Jon Wilkman
Chicano rock ‘n’ roll and its role in defining the Latino Community
This 90-minute documentary tells the story of Chicano Rock ‘n’ roll and how it defined – and continues to define – the Latino community in East Los Angeles.
“From Ritchie Valens to Los Lobos and beyond, we'll tell the story of kids from East Los Angeles who struggled to find a musical identity of their own, and succeeded,” said filmmaker Jon Wilkman. Wilkman’s work has been honored with numerous awards, including three television Emmys. He and his wife, Nancy, are partners in Wilkman Productions, a documentary production company.
“The roots of Chicano rock ‘n’ roll can be traced to traditional barrios throughout the American Southwest, but most importantly, to the streets and neighborhoods of East Los Angeles, Wilkman said. “Kids from local schools, such as Garfield and Roosevelt High met, played music and began a musical dialogue with an emerging rock ‘n’ roll tradition.
“Chicano rock ‘n’ roll is the sound of generation after generation, listening and absorbing, reacting and responding, searching for an finding an identity with music.
“Chicano Rock! is a major untold California – and American – story,” Wilkman added. “What we want to accomplish with this film is to convey the on-going interaction between art and social change through the words and experiences of members of the Chicano East Los Angeles community.”
Chicano Rock will be broadcast nationally on PBS. It will also be available in DVD format for use in schools. Wilkman said that a curriculum exploring the Mexican American experience through music has already been developed.