chicanosontv

    I was just yahooing and googling Chicanos on TV and I came across this interesting website about Independent Latino Films and Videos, Subcine.  This is a great idea and response to the No Chicanos on TV or No Chicanos in Hollywood problem.

Frank R. Castillo  ©   2008

    Aside from No Chicanos on TV, there are virtually no Chicanos in Hollywood too. Let’s face it how many Chicano / Latino movies come out each year? You can count them in one hand. And about 1/2 of them are in Spanish or made in Mexico. Not to put that down but my point is that they are not being made in Hollywood.
    Yet how many Anglo movies come out?  Probably about 3 or more each week.  Again just like on TV, don’t we count? Aren’t our lives or stories as interesting as the general mainstream?  Where are our stories being told?  Not on TV or in Hollywood!  Most of the stories don’t even have a Latino in the storyline. (If it wasn’t for the Jessica Albas or the Cameron Diazs, we would almost be invisible.)

Frank R. Castillo ©   2008

http://members.fortunecity.com/cordula/mag/special1.html

or  for more recent info and updates:

http://www.hispanicmpr.com/2005/03/29/national-association-of-hispanic-journalists-nahj-network-brownout-2004-report/

Frank R. Castillo  ©  2008

    Last summer, Channel 7 cancelled The George Lopez Show and replaced it with a show about cavemen.  (Imagine that!  Cavemen are more important than Chicanos on TV!)  Thank God the show was cancelled. As for me I personally was going to boycott this show just because Channel 7 had chosen to replace it with this show.
    About the only Chicano on TV was the George Lopez Show. Sure some people didn’t like it. Sure some Latinos didn’t like it. But when have we ever agreed on anything. Take for example, if you ask a Latino what is their favorite food, song or car, you will discover a great variety. If you ask about their favorite book or movie again there will be no consensus.
    That’s ok. It’s called diversity or choices. (If you ask Anglos, blacks or Asians the same questions, you’ll most likely get the same results.) If you ask within the same family, you’ll probably get the same results.  But if you ask, “Would you rather have The George Lopez Show on TV or not?  You will get a different response. Or if you ask, “Was the George Lopez Show a Chicanos on TV show? Most will answer, “Yes.”  If you ask Latinos do they want to see more Chicanos on TV, most will say, “Yes.” If you ask most people if the George Lopez Show is part of the problem or the solution, most will say, “the solution.”  If you ask any of them to name the Chicanos on TV shows or stars, there will be few to name.  We are not that dumb. 

Check out George Lopez’s comments and other people’s comments on Channel 7’s cancelling his show.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/15/george-lopez-blasts-abc-for-cancelling-his-show/3

Read more of George Lopez’s comments:  “TV Just Got Whiter”

http://www.boxden.com/slumz/archive/index.php/t-909939.html
 
Frank R. Castillo  ©   2008

     “I think that I shall never see, any Chicanos on TV.
Huggies has their three babies: black and white and Japanese.
Chicano babies also pee, but you don’t see them on TV.” 

                 Song by Lalo Guerrero, “Chicanos on TV“

     He is the only musician to write about this issue of “No Chicanos on TV.”  In a sad a prophetic way he was right.  He never got to see Chicanos on TV since he died in 2005 and there still were no Chicanos on TV.  (Well maybe the George Lopez show, but no Chicanos on TV in great numbers.)

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¿Quién es Lalo Guerrero? El Señor mismo Chicanos en la TV

       “Pienso que nunca veré, cualquier Chicanos en la TV.
Huggies tiene sus tres bebés: blanco y negro y japonés.
Los bebés Chicano también hacen se mean,
pero usted no los ve en la TV.”

                    Canción de Lalo Guerrero, “Chicanos en la TV”

      Él es el único músico que ha escrito sobre este tema “ningunos Chicanos en la TV.” En  una manera triste y profética él tenía razón.  Él nunca consiguió ver a Chicanos en la TV puesto que él murió en 2005 y todavía no había Chicanos en la TV.  (Bien quizá el único ejemplo fue el Show de George Lopez, pero ningunos Chicanos en la TV en grandes números.)    Descubra más sobre el número 1 músico Chicano: Lalo Guerrero

Find out more about The Number 1 Chicano Musician: Lalo Guerrero

http://www.originalchicano.com/Story.htm

Frank R. Castillo © 2008

Frank R. Castillo  © 2008

Frank R. Castillo  © 2008

    Make no mistake about it (equal access to TV) Chicanos on TV is just as much a civil rights issue as equal access to education (segregation era), housing, public transportation, swimming pools, theatres, racial intermarriages, baseball, the military etc. that we and Black people and people of color have had to overcome.  In fact this is a new civil rights issue - the ability for Chicanos, Afro-Americans, Navitive Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders and others to be on TV, behind the cameras, etc. since we are members of American society.  Our stories need to be told. We need to see ourselves and have our children and neighbors see our stories and their stories on TV too.

    Similarly, most people both those affected, minorities, and those perpetuating the harm are blind to their actions. Very few can ’see’ what is going on. It is only later, that most people and history will vindicate the errors.  Then, we will have holidays and heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez.

Frank R. Castillo   ©   2008