Carlos Santana

Tito Puente

El Vez, the Mexican Elvis

Perfomance Artist Roberto Sifuentes

Hopping Competition, Midwest Lowriders

Jennifer Bracamontes graduates from Garfield High School

Americans of Latino and Hispanic descent are transforming the face of America with bold strokes. They are now the largest minority group in the United States. Throughout the history of this country, Latinos have made enormous contributions to our national heritage in the arts, politics, business, education, science and religion. Americanos celebrates this remarkable legacy, through the stories of some of the most engaging Latino-Americans alive today

Directed by the Oscar® nominated team of Susan Todd and Andrew Young (Children of Fate) and produced by actor and activist Edward James Olmos and Nick Athas, Americanos reflects the dynamic spirit of Latino-Americans as we enter the 21st century. The film explores the diversity of Latinos --from a Mexican-American Elvis impersonator, to the first hispanic woman in the President's cabinet.--and along the way, explodes the stereotypes. Shot in dozens of locations across the country, Americanos is infused with the music of Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz, Lhasa and other Latino luminaries. Humorous yet wise, this soul-stirring film chronicles a people whose time has come.

Latinos and hispanics --terms which spark a lively debate-- have always been part of America. Most come from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba, with others from Central and South America and the Caribbean. While being from completely different cultures, they share a common language, Spanish, and strong respect for family and community. In an early scene, we visit a celebration of the 400th anniversary of a Spanish conquistador's arrival in New Mexico. We meet Dennis Chavez, who traces his ancestry to the blending of Spanish settlers and Native Americans, long before the pilgrims settled New England.

Over the centuries successive waves of Latino immigrants, like other immigrant groups, invigorated the country with new energy. As Dr.Joe Greer, a Cuban-American, says "we brought rhythm, we brought a beat, we brought soul." Yet Latino Americans continue to face racism and negative stereotypes. Aida Alvarez, the head of the Small Business Administration, reminds us that historically "hispanics were kept out."

With a blend of African, Cuban, and American influences, the music of Carlos Santana has transcended both cultural boundaries and generations. In Americanos, we see him performing in concert and at a ceremony adding his name to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Santana says he thinks of his daughters when he plays, noting that "nothing is more powerful than innocence and purity." And having been the victim of racism he reminds us that, "It's not black or white-it's how deep or how shallow you are."

El Vez is much more then an Elvis impersonator. Called the "Mexican Elvis," he uses this persona to explore his own experience as a Chicano-American. El Vez borrows Elvis tunes and writes witty, new lyrics about Chicano identity and the struggle for acceptance in white America. As he cruises the interstate from show to show, El Vez reflects that "Latinos are everywhere," and they're shaking things up.

Americanos journeys into the heartland to Dixon, Illinois, the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. It's also the site of the 17th annual Midwest Low-Riders Celebration of Culture. Hundreds of low riding vehicles with souped-up hydraulics, meticulously painted, descend on this small Midwestern town. "It makes you feel connected to art, to culture, to pride," says one of the organizers, Victor Montanez. Fighting the debilitating notion that anytime Latinos get together it's automatically considered a gang, Victor declares that "we may lower our rides, but we're not going to lower our ambitions and we're going to do it on our own terms."

There are many Americans who feel that the future of the country is threatened by growing numbers of Latino-Americans. In Calexico, California, border patrol Agent Garvey helps apprehend up to 800 illegal aliens a day who try to cross into the U.S. from Mexicali, Mexico. Under the cover of night we see people breaking through border fences and hiding out in wheat fields. Garvey, who is a Mexican immigrant herself, says, "They're not bad people, they're just trying to find better way of life" but adds, "This is my country now and I will do whatever they ask of me to protect it."

Performance artists Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Roberto Sifuentes attack the misconceptions about Latinos that persist in our culture, employing a gallery of props, humor and stagecraft. Refering to society's fears about Latinos streaming across the border, Sifuentes reflects that today, "the evil other is the immigrant." In their performances they exaggerate Latino stereotypes, poking fun at their characters as instigators of drug use, violence and cultural loss. Their aim is to make their audience feel what it is like "to be the 'other'," and show how ridiculous these stereotypes are.

Dr. Joe Greer, a jovial Cuban-American physician, has dedicated his life to care for the homeless and poor at Camillus House, a shelter in Miami. He recalls once when someone called him a spic. "I thought it meant like Spic 'n' Span...my mother told me I should feel sorry for the person who said it because they didn't know any better." Greer now strives to create better understanding for all human beings.

The Rincon Criollo casita is a Puerto Rican social center and garden built on an abandoned lot in the South Bronx. The casita is an oasis where neighbors join together in spirited drumming of traditional Bomba music. Learning that the casita might be bulldozed to make room for real estate development, Luis Ramos and other leaders stage a benefit party, joined by Tito Puente in the effort to maintain their heritage.

Also featured in the film are Mariposa, a Puerto Rican poet, whose work deals with being Puerto Rican in America today; Jennifer Bracamontes, an honor student at Garfield High School in East LA, who is heading for Harvard University; Tere Zubizarreta, who runs one of the most successful advertising agencies serving the Latino community; and a Memorial Day service at a parish church in Chicago that had more members die in Vietnam then any other church in the country.

Americanos is a wake up call to our country that Latinos are Americans in the truest sense of the word. They are an integral part of what gives the United States its vibrancy. As Dr. Greer points out in the film's conclusion, "The fear is of something different. The real excitement should be, it's going to get better.