So this post, which is the first post in many, many months, attempts at returning to blogging, and long, fruitless writing sessions which were later scrapped. This post also has … Continue reading A Waterbottle Full of Stickers/A Life Lived, Met, and Ready to be Revealed/The Slow Process of God/The Hero Returns
So, here’s a movie trailer, for a movie called Desierto.
It’s being directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and stars Gael García Bernal as “a father crossing into the United States to reunite with his son.”
Now, I don’t yet know how to feel about it. Cuarón has previously directed Gravity, Y Tu Mamá También, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and though I wasn’t fully thrilled with Gravity (I believe when I watched it, and it probably exists in text messages between Brielle and me, I called it “the greatest, most expensive deodorant commercial ever made”), it was still visually striking and very well directed. The other two movies are also both amazing, for very different reasons, though the directing has been consistently top notch.
I’m also a big fan of García Bernal, and all of the awesome work he’s been a part of, including Amazon Prime’s Mozart in the Jungle, which got it’s second season released about a week ago. It’s wonderful to see people that looks like me, in a lot of ways, finding great success in the entertainment industry. But the concept of the movie is what I find a big unnerving?
So many people have opinions on the subject of immigration, and I don’t want a movie to be but a simple response to the opinions that differ from our own. I also feel that, though I personally don’t like the idea of minute men, this movie might seem to demonize them. It also seems like it’s taking a topic that’s very real, and very personal, and attempting to make a sort of horror/thriller out of it.
Of course, we’re talking about just a trailer, and this trailer is about as much as I actually know about the movie, but I guess I just don’t want this movie to get too caught up in the story telling, to the point that it doesn’t reflect a reality that many people experience, without at least giving us a sense that these are real issues. It’s very easy in comedy to push things to extremes, which is why satire can be a very useful tool to open up opportunities for dialogue. But horror/thrillers can be a trickier route to navigate.
I hope that Cuarón and García Bernal do a fantastic job, because I look up to both of them, and I especially appreciate them creating a story that speaks more so to my own experience than necessarily a Gravity, a Harry Potter, or even a Mozart in the Jungle. I hope that this movie opens up great opportunities for dialogue and social action, and also a route to more Latino Filmmakers and Actors and such making more films and television shows and such that speak to the experiences of Latinos in this country, more so than just a story about the border, though the Latino side of this story is definitely one that needs to be told.
Peace!…
As much as the Jesuits have educated me, and have influenced my way of thinking, and interacting with the world as a whole, it really wasn’t until last year that I found a model within the Jesuits that I could really relate to.
I mean, yes, St. Ignatius’ story of redemption, and then spiritual contemplativeness in action is a great “comeback story” of sorts, but I never trained as a soldier. I’m a farm boy. I also don’t know much about mischief and women and being a gallant and courtier. The closest I come to that is a one off romance that hardly survived into college.
St. Francis Xavier was too bent on missionary work, and inculturation, which I can respect, I feel doesn’t really fit my own missions and apostolates. No, I don’t see myself traveling to India, then Japan, and then (trying to enter) China, all under different guises to relate to people, and then to begin preaching the Gospel. I do respect his attempt at preaching the Gospel in these ways, and I do see myself as a missionary in a strange culture more often than most would think, but something about his story still seems above me.
No, the great historic Jesuit I find my own story most related to isn’t all that Historic. 100 years ago, he was still hardly a Novice, and his death was only 88 years ago today. The Jesuit I speak of is Blessed Fr. Miguel Agustín Pro, SJ.
His full name is José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez. He was born in the state of Zacatecas, and he died in Mexico City. His story is beautiful, and I wish I could recount it all right now. But, it’s not really my place to do what others have already done so well. So, here’s one link to his Wikipedia article, here’s another link, this time to his story (in short form), another short form, and a very, very long form, detailed version of his story.
Suffice to say, the Wikipedia article might be enough, but the second and third links are also good for just an overview, while you might want to check out the last one if you want what equates to a half hour read on the story of the priest.
Anyways…
I was drawn to Bl. Fr. Pro (or, as I’ll refer to him in the rest of this blog, Fr. Pro) for a few reasons. Of course, he was a Jesuit, and my appreciation for the Jesuits is rather great. But he was Mexican Jesuit, sharing the same homeland as me, speaking a common tongue, joined together in very similar cultures, and both understanding the beauty and importance of the Most Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe.
But the more I looked at his story, the more I could relate to. Like my own father, he suffered stomach problems, his being ulcers, and my father’s being a hernia. He also was referred to as Miguel, the same name as his father, just as me with mine. I also carry with me a childhood nickname, Chochi, and he carried his, Cocol.
He was an actor, a singer, a prankster, and a man of great humor and very personable soul. I… have acted, play many instruments and sing, enjoy life with plenty of humor, and I enjoy being able to relate to people.
But there was also another Pro, very serious, studious, and prayerful. People often get surprised at how well I jump between entertaining and being humorous, and being a serious, passionate, and prayerful person. I always praise myself for carrying both the light and the heavy in my arms.
I think that Fr. Pro found me, sometimes. And he found me through humor, and love of Mexico and my people, and my love of art and of serving, as he spent his last 15 months of life in Mexico as a priest, serving in anyway he could to his Mexican people, living now in a land where Catholicism was basically outlawed. He would pay the price of his life for caring so deeply.
In this compassionate person, I found myself drawn further and further into the person of Christ the King, whom Fr. Pro proclaimed with his final breath.
I guess Fr. Pro, through his intercession, and my asking him to pray for me, brought me closer to my faith, and continuously brings me closer to the person of Jesus.
But also, in a non-religious (but, in a very “AMDG” way, still very religious) way, he brought me closer to my fellow brothers and sisters, even those who don’t share my faith. Fr. Pro forgave his executioners, and his enemies, and prayed for them before being murdered for an attempted assassination attempt on the former President of Mexico (at that point) of which he was innocent. He worked tirelessly to minister to his deprived Catholic brothers and sisters, the poor, and those in jail. He also prayed a lot, and worked to always do God’s will. But he was still so humble!
I wish often to be like him, to work tirelessly for the greater good of all, and to remain humble in it.
I pray for his intercession, because I see him as an older brother.
Oh, and his name is Miguel. Miguel is also my brother’s name.
I love my brother.
Thank you, older brother. And thank you, spiritual older brother.
Peace.
Yo, what’s up. I guess that’s an introduction… So, it’s Latino/Hispanic Heritage month, and that leaves me a bit conflicted… I’m happy to see that my culture is being celebrated, … Continue reading Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month….
So, now that I think about it, tomorrow is finally my first day of school. This is weird. I’m in school again. But it’s not High School. It’s College. I … Continue reading Finally, School…
So, I’m in Nebraska. We got here really late last night, and I about passed out as soon as we did. (I got to drive part of the way! Woo!) … Continue reading I Won’t Be Posting For the Next Few Days
So, here’s a song… Also, here are thing my Friends from the 38th state (Colorado) would understand. 24 Inside Jokes You’ll Only Understand If You’ve Lived In Colorado Okay. Today’s … Continue reading Jokes (Both Inside, and not)
So, currently, for AP Lit, we’re reading the play, “Death of a Salesman,” by Arthur Miller. It’s a really interesting play, to say the least. But I really, really like … Continue reading Interesting Movie Trailer, and Interesting Plays
…and John Green!… …again… So, I’m currently working on a scholarship for one of the schools I have been accepted to, for additional funds. Honestly, I’m so tired right now. … Continue reading Schools and Money and Problems and Stress…
Oh, look at that! It’s already March. Which means it’s spring soon. And if you’re from Colorado, that means second Winter is almost here, too! Don’t worry though, it only … Continue reading Realizing that it’s the Month of March
The Daily Jorge 