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Press Release: 11/04/08 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/OPPORTUNITY FOR COVERAGE TO: All News Directors MEDIA CONTACT: |
COMMUNITY FOLK ART CENTER (CFAC) Past and Present Collide in El Paso at Dedication of World´s Largest Equestrian Statue in “The Last Conquistador”Screening: The Last Conquistador (Syracuse, NY) – Take time out from your TH3 trek Thursday, November 20th to see The Last Conquistador by directors John Valadez and Cristina Ibarra screening at 7:00 pm in Gallery 805 at the Community Folk Art Center. Presented in recognition of Native American Heritage Month, this compelling film documents the creation of Sculptor John Houser’s Monumental Bronze of Juan de Oñate and exposes the raw feelings and sharp divisions in the Southwest — And the Perils of Public Art in a Multicultural Society. John Houser is a man with monumental sculpture in his blood. He can remember his father working as an assistant carver on Mount Rushmore. Enthralled with the power of art, he has dedicated himself to making history come alive in large-scale public sculptures. So when the El Paso City Council commissioned a larger-than-life statue of the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate, Houser conceived his grandest project yet: the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world. He envisioned a magnificent and long-overdue tribute to the contributions of Hispanic culture and history to the United States. But as recounted in the new documentary The Last Conquistador, all was not well as the statue's dedication approached. The area's Native Americans had their own very personal memories concerning Oñate. They recalled massacres, slavery and terror. They remembered that Oñate's foray into New Mexico in 1598 led to the deaths of two out of every three Indians there and nearly caused the extermination of Native culture across the region. As the film shows, the prospect that a murderer's image would be looming over El Paso, Texas drew increasing anger and protest. One artist proposed a companion sculpture of a giant severed foot, commemorating Oñate's method of cutting off feet to terrorize the native inhabitants. Houser saw his grand conception transformed in a way he had not intended, caught up in a whirlwind of unresolved conflicts between races, classes and historical memories. Neither Houser nor El Paso's city councilors had intended any offense or controversy. The statue of Oñate was intended as part of a sculpture walk through history that would memorialize the region's dramatic but often unrecognized history. When the storm of protest arose, they were taken by surprise. But should they have been? Had they too easily accepted a conqueror's version of history in which the daring exploits of pioneers and colonists are celebrated, and the sins of violence are avoided or excused? In that history, Oñate set out in 1598 from Mexico on a thousand-mile journey seeking new lands and Christian converts for Spain, along with riches for himself. He was the first governor of New Mexico and the bringer of wheat, horses, metalworking and Western civilization to what became the American Southwest. But Oñate's brutality was well understood by his contemporaries. He was eventually recalled, tried and convicted by his own government for what today would be called crimes against humanity. He was banished forever from New Mexico, and ended up moving to Spain. Native Americans are deeply offended by the sculpture, but many wealthy whites and Hispanics throughout the region — who trace their ancestry back to the Oñate expedition — welcome the monument and defend the bloodshed, saying that the Indians were the aggressors and that Oñate brought peace and stability to the region. Caught in between are the Mestizos, Mexican Americans like El Paso City Councilman Anthony Cobos, who make up about 75 percent of El Paso's population. The sons and daughters of both the Spaniards and the Indians they subjugated, Mestizos must struggle with a conflicted heritage that is both prideful and humiliating. Councilman Cobos eventually withdraws his support for the statue and pays a heavy political price. John Houser, who had worked on his labor of love for 10 years, learns that he has glaucoma and may eventually lose his eyesight. Haunted by the heavy moral burden of his own creation and his failing health, he apologizes for being blind to the social implications of his work. "I have developed my own trap," he says, "and I think about it day and night." But the damage is done. Deep wounds have been opened, and a bitter divide has deepened. In the end, many Hispanics are elated, Mestizos are frustrated that valuable public money has been used for the sculpture, and Native Americans feel that the genocide of their people matters little to the city of El Paso or to white people who walk the corridors of power. The Last Conquistador is a co-production of the Independent Television Service (ITVS), produced in association with American Documentary | P.O.V. The Last Conquistador is a production of the Kitchen Sync Group, Inc./Valadez Media in association with Independent Television Service (ITVS), Latino Public Broadcasting, Native American Public Telecommunications, and KERA Dallas/Ft. Worth. Funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sundance Documentary Fund, Humanities Texas and the New York State Council on the Arts. About the filmmakers:John J. Valadez Valadez is a founding member of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). He is a Rockefeller Fellow and a PBS/CPB Producers Academy Fellow, and currently sits on the Board of Trustees of the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar. He has twice been a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow and is a graduate of the film program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; Valadez lives in Warwick, N.Y. Cristina Ibarra Credits:
Executive Producer: John J. Valadez Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and celebrating its 21st season on PBS in 2008, the award-winning P.O.V. series is the longest-running showcase on television to feature the work of America's best contemporary-issue independent filmmakers. Airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m., June through September, with primetime specials during the year, P.O.V. has brought more than 250 award-winning documentaries to millions nationwide, and now has a Webby Award-winning online series, P.O.V.'s Borders. Since 1988, P.O.V. has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today's most pressing social issues. More information about P.O.V is available online at www.pbs.org/pov Th3 is a citywide art open in Syracuse, New York, that takes place on the third Thursday of each month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. This ambitious project, initiated by the Everson Museum of Art and the Delavan Art Gallery, is joined by 24 of the most distinctive venues in the city in a grand event to bring the artistic experience to the public. The Community Folk Art Center is sponsored, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, the Cultural Resources Council, The Coalition of Museums & Art Centers at Syracuse University, The College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University and The Office of the Chancellor at Syracuse University. Our media sponsors are CNY Latino, Urban CNY and WAER 88.3. The Genesee Grande and Park View Hotels are the official accommodations for guests of The Community Folk Art Center. The Community Folk Art Center is a unit of the African American Studies Department in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. CFAC is a vibrant cultural and artistic hub committed to the promotion and development of artists of the African Diaspora. The mission of the center is to exalt cultural and artistic pluralism by collecting, exhibiting, teaching and interpreting the visual & expressive arts. |