Elders
Documentary Shorts | 2021
Synopsis: A series of three cultural giants within the Latinx art community. Featuring María López de León, Director of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures; Tomás Ybarra-Frauto, Chicano studies scholar; and Rosalba Rolón, Co-founder and Artistic Director of Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, we at their life and impact.
Commissioned by the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures for the 2021 NALAC Summit
Role
Producer | Assistant Camera
María López de León
Filmed in San Antonio, Texas
María López De León is the President, CEO and board member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). In 2013, President Obama appointed Ms. De León to the National Council on the Arts. In 2012 and 2013, she was named among the nation’s Fifty Most Powerful and Influential People in the Nonprofit Arts. She serves on multiple arts and culture policy panels and is an advocate for arts and cultural equity. She serves on the board of the First Peoples Fund, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the Performing Arts Alliance
Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto
Filmed in San Antonio, Texas
Noted Chicano Studies scholar Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto has taught at Stanford University, the University of California at San Diego and the University of Washington. He has also served as the Associate Director of Creativity and Culture at the Rockefeller Foundation. In 2007, he was awarded the Smithsonian Institution's Henry Medal, which recognizes individuals for service, achievements or contributions that add to the honor and growth of the Smithsonian. Mexico has awarded him the prestigious "Order of the Aztec Eagle" due to his life-long work nurturing a cultural understanding between the United States and Mexico by way of the arts and humanities. Frausto has been published in various art brochures, books and journals and is the author of Rasquachismo: a Chicano sensibility.
Rosalba Rolón
Filmed in New York, New York
Rosalba Rolón is a revered visionary and a passionate creator of musical theater that celebrates Latinx voices and cultures. Co-founder of Pregones and now Artistic Director of Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, she spearheads the sustained development of the company’s acting and music ensemble, creative methodology, and original repertory. An accomplished actor, director, and dramaturg, Rosalba specializes in the adaptation of non-dramatic texts for stage performance and draws from multiple traditions of Caribbean, Latin American, and U.S.-Latino theater to build Pregones/PRTT’s distinct body of work. Salient distinctions include the Doris Duke Artist Award, New York Latin ACE Gold Award in Theater, Teer Pioneer Award from National Black Theatre, and USA Fontanals Fellowship in Theater and Performance. She serves on the boards of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) and United States Artists (USA), and is a faculty member of both the NALAC Leadership Institute and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Emerging Leadership Institute.