Film Screening: “Singing Our Way To Freedom”

“Singing Our Way to Freedom” is a multilayered look at the life of San Diego Chicano musician, composer and community activist, Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez. Borrowing from musical traditions on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Chunky uses music and humor as powerful weapons in fighting for social justice. From his humble beginnings as a farmworker in rural California to the dramatic moment when he received one of his nation’s highest musical honors at the Library of Congress, this character-driven film reminds us that the battle for freedom has to be fought anew by every generation.

Paul Espinosa is an award-winning filmmaker and president of Espinosa Productions, a San Diego production company specializing in films focused on the U.S.-Mexico border region. He has been involved with producing films for nearly 40 years. His many films for PBS include “The Lemon Grove Incident,” “…and the earth did not swallow him,” “The Hunt for Pancho Villa,” “The U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848,” “In the Shadow of the Law” and “Ballad of an Unsung Hero.” Espinosa’s films have been screened at festivals around the world and have won many awards including eight Emmys. He is Professor Emeritus in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.

The film will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Paul Espinosa and Tony Diaz, founder of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say.

Admission is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.