Week 3 at Talento Bilingue de Houston

This week has truly been unlike like any other. This past Friday I had the opportunity to take part in one of TBH's many events by helping out the media and marketing committee prepare flyers for the comedy show that would be hosted from July 8 to July 10. In preparation for the comedy show, we needed to make sure that the flyers were made a few days prior and setting up various ad's. Then, on the first day of the comedy show I had the opportunity to talk with the actors about their work and why they decided to dedicate their lives to the art. 

At the beginning of this week, I was assigned the task of writing biographies over various portraits of artists done by young high school members of the community. These past weeks I have had the amazing opportunity to work alongside the talented and selfless Richard Reyes, Pancho Claus. He is a role model to the entire Tex-Mex community of Texas. He has helped several youth over the course of years to bring them out of the world of drugs and violence and transform to productive citizens if society. I have seen this play out through several youth that come to TBH and dedicate their time to either helping out during performances or performing themselves. Pancho Claus has taken me under his wing and has been such a great friend. He has given me the opportunity to write biographies about various Latino inspirations that he will accumulate into a book and publish. The capability that he see's within me and various youth is truly moving because he is always supportive one way or another. 

This past Thursday he took all of his assistants out for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. At the Cafe, we all shared our best work and concert experiences. As I sat at the table, I realized how fortunate I was to be a part of a truly family oriented workplace. This was one of my best moments with my co-workers because we all ate and discussed our future aspirations with excitement. We would never stop trying to discover ourselves through learning. If there is one thing, I have learned throughout my time at TBH is that our lives our defined by the passion through which we lead our lives because that makes a difference. My time here has redefined my interests and allowed me to truly live my life through discovery and not plans because depending on your passion you will accomplish great things. 

This week was also truly significant because I was able to witness the solidarity of Houston with Black Lives Matter. On Wednesday, the News Channel came to film the interview of various Hispanics including LULAC director that gave their response to G.Freyer Harvard Professor article who wrote that there are no disparities between the police force and the citizens. As they were broadcast-ed, I took several notes over various counterarguments that were made in response to this statement. One of the responses that truly struck me was whenever Dave ( one of the Director for the Houston Coalition for Justice) explained how we need to aim for a world where we can reach economic safe means through non-violence and that we also need to recognize that ignorance will not solve these issues. 

Last, I want to close off my experience this week by explaining the private screening of the movie Beyond Dreams that occurred this past Thursday. I was able to work closely alongside Lupe and I was truly astounded by the final product. He explained the importance of reiterating the importance of local stories. He explained the source of inspiration for his movie was the community. He wanted the community to be invested in the movie by creating a movie such as this one that brought to light a local story within the community that would otherwise have been forgotten. The movie started off with a zero dollar budget and it depends on donations for funding. However, amidst the low budget Lupe explained that the movie would still be made on high standards and that it would prove a point: you don't millions of dollars to film a unique story such as the one of Emmanuel Zuniga. As story about a boxer who was murdered and whose best friend carried out the dream that everyone believed had died out. 

Well, I hope you guys had a great week and I will continue to keep you guys posted!