DOCUMENTARY REEL
My reel is an ever-evolving story. Updated regularly.
Edna & Heldáy
We Got Each Other’s Back - multi-channel video installation
Live at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art
Part of a long-term documentary project by interdisciplinary artist Carlos Motta— in collaboration with artists Heldáy de la Cruz and Edna Vázquez– We Got Each Other’s Back is a three-part, multi-channel video installation featuring portraits of queer artists and activists in the United States who are or have been openly undocumented, and who are producing work to denounce historic and present-day broken US immigration policies. The project demonstrates how the intersections of sexuality, gender, ethnicity, race, and economic background define the environment of marginalization and discrimination to which immigrants are subjected, while challenging mainstream media narratives of immigration and sexuality by presenting nuanced, real-life stories of living at the margins of the legal system. We Got Each Other’s Back also includes live and online events and public programs that engage the challenges faced by undocumented migrants.
Director / Carlos Motta
Director of Photography / Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal
Camera Operator / Kanon Havens
Sound / Kai Tillman and Sam Hamilton
Gaffer/ Eli Haan
Set Design / Gabi Villaseñor
Transcription and Translation / Camilo Godoy
Producer / Ella Marra-Ketelaar
Edna Vázquez Interview
La Tienda | Letra Chueca Press
artist documentary featured in PBS
Two patiperras (Camila Araya and Daniela del Mar), hailing from Chile now based in Portland, Oregon, share their journey to create bilingual art that intertwines social justice with craft.
Producer/Director: Karina Lomelin Ripper
Director of Photography: Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal
Producer: Jessica Daugherty
Featuring: Camila Araya and Daniela Del Mar
Supporting Cast: Yvanna Ramos, Karla Tovar and Isaac Lopez
Assistant Director: Maria Moreno
Location Sound: Kai Tillman
AC: Angélica Ponce
Gaffer: Eli Haan
Key Grip: Cecila Flor
Production Designer: Gabi Villaseñor
Set Dresser: Michelle Gonzales
Art Dept PA: Krista Hershberger
Hair & Makeup Artist: Eve White
Stills/BTS Photography: Kate Beacom
Production Assistant: Noelia Arellano
Additional Camera: Karina Lomelin Ripper
Editor: Luz Carasa
Sound Designer/Mixer: Houston Gastelum
Colorist: Marc Ripper
Title Design: Mercy Lomelin
Studio Manager: Joseph Bowden
Studio: Desert Island Studios
Music: Reyna Tropical
Project was made possible by Prosper Portland and Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Support their work at LetraChuecaPress.com
Shepard Fairey in West Dallas
21 Cartas | Documentary & Live Projections
Jazz pianist/composer Darrell Grant & singer- songwriter Edna Vazquez draw on their diverse backgrounds to address the hopes, hardships, struggles, and dreams of those who have risked everything for better lives for their children. Interwoven with filmmaker Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal’s portraits of Oregon’s immigrant community, 21 Cartas represents the bravery, search for justice, and power of a mother’s love that are common to the immigrant stories that define our country.
