Ballad of an Unsung Hero
Synopsis
Using rare historical footage, vintage musical recordings, and interviews with 88-year-old Pedro J. Gonzalez and his wife, this half-hour program chronicles Gonzalez’s long and colorful life, from his early days with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution, to his career as a popular radio personality in Los Angeles in the 1930s, to the controversial court case that sent him to San Prison, a victim of the repressive forces operating against the Chicano/Mexicano community during that period.
Awards
National PBS broadcast, Emmy, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, San Diego, Best Documentary, Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival CINE Golden Eagle, Golden Mike Award, Best Documentary, Radio & TV News Assoc.of So. California, Screened by International Documentary Congress at 50-yaear retrospective “In and Out of the Cold/1945-1995: Documenting 50 years of Change,” Los Angeles, Screened at INPUT 84, Charleston, South Carolina, Top Award, National Latino Film & Video Festival, El Museo del Barrio, New York, Screened by the British Film Institute for BBC-London Theatre Festival, San Sebastian (Spain) International Film Festival
Producer/Writer – Paul Espinosa
Director – Isaac Artenstein
Associate Producer – Lorena Parlee
A Production of KPBS-TV and Cinewest Productions
