Abstract

Chicano cinema emerged as a tool for social and cultural change at a pivotal moment in both North American and Latin American history. The first Chicano films were screened as the Chicano Movement gained impetus, following the foundation of the Farm Worker Press under the guidance of Cesar Chavez and the establishment of the first Chicano Theatre, El Teatro Campesino, by Luis Valdez in the mid-1960s. In his 1975 essay on the early years of Chicano cinema, Francisco X. Camplis sugggests that a valuable model is provided by Latin American revolutionary cinema.He cites Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino's Toward a Third Cinema as an important signpost for Chicano filmmakers in its emphasis on creating a counter cultural cinema that represented the experiences of a previously overlooked people.