Teens’ oral history documentary of two Tucson neighborhoods airs Sunday
by Ryn Gargulinski on May. 02, 2008, under Family, Local, Special
The local video organization Pan Left Productions worked with a group of high school students to produce an oral history film project on the Dunbar Spring and Barrio Anita neighborhoods. Jason Aragón of Pan Left Productions (left) worked with Serina Hubbard, Angelica Badilla, Rachel Cocio, and Taha Qureshi; and, in the back row, Fuzeal Qureshi (left) and Matthew Navarette Hall.
Angelica Badilla, 16, can’t imagine life in downtown Tucson when nobody had to lock their doors and everybody acted like a giant family.
But that’s what she, and six other downtown kids, learned it was like when they delved into the history of the Barrio Anita and Dunbar Spring neighborhoods.
The two diverse neghborhoods bisected by train tracks and similar in values are featured in the kids’ oral-history film project “Across the Tracks,” or “A Traves de las Vias.”
A free screening of the fruits of their efforts starts at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Dunbar School Auditorium, 325 W. Second St.
“I hope everyone enjoys it,” said Badilla, a sophomore at Flowing Wells High School. “I loved it.”
She enjoyed it so much she can’t even choose the favorite story she collected during the six months of interviews with neighborhood youth, elders and longtime residents; research; taping; and editing.
Nor can her stepbrother, 14-year-old Matt Navarette Hall, pick his favorite part of the project, from the interviews to the editing, and especially electronically composing the music.
“There wasn’t anything I didn’t like,” said the Flowing Wells freshman. “Everything was really fun.”
More than just for amusement, the kids were actually recording forgotten or marginalized history while learning to work towards social change and justice, said project coordinator Piper Weinberg, a member of the Dunbar Spring Neighborhood Association.
“The youth asked very direct, personal questions and there was a wonderful connection between the interviewers and the people,” Weinberg said.
She also watched the kids, age 14 through 17, gain insight as well as experience.
The kids went from somewhat shy on the first day to outgoing and confident by the last, she said.
“I was really nervous,” Navarette Hall admitted of his first interview. But now he’s only nervous “sometimes.”
“The whole process, it was a privilege to work with seven individuals not only so invested in their neighborhood but so open to learning about personal experiences,” Weinberg said.
The project was part of the youth video project “Stories of Our Streets” and funded by the city of Tucson’s Youth Summer and School Year Enrichment and Employment programs with help from Ward 1 Councilmember Regina Romero.
The local video organization Pan Left Productions also assisted with the technical support.
The project taught much to many, Weinberg said.
“It re-emphasized my understanding that youth, elders and long-term residents really know what’s happening and what needs to happen,” she said. “It also reaffirmed my confidence in people knowing their own history and being able to educate the rest of us.”
Serina Hubbard, Matt Navarette Hall, Angelica Badilla, Clairisa Fraijo, and Rachel Cocio walk along the tracks that cut through Dunbar/Spring and Barrio Anita neighborhoods on their way to conduct interviews for their oral history project.
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What: Screening of “Across the Tracks”
Time: 5:30 p.m. Sunday
Place: Dunbar School Auditorium, 325 W. Second St.
Admission: Free
