Eduardo Carrillo: A Life of Engagement

Designed to raise awareness of the life, work, and legacy of Mexican-American artist Eduardo Carrillo—as well as draw attention to a new gallery in Santa Cruz, CA, dedicated to his paintings—filmmaker Pedro P. Celedón's documentary captures the expansive spirit of its subject. Carrillo, who died at age 60 in 1997, took up painting at UCLA in the early 1960s. After receiving his master's degree, Carrillo began teaching at the University of California-Santa Cruz, marrying his talent to an identification with both the growing Chicano rights movement of the 1970s and his ancestral roots in Mexico. Turning his attention to the production of grand murals in Southern California and Baja, Mexico, Carrillo's images were full of enormous energy, weaving Latino identity, mythology, persecution, and more, into inspiring artistic statements. Carrillo also taught traditional Mexican craft-making—specifically pottery—to students and he restored the interior art of some Mexican churches. Featuring interviews with former colleagues, experts, family members, and students, coupled with illuminating archival footage, this biographical portrait of an activist artist is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)