Rick Tejada-Flores, American grandson of a Bolivian president, explores his family history in this first-person documentary. The filmmaker grew up in Southern California, where his parents relocated in the 1940s. Here he travels to Bolivia to look at the family properties and dig through the archives. Since Jose Luis Tejada Sorzano died in 1938, Tejada-Flores (who was born in 1944) never knew his grandfather, who hailed from a wealthy Spanish family. Tejada-Flores's father Hernan grew up in comfort in Bolivia and the United States, although he lost his mother when he was young (the elder Sorzano would remarry and have more children). The family owned a castle in the country, various estates, and land on which they grew coca (they were also slave owners, a fact that deeply troubles Tejada-Flores). While Hernan was attending the University of Southern California, he met Olive Parish, a fashionable journalist with a master's degree from Yale. Their romance was put on hold when Hernan went off to fight in Bolivia, but they married after war's end. Following a coup, Sorzano moved from his vice presidential post into the presidency. While family members believe he came to the position fair and square, the media portrayed him as the architect of the coup. Another coup would sweep him from office in 1936 after two years as head of state. Tejada-Flores also uncovers evidence that the notorious Nazi Klaus Barbie worked on the family's holdings. My Bolivia is an eye-opening documentary about the family skeletons in one man's historical closet. Extras include the U.S. government films La Paz (1942) and High Plains (1944). Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)
My Bolivia
(2016) 57 min. DVD: $25: individuals; $75: public libraries & high schools; $200: colleges & universities. Alturas Films. PPR. Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 2
My Bolivia
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