What MACEF Has Been Up To
When the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation began in 2019, we proposed to tackle a serious problem in the media, the harmful and intentional Mexican-American narrative. Americans of Mexican descent continued to be mostly portrayed as lazy, criminals, and drug lords or being completely erased from the narrative.
While this was extremely troubling, it was not a “new” issue.
In fact, this has been going on since the invention of film & television. In 1908, the “greaser” stereotype began with D.W. Griffith’s (the same man who directed The Birth of a Nation, a pro-KKK film) The Greaser's Gauntlet. In this film, a white actor plays a Mexican in brownface.
Then, in 1922, portrayals of Mexicans/Mexican-Americans had gotten so bad that even the president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, reportedly asked Hollywood producers to “Please be a little kinder to the Mexicans.”
One hundred years later, constant negative portrayals still persist, along with an almost complete erasure of Mexican-American-led stories. In fact, according to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report, in 2022, only 2.3% of leads in film, 1% of film directors, and 1% of film writers were Latinos. An even smaller percentage of these were Mexican-American when we are one of the largest minorities in the country, making up roughly 11% of the entire country.
The reality is that stories, or a lack thereof, can destroy reputations. Mexican-Americans have experienced this first-hand.
But stories can also heal reputations.
That is why our belief as an organization is that telling our stories is the key to changing the intentionally distorted and damaging Mexican-American narrative, whether those stories are 200 years old, 100 years old, or from the present-day.
This is important not only for the self-esteem and self-belief of our own community but also for the world to see who we have been in this country and who we will continue to be - productive and important members who have contributed greatly to America, who matter, and who deserve to be heard.
More than four years after MACEF’s inception, we’re happy to report that we get closer to this every day. With the tremendous support of countless people and organizations who have been a part of our efforts, we have created educational opportunities, scholarships, grants, mentorship opportunities, showcase opportunities, and more to support aspiring filmmakers.
Here’s what we’ve been up to in the last four years.
Mexican-American History Makers
An important part of believing in yourself, and believing that you can make your goals and dreams a reality, is to see other people like you who have done it before. In the Mexican-American History Makers series, we aimed to provide those opportunities for young people.
We interviewed more than a dozen successful Mexican-Americans in different fields and learned from their stories of struggle, triumph, and how they give back to their community. From the great Edward James Olmos’s journey in Hollywood, to the brilliant Gloria Molina’s experiences in politics, every story was different and inspiring in their own way.
History Makers
Alex Nogales: CEO of National Hispanic Media Coalition
Julian Nava: U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
Gary Segura: Dean of the UCLA School of Luskin
Jerry Velasco: Councilman for the City of El Monte
Nancy De Los Santos: Writer, Producer & Director
Ana Valdez: Executive President of The Latino Donor Collaborative
Armando Duron: Superior Court Commissioner of the County of L.A.
Dan Guerrero: Actor, Producer, Director & Owner
Bel Hernandez: Founder of Latin Heat Entertainment
Gilbert R. Vasquez: CPA & Entrepreneur
Edward James Olmos: Actor, Director, Producer & Activist
Jesus Salvador Treviño: Director, Producer & Writer
Senator Maria Elena Durazo: Politician
Scholarships & Grants
There are many young people who dream of becoming filmmakers. They dream of telling the stories that have shaped their lives and the lives of those around them. Yet, many struggle to get the funding to make these dreams a reality. That’s why we created yearly scholarship and grant programs to give aspiring Mexican-American filmmakers the education they need to develop their skills or the funding they need to complete their projects.
For our scholarship program, we’ve partnered with prestigious schools like UCLA, USC, and AFI to give out scholarships to young Mexican-American filmmakers who have the potential to become amazing filmmakers one day.
For our filmmaker grant program, we’ve given out tens of thousands of dollars to talented filmmakers who need funds to complete their films. We’ve had many generous donors provide these funds because they believe in telling our stories as much as we do.
Scholarship Recipients
2023
We gave 4 $5k scholarships for UCLA TFT
2022
We gave 1 $20K scholarship for USC w/ Telacu & USC Latino alumni association & 4 $15k scholarships for UCLA TFT
2021
We gave 4 $5k scholarships for UCLA TFT & 3 $10k scholarships for AFI.
“I just graduated from the Peter Stark Producing program at USC in May and just wanted to share my gratitude for the scholarship you all awarded to me.
The scholarship helped me stay focused on my goal of becoming a film producer allowing me to work on sets alongside some amazing Latinos in the industry. I co-produced a PGA and google supported project titled, "Esmeralda" which features the lovely Annie Gonzalez and Julio Macias. I was also able to co-produce an Alfred P. Loan Project from USC titled "Launch Fever," a true story about a Latino engineer who tries to warn NASA of the dangers of bringing a shuttle into orbit which ultimately led to the death of 8 astronauts. Without the support of the scholarship I would not have been able to work on these amazing Latino-centered projects and I am truly grateful!
I also wanted to follow up and see if there was any way that I could schedule a meeting with Moctezuma Esparza. I was really looking forward to meeting him at our awards ceremony and would love the opportunity to connect with him and learn about his journey and how we can keep supporting our gente in the industry.
Looking forward to hearing from you Dr. Ruiz!”
Gabriel J. Medina
“Even though UCLA has an excellent cinematography program, I was afraid to commit to leaving my full-time job… When I was notified that I was receiving this award, I had officially decided I was going to attend UCLA for my master’s degree. Without this Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation scholarship, I would not be a Bruin right now.”
Paloma Ronquillo
Film Production Grant Recipients
2023
We gave 3 $5k grants
Enrique Cruz Torres - Mexican-American Opportunity Foundation/Properties/MACEF Film Production Grant
Ana Reynnoso - Mexican-American Opportunity Foundation/ Properties/MACEF Film Production Grant/Dr. Ruiz
Gerado Maravilla - Mexican-American Opportunity Foundation/ Properties/MACEF Film Production Grant
2022
We gave 2 $10k grants
Nava Mau - City National Bank/MACEF Film Production Grant
Karina Noelle Castillo - Premier Entertainment/Dr. Ruiz, MACEF Film Production Grant
2021
We gave 3 $10k grants
Antonio Marquez - MACEF Film Production Grant/Velasquez & Company LLP Grant
Sharon Arteaga - MACEF Film Production Grant/Dr. MariaElena Rodriguez Grant
Frank Velasquez - La Plaza EAI/MACEF Film Production Grant
Mentorship Programs
Hollywood is notoriously difficult to break into, especially without connections in the industry. That's why we created the filmmaker mentorship programs — to give up-and-coming Mexican-American filmmakers the chance to build relationships and find mentors in the film industry. They are able to learn from knowledgeable players in the industry that can help them accelerate their professional growth and development.
These programs have also helped strengthen our community of Mexican-American/Chicano filmmakers, something that is so important for progress. Some of the mentors we've had are the incredible Nancy De Los Santos, Moctesuma Esparza, Jesús Salvador Treviño, and Bel Hernandez.
Our new mentorship program, the Masters Workshop Series, is another exciting opportunity for filmmakers to learn about the industry. The faculty of this workshop series will be legendary producer Moctesuma Esparza, & pioneering director Jesús Treviño and Moderated by MACEF founder and director Dr. Jose Luis Ruiz.
Mexican-American Film & Television Festival
The Mexican-American Film and Television Festival & Awards mission is designed to provide Mexican-American/Chicano filmmakers, who represent 40 million Americans of Mexican descent, a venue to showcase, promote and celebrate their beautiful art.
There are countless Mexican-American filmmakers who have created beautiful films & television episodes, but have struggled to get them seen by the right people. In our yearly festival, we give these filmmakers the opportunity to be seen by powerful people in the industry and network with others in the Mexican-American/Chicano filmmaking community.
These are talented filmmakers who are U.S.-based Mexican-American/Chicano filmmakers and actors, who understand our unique culture and journey in America and can tell our authentic stories.
This event is not only for the filmmakers, however, as the attendees who may or may not be Mexican-American learn about Mexican-Americans and our unique culture from actual Mexican-Americans. This is an event where we shed the old stereotypical images of us and show something real.
2022 Mexican-American Film & Television Festival - Screened Films
2023 Mexican-American Film & Television Festival - Screened Films
Backstreet to the American Dream
Racial Idiocracy
Slipping Into Darkness
This One is for the Neighborhood
The Future
With the help of our supporters, MACEF has done a lot in these last four years.
And we’re just getting started.
We intend to continue this work to change the narrative and tell our stories. We believe this is a vital part of how we see ourselves and how others see us.
To keep up with our work and opportunities for filmmakers, sign up to our newsletter.
And if you believe in what we’re doing and want to support our work, please consider donating to MACEF.