The Gainesville Latino Film Festival returns this September for its 22nd edition, featuring a program dedicated to Latin American film, art, and culture, presented by the Latina Women’s League. Under this year’s theme, “Voices of Our Land,” the festival will take place from September 10–28, 2026, at various locations throughout Gainesville. The celebration will begin on Thursday, September 10, at the Harn Museum of Art with a screening of A Song for My Land, an Argentine documentary directed by Mauricio Albornoz Iniesta. The film follows a music teacher, his students, and a community that finds in music a way to make their voices heard. The documentary explores themes of music, education, community, and caring for the place we call home, connecting closely with this year’s festival theme. Opening Night Opening Night will coincide with Museum [...]
Saturday night was transformed into a cinematic celebration with the anticipated screening of the documentary “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez”, written and directed by David Alvarado. The first screening was sold out but the film is showing all week. The documentary narrates the story of the famous Chicano storyteller, theater and film director, Luis Valdez. During 1965 farm strikes in Delano, California, Valdez founded The Teatro Campesino, a group that performed skits to dramatize the cause of the farmworkers. Known for the play and movie “Zoot Suit” and “La Bamba”, Valdez transformed the American cultural landscape by bringing Chicano stories from the farm fields to Broadway and Hollywood. Later in his life, he was awarded the 2015 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities by President Obama for “bringing Chicano culture to American [...]
Laura dePaz Cabrera: being a mom, the core of everything she does. Written by Karolina Banda Photos by Libby Clifton In a city like Gainesville, where cultures, hard work, and shared dreams intersect, there are women who hold multiple worlds together with a quiet strength and effortless grace that inspires. In this special Mother’s Day edition, we share the story of Laura de Paz, a closer look at motherhood through her lived experiences, and how it reshapes who you are. A recognized immigration attorney in the community, a trusted voice who informs and guides, a singer on stage… and a mother. For Laura, motherhood isn’t just a role; motherhood is present in everything she is and everything she does; the one hat she never takes off. A mother of three, Laura has learned that [...]
How to create new emotional patterns The emotional brain. Lili knows exactly how she’s going to react. Every time her boss asks her for a report due the following week, something in her immediately activates—the same knot in her stomach, the same urge to do anything but that. She calls a friend she hasn’t seen in months, reorganizes the kitchen drawers, buys things she doesn’t need. The whole week goes by like this. And the day before the deadline, her body sends the bill: sweaty hands, a racing heart, a mind that won’t stop producing images of failure, of being mocked, of her boss’s disappointed face. Sleep-deprived and exhausted, she manages to turn in the report on time. But the experience, once again, was terrible.Lili knows this pattern by heart. She criticizes herself, promises that [...]
Four moms, all immigrants, with one common thread: their kindergartners. It was the summer of 2016; little boys and girls were leaving the safety and familiarity of their homes to step out in the big world. The elementary school was buzzing with a constant influx of parents and children. Did these moms cross paths or see each other amidst the chaos of the first day drop off? Maybe yes, maybe not. The school year commenced and slowly four boys gravitated towards each other. They were either desk partners, shoulder buddies during reading, or together in other activities which fostered their friendship. After a few weeks, one of them invited his three new best friends to his most memorable sixth birthday party. Four moms met for the first time and instantly connected. A sense of ease [...]
There’s a weight that comes with being far from the place where we were born, far from our families, and from the traditions familiar to us. It’s a feeling that’s hard to explain but easy to recognize, like something within us is still missing or unsettled. Immigrating, in itself, is a difficult journey. For many, it requires starting over, often from zero, and sometimes alone. We learn how to navigate systems we don’t fully understand at first, adjust to a new language, and keep up with a pace of life that feels constant, fast, and overwhelming. Here, everything moves quickly, and it can take time to find our place within it. In the middle of that process, something as simple and as powerful as community can make all the difference. Finding community grounds us. It [...]
Elio’s story is a reminder that professional growth is never a straight line. It is something built day by day, through focus and discipline. We sat down with him to talk about his beginnings, and took a stroll down the memory lane. With smiles and quiet nostalgia, he took us on a journey to his humble roots in Cuba , subsequently leading to his life in the United States, a life defined by the ability to adapt without ever losing sight of who he is. Today, Elio stands as living proof that with dedication and a clear sense of purpose, anyone can accomplish their goals. He arrived carrying a plastic bag as his only possession, but with his diligence, tenacity and perseverance, he has come a long way and now leads meaningful projects that shape [...]
