{"id":45740,"date":"2016-02-22T01:49:59","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T01:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/?p=45740"},"modified":"2016-02-22T01:49:59","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T01:49:59","slug":"filmmakers-behind-invisible-roots-on-finding-afro-mexicans-living-in-southern-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=45740","title":{"rendered":"Filmmakers Behind \u2018Invisible Roots\u2019 on Finding Afro-Mexicans Living in Southern California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Filmmakers Behind \u2018Invisible Roots\u2019 on Finding Afro-Mexicans Living in Southern California<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Remezcla<\/a>
\n2016-02-16<\/p>\n

Walter Thompson-Hern\u00e1ndez<\/strong><\/a>
\nLos Angeles, California<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nPhoto: NOTIMEX\/JAVIER LIRA OTERO<\/small><\/p>\n

Almost a year before the Mexican government officially acknowledged Afro-Mexicans as a distinct racial and ethnic group, directors Tiffany Walton<\/strong> and Lizz Mullis<\/strong> first began working on their film, Invisible Roots: Afro-Mexicans of Southern California<\/em><\/a>, as a film project while attending the University of Southern California (USC). For Walton, whose grandfather was Afro-Panamanian, the project was deeply connected to her family\u2019s Afro-Latino story, while Mullis was motivated by her interests in broader societal questions about race and identity. But during the early stages of the project both struggled to find subjects for their film. After a number of failed attempts at connecting with Afro-Mexican families in the Los Angeles area, attempts they both called \u201cextensive,\u201d Walton and Mullis were fortuitously connected to a few Afro-Mexican families through academic and professional contacts. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival<\/a> with which the directing duo hopes to shed light on the experiences of a group that continues to garner recognition both in Mexico and in the U.S…<\/p>\n