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A documentary film by John J. Valadez
Sixty years ago in Three Rivers, Texas the only funeral home in town refused to hold a wake for Felix Longoria, a decorated Mexican American soldier killed in battle during World War II.
The owner told Longoria’s widow he couldn’t be waked in the funeral home because “The whites wouldn’t like it”.
Those words became front page news across the country, sparking outrage and setting off a series of events that would come to be known as The Longoria Affair. They launched a national civil rights movement, led by Mexican American veterans -- and bitterly divided Three Rivers for generations to come.
Behind closed doors, two stubborn and savvy leaders, newly-elected Senator Lyndon Johnson and veteran/activist Dr. Hector Garcia, formed an enduring alliance over the incident.
Over the next 15 years, their complex, sometimes contentious relationship would help Latinos become a national force for the first time in American history, carry John F. Kennedy to the White House, and ultimately lead to Johnson’s signature on the most important civil rights legislation of the 20th century.
Today, 60 years after the Longoria Affair Three Rivers continues to struggle with its past. Santiago Hernandez, a local musician and member of the American GI Forum, proposes honoring Felix Longoria by naming the local post office after him.
Many Anglo residents are angered by the proposal. They believe discrimination against Mexican Americans never existed in their town and that the Longoria Affair never happened.
The past and present collide as Three Rivers struggles to come to terms with a brutal history of segregation that has long haunted South Texas.
FEATURING HECTOR P. GARCIA LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON FELIX LONGORIA JOHN F. KENNEDY TOM KENNEDY
SANTIAGO HERNANDEZ WANDA GARCIA RICHARD HUDSON SARA POSAS HENRY AJ RAMOS
PATTI REAGAN SUSAN ZAMZOW PATRICK CARROLL JANE KENNEDY VICENTE XIMENES AND
ROBERT DALLEK WRITTEN DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY JOHN J VALADEZ NARRATED BY TONY PLANA
CO-PRODUCED BY PAMELA A AGUILAR CINEMATOGRAPHY BY ELIA LYSSY EDITED BY MERRIL STERN
MUSIC BY RICHARD MARTINEZ GRAPHICS BY LUC GORCZYNSKI ADVISORS PATRICK CARROLL HENRY AJ RAMOS
IGNACIO GARCIA AND JULIE LEININGER PYCIOR RESEARCH GRACE CHARLES PAMELA A AGUILAR RICHARD HUDSON
JUAN CAMILO AGUDLO AND CECILIA VENABLE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER JUDITH VECCHIONE A CO-PRODUCTION OF
VALADEZ MEDIA/KITCHEN SYNC WGBH/BOSTON LATINO PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND
THE INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICE WITH FUNDS PROVIDED BY
THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY PBS AND
THE HOUSTON ENDOWMENT