Greetings people of Earth, hope everyone is hanging in there or on to something as you read your quarterly Pep-date.  I’ll take you from San Quentin to Kingston stop by Santa Barbara and finish up in the Yucatan, San Francisco.  Ready?
First and most exciting is this, remember when I told you I had taught an intensive 6-week filmmaking class at San Quentin State Prison?  Hope so because the experience was awesome and it ended with my nine students sharing their work to an enthusiastic audience of their peers and local community members.  Well, something I didn’t mention (because they made me sign a contract) was that Discovery Channel documented the entire process and edited it into 6 episodes.

The program is called San Quentin Film School.  That’s not all!  The man directing this doc-series was none other than the Award-winning documentary film director Bruce Sinofsky and the man behind the lens was maverick DP Bob Richman.  But wait there’s more!  Episode #1 was awesome! Episode #2 is this Fri. @ 6 and/or 9am (check your local listings) and every Friday for the next five weeks Discovery Channel will run a new episode of San Quentin Film School.  (Hopefully they’ll repeat some too!)

In the meantime, get your Tivo’s ready, clear up some space on your DVR or buy a new VHS tape cause it’s an early airing and a lot of folks work.  One more time, this Friday @ 6 and/or 9am (check your local listings) and every Friday for the next five weeks.  Trust me, San Quentin Film School will be more exciting than any basketball tournament and you won’t need to throw your  money into any pool. ACT NOW, THIS OFFER IS FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! DON’T MISS OUT!!

All right, alright, enough of the infomercial stylee. Let’s go to the Caribbean.  Cool!

Last year at this time I was in Jamaica relaxing.  I backpacked throughout most of the island.  I celebrated Bob Marley’s birthday in his Nine Mile hometown and saw all of his kids get down till the break of dawn, literally.  I swam where they filmed Blue Lagoon, didn’t see Brook Shields but saw a dude that looked like Andre Agassi playing badminton.  I chilled at James Bond Beach, which got its name from a movie they filmed about that British vato with a license to kill.  I drank a Guinness beer so light it had to have been less than 1,000 calories.  Seriously, it’s called Foreign Extra, it’s delicious and only sold in the Caribbean.  (Bring me back one if you’re going.)

I then found myself at the University of the West Indies attending the week long Global Reggae Conference.  People from all over the world talked, shared, analyzed and danced to this music we love.  Happening also at the same time was the Reggae Film Festival.  How could I not go?  I saw some great films and met even greater people.  One of them was an elder man by the name of RC Tomlinson who approached me carrying his two hit 45 singles from the 70’s.

He told me his desire of a having a number one hit.  We exchanged info and within a week my doc buddy from NY, Eddie Martinez, flew down with a camera and mic gear and it was on.  We followed this vintage reggae singer through the streets of Kingston as he shared with us the story of his life.  RC’s story is vital to reggae history because he is just one of the multitude of Jamaican artists that had more talent than opportunities to continue singing.  If you have to tell a story why not make it about something you love in a place you’ve always dreamed of visiting?  It was post awesome!

In this scene you’ll see RC make a song from scratch with the help of Kenrick Beckett of Studio Mix in Waterhouse, near Kingston.  Trust me, this clip will have you loving “me old people” all day and hopefully through the weekend.  Click on the poster to the right.  My friends Jesus & Melanie hooked this up for me.  I owe them big time!

Radio Bandido update.  I’ve made some progress but not enough.  My research has taken me to Baldwin Park where I spent quiet moments with Oscar’s family and then to the campus of UCSB.  Big thanks to George Lipsitz for allowing me to share a little bit about Radio Bandido and my work.  I’ve made good contacts both on and off campus.  I have put some of this research together and into a trailer that gives a better idea of Bandido’s story and most importantly we get to hear his voice come back to life.  I also recently acquired footage from when Oscar was first found that dreadful day.  Click on the photo of the family to the right and see part of it.  I continue seeking both a producer and funding for this project.  I’d also like to thank Judith Segura Mora and familia for their contribution and support.  A nice cheer, a meaningful comment or thoughtful question are just as valuable and certainly welcomed.

That’s it for now folks but stay tuned as I’m onto something big in San Francisco that involves Mayans from the Yucatan, dirty dishes and dirty wrestlers.

peaceFool,
-pepe

Howdy gente,

First let me start off by wishing everyone a belated-2 week
in Happy New Gregorian Calendar Year.  According to the
Mayans we're 4 years away from the end of time. Can't wait!
Meanwhile, I'm bringing you a pepelicula update. Here goes:

'07 started with me in L.A. but ended with me in


Here's how it happened, over the summer Beni Matias
from NALIP passed my info on to some folks creating an
intensive 6 week film class to a group of nine incarcerated
men.  I gladly accepted the challenge and it was a marvelous
experience.  With help from lots of people but especially
Shane King, Diana Brodie and Anthony Marchitiello, I taught
these 9 first time filmmakers and together we all produced
9 short but powerful films that ranged from an "Iron Chef"
spin off to water conservation rights and the Klamath River
to the Birdman of San Quentin.  Each film has its own
compelling story both in front & behind the camera. The
finished films were shared with San Quentin's general
population and from what I've learned the men are still
applauding these first time filmmakers visions.
More on this later… in the meantime check out
my SQ squatting/squinting soccer pose.

Since the new year, I have been literally
on the road working hard with award
winning documentarian Ilan Ziv and his
timely doc "A Journey Among The Believers".
We are documenting/talking with grass root
activists and ordinary folks from across
the country with views from across the
ideological spectrum about how their faith
in God will or will not influence their
vote in the upcoming presidential
elections. The transition from San Quentin
fog from the bay to Pennsylvania's snow plowing trucks has
been amazing.  We've already passed through Iowa,
Indianapolis, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Massachusetts and I write you this update from New York.
We are gearing up to pick back up on today and head to:
Ohio, Kentucky, the Carolina's, Alabama, Florida and finish
the road trip in Oklahoma City on Super Tues. Feb. 5th.
Ride with us here or here.

2008 Pepelicula's
"Radio Bandido" my documentary
about the stolen life and
times of Oscar "Bandido" Gomez
continues and I gather more
interviews and details about
his last days in Santa Barbara.
Which includes a return visit
to the shores where he was
ultimately found on the beach,
exactly 13 years later. I plan to have a rough cut of the
film done this year.

This past summer, with the help of my good buddy/creative
collaborating compañero Eric Escobar, I wrote an
undocumented romantic comedy entitled "Casi, Casi". This
spring, our plan is to use all of our resources and help
from our friends (which may be YOU!) and make this feature
film for under $1,000. Wish us luck, it's going to be
fantastic!!Looking forward to staying in contact &
connected with you this year.  And if you have read this
far, we're off to a great start-thanx!

con pasión,
-Urquijo

Thanks everyone for showing up last night and missing another espisode of Top Chef, (I wonder what they’d do with an elote, some chilé and a vending permit?) Thanks also to Galeria for hosting the event. Please visit my blog for upcoming pepelicula screenings and Radio Bandido, my lastest project, updates.

Radio Bandido
With a bludgeoned body and lungs full of seawater, Oscar Gomez was found along the shores of Santa Barbara, CA in mid November, 1994. Oscar was 21 years old, a Chicano activist, radio DJ, and he was my friend.

Oscar was in Santa Barbara at a rally protesting and covering the newly passed Proposition 187, the anti-immigrant initiative, when he was killed. People believe what took place that fatal night was a conspiracy by the authorities, some a premeditated murder and others an accident. Who would of wanted to kill Oscar?

Radio Bandido explores Oscar’s life, his murder and the Chicano political turmoil of California in the 1990’s that transformed Oscar from a football jock into an important DJ activist known as “El Bandido”.

c/s
-pepelicula

hey there fellow earthlings and humans with & without documents or documentaries.  this is my first official blog. who cares? well, i kinda do.  anyway, just wanted to salute everyone out there and inform the public that tonight my four year old documentary will be playing at the world famous Galeria de la Raza on 24th Street & Bryant in the Mission District of the city by the bay.  If you can’t stop by, eat some mangoes and stop by my blog and I’ll keep you posted with all pepelicula’s.  There’s a few in the mix and I will soon tell you about them.

Below is the trailer for tonight’s film. Blog ya l8r/Ay te blogeo!

Fruit of Labor (trailer)

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