the making of Severo Perez’s
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ABOUT
About this Digital Exhibition
Severo Perez and The Wittliff Collections
Severo Perez donates his archive (press release)
The Severo Perez Papers at the Wittliff Collections (finding aid)
Severo Perez discusses “…and the earth did not swallow him” at Texas State University (1998 video)
Severo Perez at the Wittliff Collections (2014 video)
Watch the film
STORY & SCRIPT
THE NOVEL: y no se lo tragó la tierra by Tomás Rivera
“Envisioning the Screenplay”
FILM RIGHTS
Working with Tomás Rivera
Acquiring the rights from Concha Rivera
RESEARCH
Tomás Rivera’s family in Crystal City
Location Scouting: Following Tomás’ footsteps
The novel’s “true stories”
Don Cleto/Leto story
The historical Bartolo Ortiz
WRITING THE SCREENPLAY
“The Challenge: Adapting for film”
Finding the Narrative: “from the tomb to resurrection”
First draft in 3 weeks
Creating a “Tapestry”
“Too much tragedy”
Adapting from Spanish
Script Rewrites
PRODUCERS
FUNDING
National Endowment for the Humanities
PBS/American Playhouse
Other funders
CAST
José Alcala as Marcos
Rose Portillo as Florentina.
Marco Rodriguez as Joaquin
Daniel Valdez as Bartolo
Lupe Ontiveros as Doña Rosa
Sam Vlahos as Don Cleto
Art Bonilla as Lalo
Evelyn Guerrero as Lupita
Castulo Guerra as the photo salesman
Full Cast
FILMING/PRODUCTION
Giving the film a “Heartbeat”
Storyboards
Storyboard sequence: Calling the Devil
Locations
Why Crystal City wouldn’t work
Location breakdowns
Location budgets
Chino, California
Piru, California used as Crystal City
Minnesota
Shooting Schedule
Budget
Art/Production Design
Russell Lee historic photos
Marcos under the house
Gonzales family home
Doña Rosa’s and Don Cleto’s House
Painting and dressing sets
Art Department Budget
Cinematographer
Script Supervisor/Continuity Photos
Scene: Marcos’s sister collapses in the field
Deleted Scenes
Wrap party
Crew Photos/Full Production Credits
POST-PRODUCTION
“the film spoke to me”
Editing
Sound
Music
Censorship
ACCLAIM & AWARDS
Awards
Press kit
Reviews
Original airing on PBS
Film Festivals & Screenings
Américo Paredes’ reaction
Santa Barbara
Cinesol
Cairo
Moscow
Chile
Distribution - Challenges
20 Years later- “It almost seems like a dream”
The historical Bartolo Ortiz
Dublin Core
Title
Daniel Valdez as Bartolo in the film
Citation
“Daniel Valdez as Bartolo in the film,”
The Wittliff Collections Online Exhibitions
, accessed October 1, 2023, https://exhibits.library.txstate.edu/thewittliffcollections/items/show/79.
← Don Cleto/Leto story
WRITING THE SCREENPLAY →
