Congressman Joaquin Castro Nominates 27 Latino Movies for the National Film Registry

The National Film Registry is a collection of movies selected for preservation in the Library of Congress by the United States National Film Preservation Board. Over the years many classic movies, from Casablanca (1942) to When Harry Met Sally (1989) have been added to the National Film Registry. Sadly, beyond such classics as Stand and Deliver (1989) and Selena (1997), few Latino movies have been added to the registry. Joaquin Castro, the Representative for Texas's 20th district, is seeking to change that. He has nominated 27 Latino films to be included in the National Film Registry.

Some of my favourite movies number among those that Representative Castro nominated for the registry. Among them are My Family (1995), Frida (2002), Walkout (2006), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), and Up in Smoke (1978). My dearest Vanessa Marquez appears in one of the films nominated. She played Montana's daughter in Blood In Blood Out (1993). If Blood In Blood Out is accepted, it will make two of her movies that are in the National Film Registry. Stand and Deliver was inducted into the registry in 2011.

Joaquin Castro included a wide array of Latino classics among his nominations. I can think of only one movie he could have included, but did not. The Ring (1952) was among the earliest movies to centre on Chicanos and quite possibly the first to acknowledge the segregation that existed in Los Angeles in the Fifties. It was a well done and even powerful film that really should be included in the National Film Registry.

Regardless, I am hoping that several of Joaquin Castro's nominations will find their way into the National Film Registry. Many of them should have been inducted years ago.