He also occasionally travels as a motivational speaker and in the course of doing these promotional appearances, he has seen the movie eight times. Visit MrsKathyKing's profile on Pinterest. Jose Cardenas, 67, stands at U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana that has been painted with the names of deported U.S. veterans. We had the right principles and the right attitude. The McFarland team continued to run races in North America, Europe, and Asia. He took my place, and McFarland miraculously still won. Cardenas and his wife, Melody who has family in Rowan County attended the movies premiere, and got to meet the actor who portrayed him, as well as Costner. I google searched Jose Cardenas after watching McFarland, USA out of curiosity, because as you may see, my last name is also Cardenas. He had been in a bad way since his oldest son was killed in a gang shooting. The mother of the three Diaz boys really did forbid them to run cross-country at one point. Second, there was a lot of good old-fashioned hard work. Marsh says she also appreciated the scene where Cardenas took off too fast in a race and hit the wall. Another accident killed McFarlands football coach and several beloved students from the school. Short Poem but very powerful to all the people that have suffered coming to this great nation to give there love ones a better life. He has a LinkedIn profile but it does not contain much detail. "People like Rita Peebles, a cook in the cafeteria who slipped five bucks into my pocket before every away meet so I wouldn't go hungry when the bus stopped at a McDonald's.". . We speak to the gods. However, his come-from-behind clutch running performance in the 1987 championship that secured the title for McFarland really did happen. Johnny helps to recruit other students: Victor, the three Diaz brothers, Jose Cardenas (Johnny Ortiz), and Thomas Valles (Carlos Pratts). And White wasnt the only adult who looked after the kids. Costners coach, a man wholl do what he thinks is right despite the consequences, is quickly relieved of his assistant football coaching duties at McFarland. Their coach, Jim White, a non-Latino newcomer to the McFarland community, is, in the eyes of many, a loser, too. He now works as a physical education teacher at McFarland Middle School. We watched the movie together and they loved it. Cardenas is now a staff sergeant with the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Eustis, Va. A Y member has a sister who works with Cardenas wife, thus the invitation to come to Salisbury. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Flying with the birds through the groves Niki Caro Writing Credits . David Diaz. In addition, McFarlands mysterious cluster of cancers, which rapidly claimed the lives of several children, happened around the same time and gained national media attention. Some of the runners who were on the 1987 team were not depicted in the movie. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Web. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Aix-les-Bains, CRW Flags - Flag of Aix les Bains, France. I never get tired of reading the essay & watching the movie. Located in California's agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley, McFarland is one of the poorest communities in California. Jose Cardenas has made peace with seeing his life splashed across the silver screen. Despite winning their first race against local powerhouse Clovis, the father of the Diaz brothers pulls them from the team to pick in the fields. Despite the setback, the boys stick with Jim and continue training. He's fighting to get back to the country he and his family have served for decades. I havent been through McFarland in at least 15 years. In one of the 1987 races, an opponent from Bakersfields Centennial High School is shown. The International Womens Media Foundation supported Erika Aguilar'sreporting from Tijuana, Mexico as part of the Adelante Latin America Reporting Initiative. Hey, and I would love to show the film to a certain Donald T. so he could learn from Mexican American Power and warmth and character, tenacity and team spirit. The team and his family learn about this new job possibility and become upset. When we run, our spirits fly. Thank you for sharing your view as his cousin. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content Top Gap I will look for more pieces by you, as well. I thank you and your fellow team mates for a real life example for ALL the young folks. The land is ours. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. We speak the birds' language. Danny Diaz. Aix-les-Bains, city and Alpine spa, Savoie dpartement, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes rgion, southeastern France, southwest of Geneva. His journey from McFarland was pushed by his love for writing. Es uno de los tres hermanos Diaz, lo ms gordito, el ancla del equipo. He has a wife and a daughter. You close your essay with this glimpse of forgiveness: McFarland, USA suggests my teammates became winners in life. 1 May 2023. The runners begin their training with doubt about their white coach, whom they nickname Blanco. Please use Latlong.net at your own risk. We would not ask it from our loved ones, but somehow think it is okay to ask of ourselves. At a cross-country race almost 30 years ago, the gun sounds and the seven boys from McFarland High burst across the starting line amid a stampede of runners from around the state. Disney Pictures can thank me, I guess, for creating some true drama. feeling awkward and labored. "Usually, I'd finish fourth. Ms. Diamond, Besides Mr. White, other good-hearted adults looked after the towns needy youth.. The students spend long hours with their parents picking cotton, sugar beets, almonds, citrus and grapes in the areas vast produce fields. The dream came true for them, but not me. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. However, just when it seems like the team will lose, Danny, the overweight runner on the team who typically never finishes fast enough to score points, picks up speed and reaches the finish line fast enough to secure the needed points for McFarland to win the championship. It took one of our usually slower runners to sprint mightily down the stretch. Check out the latest entertainment and arts news, then plan your weekend with a look ahead at what's happening around Hampton Roads. Thank you for sharing your appreciation! Still, my heart began to sink when a screening of McFarland, USA rolled around to its climax. While Jim and his daughter Jamie watches the boys in his PE classes run laps around the track, Jamie makes a comment about Victor and Johnny being incredibly fast runners; Jim agrees, and has an epiphany: to start a cross-country team. Jos is my cousin & an inspiration to all the family. Julie and Jamie are also depicted younger than they were in 1987. We speak to the gods. McFarland, USA (2015) Vanessa Martinez: Maria Marisol. The Disney studio, maybe, should thank me for adding a little drama but, all these years later, I'm having to relive it.". In their first meet in Palo Alto, the boys endure mockery from the other more experienced and well-funded teams, and they suffer the humiliation of finishing in last place. KGET TV-17, an NBC affiliate in Bakersfield, California, created this Emmy-nominated segment that tells the story of McFarland High Schools legendary cross country program and the family, and coach, that helped mold a town. Short captions for each of them at the end of the movie say they became college graduates, teachers, cops and mentors to kids in town. True. But I found no mitigation for my pain in the movie, which portrays the team as an upstart group of runners who start out losing races but improve quickly to win the state championship. He competed in the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races and was a part of the team that won the conference in 1994. I wish you great strength, grit and joyful moments. The shoe bounces off the locker, hits the player in the face, and cuts his cheek. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Emmys Hispanic & Latino Voices STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events You are a father. I used to run in races when I was around the age of twelve, and much like Mr. Cardenas did duringg the state championships, I pushed too hard at the start and didnt last. Try to see differently. Subsequently, McFarland High School missed qualifying for the 2014 State Meet for the first time in 24 years; many feel the school is being punished for its success. So happy I found this sight. After graduating high school in 1990, Johnny went to College of the Sequoias and competed as a runner from 1990-1992. , THANK YOU FOR COURAGE. Hell talk about the ins and outs of the movie, running and more as part of a spaghetti fundraiser Saturday night at the J.F. Coach White and his new students find that they have much to learn about one another, but things begin to change when White rea. Below are 10 McFarland Fun Facts that will inspire and give you a wonderful background about the movie. The 2015 film "McFarland, USA" tells the true story of California high school cross-country coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) and his underdog team of Latino runners who had never competed in the sport before and who, when they weren't training, had to help their parents pick crops in the fields. I was never good at sports I chose ballet after my volunteer coach shamed me in pee-wee baseball and appreciate all the more how people can rise after defeats. New Zealander Niki Caro (Whale Rider, North Country) directs the late 1980s-set McFarland, USA, a tightly focused drama based on the true story of White and his out-of-left-field cross-country runners. 3. He's rallied, marched and met with California politicians as part of a group of deported veterans lobbying the government to allow them to return to the U.S. based on their military service. Cardenas, a staff sergeant in the Army stationed at Fort Eustis, was part of that team from a poverty-ridden California town that "comes from behind" to win its first state title. Es uno de los 3 hermanos que corre para Jim White. Jose Cardenas always wanted to serve in the military. But "I broke out too early and faded about half way through the 3-mile course," Cardenas said. I think its a pretty darn big deal.. In reality, their opponents were more friendly and respectful. 5, was not in the picture. I came across this letter of yours, and I must say I am touched and inspired by your words. They got that right. When we run, we are the gods. In June 2016 he plead guilty and his sentencing will occur in September 2016. Coach Jim White, whom the team called "Blanco," persuaded Cardenas to switch from football to cross-country. I was born ina family where everyone goes to college. I began to lose track of my teammates and my town. Team God bless you , I really enjoyed your article Mrs. Laura Diamond, and I am watching McFarland as I write. : I love that his story continues to inspire so many people. We speak the birds' language. Besides the tragic death of the two girls on the cross-country team, there were many other tragedies in the same year: on Valentines Day, a car crash claimed the lives of six teenagers, four of whom were from McFarland. No stupid Mexicans. Eventually sophomore Danny Diaz crossed in 91st (68th) to close out the scoring. "He thinks hes out there still, so someone needs to be there to kind of calm him down and stuff. In a piece written for the LA Times, runner Jose Cardenas said this about the final race: In the movie and reality McFarland did barely win state when our usual sixth man, Danny Diaz, whose place in races had not counted all season, moved up to fifth, the last runner whose place counts.

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