After a difficult first half, a disrespectful player talks back to White in the locker room during the coachs half-time talk. Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes has about thirty thousand residents and it is a very important cultural center of the region, with plenty of various cultural events and sports competitions taking place there year round. Jose Cardenas, 67, stands at U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana that has been painted with the names of deported U.S. veterans. "McFarland, USA" tells a heartwarming story about . , THANK YOU FOR COURAGE. Damacio Diaz went to college, then became a police officer and a 17-year veteran of the Bakersfield Police Department as a detective. Their coach, Jim White, a non-Latino newcomer to the McFarland community, is, in the eyes of many, a loser, too. 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 werent training, had to help their parents pick crops in the fields. Although White isnt a track coach, he sees great potential for a cross-country team at McFarland High. One runner, Luis Partida, was replaced with David Diaz, the brother of Damacio and Danny Diaz. Stay in touch. 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. Powered by - Designed with theHueman theme, (Visited 2,021 times, 2 visits today, 1,283,698 total visits overall), describing his experience with the McFarland team. 1987 was the first year that the state cross-country championship race was offered to schools. The McFarland team continued to run races in North America, Europe, and Asia. Courtyard by Marriott has donated a room, and Cheerwine has donated bottled water for Saturday. No one is perfect. 30,291. The school is notable for its succession of twenty-four CIF Central Section championships in cross country between 1987 and 2013. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? The runners begin their training with doubt about their white coach, whom they nickname Blanco. But watching the low point in my young life exposed in a Hollywood film reopened a bitter memory I had tucked away long ago with my running shoes. After high school graduation, Danny Diaz attended Bakersfield Junior College and Fresno State, then became a teacher and counselor at McFarland High School. Appreciate your different philosophical way to look at things. He would often buy shoes and food for his runners. Jose Cardenas, left, and actor Johnny Ortiz attend the premiere of Disney's "McFarland, USA" at the El Capitan Theatre on Feb. 9, 2015, in Hollywood, California. Well, my story is very long with happiness, sadness, accomplishment, rewards, and many more. The Disney studio, maybe, should thank me for adding a little drama but, all these years later, I'm having to relive it.". Victor Puentes: Michael Aguero . The cornerstone facts are true, but the story itself is not necessarily very accurate. I agree, Griselda, he is an inspiration to people all over the world. 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. Damacio Diaz. Damacio Diaz recalled fondly in an interview for the film that he would often jog with his dad, Paul Diaz, who worked hard for his family. The team really did call Jim Blanco as a nickname. Not immigrant no more. Coach Jim White, whom the team called "Blanco," persuaded Cardenas to switch from football to cross-country. Jim White and his wife Cheryl have three daughters. 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. I hope to write a book one these days. Yours sincerely, Bettina, Johnny, Alexis and Natalia from Paraguay. Ms. Diamond, Jose Cardenas became a writer for The Los Angeles Times and is currently serving his country in the U.S. army. And by that measure, maybe I can let go for good the sour memory of the state race. We would have crushed the team that finished second. -BakersfieldCalifornian.com Did Coach White really help the kids work in the fields? The movie is also going global. 3. 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. Check out the latest entertainment and arts news, then plan your weekend with a look ahead at what's happening around Hampton Roads. He also coaches the McFarland Youth Track Club as an assistant to Thomas Valles, who is the head coach. This past weekend I saw McFarland, USA, a movie about one phase of your life, growing up in the agricultural town of McFarland, California. "McFarland, USA Quotes." I came across this letter of yours, and I must say I am touched and inspired by your words. And Rita Peebles, a cook in the cafeteria, slipped five bucks into my pocket before every away meet so I wouldnt go hungry when the bus stopped at McDonalds. The player, Johnny, is also kicked off the team. "Life is not just one race," he said. Still, my heart began to sink when a screening of McFarland, USA rolled around to its climax. Then computers.". They were a family. Es uno de los tres hermanos Diaz, lo ms gordito, el ancla del equipo. Its amazing how everybody is connected to it. After Jim meets Principal Camillo (Valente Rodriguez) on his first day of work, he begins his new job as a life science/PE teacher and assistant football coach. All Rights Reserved. Meanwhile, Jim settles into his neighborhood and learns about the troubled life of one of his other students, Victor Puentes (Sergio Avelar), whose uncle just got out of prison and whose father is still in prison. His journey from McFarland was pushed by his love for writing. . A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? According to an interview, both he Cheryl, have seen the movie three times and cried three times. According to People Magazine, even Oscar winner Costner was impressed by the man he portrays in the new Disney film. He took my place, and McFarland miraculously still won. as part of a group of deported veterans lobbying the government to allow them to return to the U.S. Adelante Latin America Reporting Initiative. See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by . Johnny Sameniego: Sergio Avelar . "He thinks hes out there still, so someone needs to be there to kind of calm him down and stuff. Cardenas turned an internship at the Los Angeles Times into a full-time job on various beats. He still follows local cross-country avidly and despite the artistic license of the film, he enjoyed the movie greatly. This movie has been an awesome inspiration to me, cause it takes back to my childhood years, and how tough it was at times, but I had the type of parents, and Im so happy to say, that were always pushing us to be better. The latitude of Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France is 45.688499, When we run, we own the earth. Im in the Army, he says, so I have to stay in shape.. Mcfarland High School Class of 2011 Ricardo Carmona . Cardenas says he was deported to somewhere near the U.S.-Texas border, far from his birthplace in southern Mexico town of Tecomn in the state of Colima. Photo by RON PHILLIPS -- From left, Johnny Sameniego (Hector Duran), Victor Puentes (Sergio Avelar), Damacio Diaz (Michael Aguero), Danny Diaz (Ramiro Rodriguez), Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), Jose Cardenas (Johnny Ortiz), Thomas Valles (Carlos Pratts) and David Diaz (Rafael Martinez) share a scene in 'McFarland, USA.' However, Centennial High School was not formed until 1993. 4. Facebook gives people the power to. Its taken me awhile to warm up to it., Jim White, portrayed by Kevin Costner, was the team coach. A summer and winter resort with a beach on Bourget Lake (France's largest lake) and an aerial cableway up fir-covered Mount Revard (5,125 feet [1,562 metres]), it is a fashionable Alpine spa maintaining the sedate luxury of the Victorian era. He then worked at an institution in Soledad, California, followed by a job at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, California. Change). The movie opens Friday. Thats want counts as much as a victory itself. When we run, our spirits fly. The land is ours. We saw the movie as a team, but we also wanted to invite local runners and the whole community, too.. Danny Diaz. Also, around 500 McFarland residents (4%) are the average age for high school seniors (18-19). Marsh praises local businesses for their support. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images). Our coach, played by Kevin Costner, built a sports powerhouse largely with the children of farmworkers in a lackluster part of the state. Pace yourself. In the rest of the movie, he takes a back seat to the actors portraying the runners who performed better at the race. Victor Puentes, one of the brightest students on the team, went to college but then had to leave school when his mom got sick. Then you spent afternoons running miles upon miles upon miles. In the end, he says, its a Hollywood movie. Le explica a White que comenz trabajar en los campos a los 10 aos. Mcfarland High School Class of 1988 Jose Carmona. That final championship race. 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). Im so glad my essay from 2015 found you in 2022. Jose Cardenas became a writer for The Los Angeles Times and is currently serving his country in the U.S. army. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. McFarland was not a desperate last resort. The ethnicity of Whites athletes surprises their competitors but, once the efficiently paced story starts rolling, there are no big surprises in McFarland, USA. Its a feel-good movie, plain and simple. les informations, l'actualit de la voile en Rhne. Disgraced former Bakersfield Police Department detective Damacio Diaz, one of the real-life heroes of the movie "McFarland USA," was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Fresno to five . "We were competitive, but the world of cross-country running is such an insular, quiet community that the runners were more friendly.". Jose Cardenas. But Cardenas isn't that worried about the enduring connection to one of his most regrettable moments. Victor Puentes served a sentence at the penitentiary, but continued his education and got a good job. Aix-les-Bains, city and Alpine spa, Savoie dpartement, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes rgion, southeastern France, southwest of Geneva. Currently, he is a correctional officer at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California. So happy they all turned out to be heroes. "The life out there and the life in here is totally different," he says of living in Mexico. Jose Cardenas Carlos Pratts. Jim works overtime to train them harder, but he begins to experience more challenges: his home life is strained when he forgets his daughters birthday cake and misses her celebration, and later he finds the depressed Thomas on a bridge about to jump off. You were born in a community where that was not true, but with the blessings of a great coach and other adults topoint the way to other paths, you made that your reality. By this point, the team and the sport have become the great pride and joy of the community. Jose Cardenas became a writer for The Los Angeles Times and is currently serving his country in the U.S. army. Jim sees this and knows that Jose has put too much into the start of the race and will likely fall back at the end. Please note: On the Scene with Mrs. Kathy King receives compensation of one or more of the products and banners that you will see on this post and or site. Team God bless you , I really enjoyed your article Mrs. Laura Diamond, and I am watching McFarland as I write. As far as Cardenas is concerned, it is a day that will live in infamy, even though the team won, and it's a great finish for a movie. Jim has to talk him off. Niki Caro Writing Credits . Photographs taken from the album of Sylvia Diaz (one of the girls who died in 1986) are some of the last pictures that those two girls took with their teammates. Their oldest daughter, Tami, is not depicted in the film. A day later, I read inyour essay in the L.A. Times that your State Championship race was one of the biggest disappointments in my youth. Your long-held regret stirred the nurturer in me, and although you are a grown man, a journalist, husband, father, and Army sergeant, in my mind you are still that high school kid, and I cant help my motherly instinct to tell you how I see what you did that day, and what lessons you have taught me and my children. After graduating high school in 1990, Johnny went to College of the Sequoias and competed as a runner from 1990-1992. Showing all 2 items Jump to: . Jim buys Julie a nice dress and has a wonderful time with Julie at the party, even dancing with his daughter who is overwhelmed with joy. The climb upward from despair for Coach White isnt easy. Great reminder that we can revisit the things that inspire us. You set out sprinting, on fire to prove something. Our kids are so excited about his appearance.. The mantra at our house has all ways been that good luck and opportunity comes through HARD WORK. View the profiles of people named Jose Cardenas. Population stats are from the United States Census Bureau. It isnt an important hobby of mine, but what you had to say about it is very applicable to my life right now, so Id like to simply say thank you, Dear Gabriella, In a dramatic instance of culture shock, White, his wife, Cheryl (Maria Bello in a one-dimensional role as supportive spouse and mother), their disapproving teen daughter, Julie (Morgan Saylor), and the familys youngest child, little sister Jamie (Elsie Fisher), move from a predominantly white, middle-class neighborhood to a poor Mexican-American community. View JOSSUE CARRILLO CARDENAS' professional profile on LinkedIn. Victor Puentes served a sentence at the penitentiary, but continued his education and got a good job. Jim doesnt want their spirits to sink too low and takes responsibility for the loss, saying it was on him. The shoe bounces off the locker, hits the player in the face, and cuts his cheek. If you read some of the stories, some of them are pretty crazy. You have permission to edit this article. An hour of discussions and plans and ideas followed and they all said: you gave it a try, you had so much heart and wanted to give victory to your team mates. "Actually, lettuce didn't grow there, but that's a minor thing. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. His alumni now coach the cross-country programs for the elementary, junior high, high school, as well as McFarlands Parks and Rec teams. Hes looking forward to answering questions about the movie tomorrow evening, and to talk about whats accurate and whats not. 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. 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 all the setbacks, their hard work pays off, and the team does well enough in their next race to qualify for the state championships. Like his new students in McFarland, hes beaten down, carries a chip on his shoulder, is pessimistic about the future. Jim is so distraught by this incident that he begins to seriously consider leaving McFarland and accept the job offer at the wealthy school. And there was cotton," he said. Jos Cardenas is a true inspiration. (LogOut/ You see I was in the same boat as I was growing up in Salinas Ca. Danny Diaz (Ramiro Rodriguez), Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), Jose Cardenas (Johnny Ortiz), Thomas Valles (Carlos Pratts) and David Diaz . 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 "It's a great lesson to us, McFarland, that if we give our children, our young men, our young women goals, we let them see what's possible, they can exceed beyond their own wildest expectations." ~ Kevin Costner 8) Some Experience Jim Price, a janitor at the high school, let me live with his family. Cardenas was a member of the California state championship cross-country team whose story is portrayed in the new movie McFarland, USA, which was released by Disney in February. The McFarland, USA true story confirms that at first, the mother of the Diaz brothers -- David, Damacio and Danny -- forbid them from competing. Thank you for sharing your appreciation! As one of the runners said: McFarland was a more balanced community of Latino and white residents then. When we run, our spirits fly. He can be reached at mal.vincent12@gmail.com. Samaniego currently holds CSUBs 18th best time in the 1,500-meter race. Cardenas says one of his grandsons just joined the military, too. 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. And by that measure, maybe I can let go for good the sour memory of the state race. His teams won nine championships in 14 years. 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. Movies. Tambin es pizcador en las maanas. I lived in a dilapidated one-bedroom house across the street from my church with a couple older brothers who worked in the fields. Please feel free to share with your friends by click on the share button. Thanks Laura for this wonderful and insightful letter to MR JOSE CARDENAS. He says McFarland, a small town south of Fresno, in California's San Joaquin Valley, was more urban and less ethnically polarized than is pictured in the movie. 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. All other trade-marks and graphic not owned by www.MrsKathyKing.com that appears on this post are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or a sponsored of www.MrsKathyKing.com. McFarland, USA (also known as McFarland) is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by Antnio Pinto. And though people in McFarland did have jobs in the farms, they weren't picking lettuce, as shown in the film. Now, 28 years later, Cardenas has had to relive that vexing memory because his performance is a focal part of "McFarland, USA," a film occupying theaters nationwide. That race is going to healyour daughtersheart some day. Many of us found our way to college and livelihoods away from the fields. Now, we take our kids out of state for runs, three to four times a year. You and your friends worked in the mornings before school and on the weekends in the fields picking vegetables and fruit, just about the hardest (and most important) work anyone can imagine. They got that right. JamesEdition can help you find the home that match all the preferences for your dream home. I google searched Jose Cardenas after watching McFarland, USA out of curiosity, because as you may see, my last name is also Cardenas. The album has been published and can. Since his retirement, he has also traveled the country as a motivational speaker and to help promote the movie. McFarland USA will choke up undemanding viewers, but there isn't enough in it to be remembered as a great sports film. In 1999, police caught him driving a meth dealer around, and he was convicted of drug conspiracy. A few notches down from what the Whites are accustomed to, but the troublemaking Coach White, or at least hes perceived to be a troublemaker, has no other options left. Eventually sophomore Danny Diaz crossed in 91st (68th) to close out the scoring. McFarland was a more balanced community of Latino and white residents then. Jose Cardenas, left, and actor Johnny Ortiz attend the premiere of Disneys McFarland, USA at the El Capitan Theatre on Feb. 9, 2015, in Hollywood, California. His group painted a section of the border fence in Tijuana red, white and blue with the names of deported veterans. Jim White and his wife Cheryl still live in McFarland. In one of the 1987 races, an opponent from Bakersfields Centennial High School is shown. At the end of the celebration, Lupe and Javi take Julie in a traditional parade of cars down the boulevard. "They have to add up the average.". You might have miscalculated your strengths, but you took out energy from others as well who tried to follow you. After high school, Cardenas went to a junior college "half-an-hour up Highway 99 and continued running, but on paper. A caption says what became of me,a sort of champ in my own life, too, I guess. Mr. Cardenas, theres nothing to guess about. God Bless. He also occasionally travels as a motivational speaker and in the course of doing these promotional appearances, he has seen the movie eight times. The dream came true for them, but not me. The mother of the three Diaz boys really did forbid them to run cross-country at one point. The Perezchica brothers Henry and Jose led McFarland, finishing 22nd and 37th overall . (Spoiler alert for movie fans who arent aware that Disney movies havehappy and dramatic endings). The two teams were close and a terrible tragedy that killed two girls on the cross-country team (Sylvia Diaz, 16, and Herlinda Gonzalez, 14, were struck and killed by a car during cross-country practice) earlier that school year, A journalist who covered the 1987 race remembers this moving moment when Thomas Valles, who is a prominent character in the film, ponders the deaths of Sylvia and Herlinda before the championship race: Here was the star runner, just a kid, bringing his hands to his face in prayer and keeping them there for what seemed an eternity before the start of his race The loss of Sylvia and Herlinda followed their teammates into 1987, the year of the boys first state cross-country victory., One of the runners, David Diaz, said this to the same journalist about the tragedys effect: The tragedy that happened to McFarland cross-country that year (1986), I believe, catapulted many of us to run with more heart in the following years.
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