¡VOZ! Congreso Continues with From the Fields: An American Journey Conversation w. Filmmaker Carolyn Brown and NBC News Reporter Damian Trujillo in Innovation Studio, Feb. 6
JANUARY 11, 2013
NBC News Reporter Damian Trujillo
Kimmel Center Presents continues ¡VOZ! Congreso, a collection of intimate conversations with acclaimed Latino celebrities and intellectuals, with filmmaker Carolyn Brown and NBC bay area news reporter Damian Trujillo discussing the biographical film From the Fields: An American Journey on February 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kimmel Center’s Innovation Studio. Univision 65 lead news anchor Ilia Garcia hosts and moderates the evening with Trujillo and Brown engaging in a dynamic conversation about Trujillo’s beginnings as a farmworker in Salinas Valley, Calif., his experiences as a journalist, and his role as host of “Comunidad Del Valle,” the longest-running public affairs show in Northern California.
A screening of From the Fields: An American Journey, Brown’s compelling biographical film, will kick off the evening conversation exploring Trujillo’s life and career in the media as a Mexican-American immigrant. With the growing influence of Latinos in the United States and President Obama’s contemplation of immigration reform, From the Fields confounds audiences disclosing stereotypes of Latinos in the United States overcoming social, political and economic constraints, and their representation and misrepresentation in the media.
The next ¡VOZ! Congreso Latino in America intimate conversation is scheduled to take place with Soledad O’Brien, anchor for the CNN morning show Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien and a special correspondent for CNN/US, on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. ¡VOZ! Congreso launched March 2012 with living legend Rita Moreno, who originated the silver screen role of Anita in West Side Story and shared her journey in challenging roles in film, TV, and on stage.
Tickets for ¡VOZ! Congreso, From the Fields: An American Journey with Damian Trujillo and filmmaker Carolyn Brown are currently on sale at kimmelcenter.org, 215-893-1999, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office located on Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, Pa. (open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., later on performance evenings). Tickets are available for $15, plus applicable service charges.
The daughter of a Latin American immigrant, Carolyn Brown is an assistant professor at American University and
an expert on immigrant communities, Latino representation in the media and the
anti-immigrant movement—all issues she deftly tackles in her films. Distributed to NBC affiliates across the
country, From the Fields: An American Journey goes beyond the hateful
rhetoric surrounding the immigration debate and into a deeper exploration of
what it means to work, to support family and contribute to our American
society. Brown produced a documentary film, On the Line (2011), shot in Arizona on the border during a time when the anti-immigrant sentiment was exploding. On the Line follows the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps and the anti-immigrant movement, examining the history of immigration in the United States. The film has aired on PBS stations more than 200-times in major markets across the country.
Brown has appeared as an expert on several national broadcast news shows, including CBS Evening News, CNN in Español, and the Diane Rehm Show, discussing her documentary and immigration and militia groups. She has been quoted as an expert in such publications as The Financial Times, ABCNews.com, and PBS FRONTLINE Lost in Detention investigation, which examined the immigration detention system in the United States.
Brown is currently working on the documentary, The Salinas Project, which examines the lives of children of immigrant farm workers. It follows the struggles and successes of the people who live in the agricultural, immigrant, city of Salinas. Brown’s journalism career spans more than a decade as a journalist and news producer at MSNBC News and Fox News Channel, in New York City; a producer and senior producer in local news in San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Phoenix, Ariz. Brown has written commentary as a contributor for MSNBC.COM. She began her news career at CBS News.
Damian Trujillo has been an NBC Bay Area news reporter for 16 years and been honored with awards from the Associated Press, the Radio and Television News Director's Association (RTNDA), and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. In 2011, the Chavez Family Vision awarded Trujillo with its prestigious Si Se Puede Award for his community work. Trujillo was named "2004 Reporter of the Year" by the Associated Press Television and Radio Association for California and Nevada, and five times nominated for an Emmy Award.
Trujillo grew up in Greenfield, about 1.5 hours south of San José on Highway 101. While in high school, Trujillo worked in the agricultural fields of the Salinas Valley, with his family, to help make ends meet. As a former farm worker, Trujillo now honors his first job, on the César Chávez Holiday. Every year on March 31, Trujillo hosts family, friends, and students to assemble sack lunches at the Trujillo home, and distribute them to roughly 250 farm workers in the South Bay. The gesture is a “thank you” to farm workers, for their tireless work. Each year, the Trujillo family awards a college scholarship to the son or daughter of a farm worker in Greenfield.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission is to operate a world class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience which includes providing arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
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