The 23rd annual San Diego Latino Film Festival concludes this weekend, so it’s still not too late to take in a sampling of the multi-cultural event.
The Star-News is serving as media sponsor.
Two offerings at this year’s festival are of particular interest to South County residents: producer Eddie Cahan’s “Club Frontera” and director Mary Ann Beyster and David Romero’s “The Kitchenistas of National City.”
Both films are part of 165 feature films, documentaries and shorts from around the world that are screening at this year’s festival, which is being held at the AMC Fashion Valley 18. Selected films are also screening at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
“Club Frontera” documents the history of Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuinitles (Xolos), the city’s first division professional soccer team and, according to Cahan, the positive impact it has had on that city’s residents who had struggled with decades of corruption and violence in attempting to form a collective identity.
The film follows players, political figures, sports personalities and fans from both sides of the border as they share personal stories of how the newly emerging success of the Xolos is changing Tijuana for the better.
The film had its world premiere on Monday to packed audiences and media attention.
Cahan said the film was seven years in the making, in part by using archival footage to trace the team back to its roots when players trained in a park before the team made its rise to the top level of professional soccer in Mexico.
“It is an amazing story,” Cahan explained, “in how it has transformed the city in a positive way.”
Director Chris Cashman’s film runs 100 minutes with English subtitles. It plays Sunday, March 20, at 12:15 p.m. at the AMC Fashion Valley 18 screen 1.
Healthy dining
National City has the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in San Diego County and the state of California. The Kitchenistas are out to change that, one healthy dish at a time, as told in Beyster’s 24-mintue documentary that also screened Monday.
The Kitchenistas are graduates of the Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center’s Cooking for SaludTM program that empowers families to take control of their health through the foods they eat and prepare at home.
“My family struggled with obesity and diabetes caused by what and how we were eating,” said Patty Corona-Morales, a Kitchenista from National City. “This film is about more than how my family learned to eat better and began erasing obesity and diabetes from our lives. It’s about how thousands of others can do it, too.”
The film was first shown in October 2015 as a part of the I Imagine Film Festival in New York City and later during the Global Health Film Festival in London. The film will also be screened at festivals in Alaska, Nevada and California.
Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center is a gardening and nutrition education center in National City that provides gardening, cooking, science and nutrition education to children, families and the community. The mission of the organization is to empower students and families from diverse backgrounds to be healthy and active citizens through organic gardening, environmental stewardship and nutrition education. More information is available at www.olivewoodgardens.org.
More information about the film can be found at http://thekitchenistasmovie.org.
On tap
Sabor Latino, a beer and food festival spotlighting chefs and wineries from both San Diego and Baja California, will take place Friday, March 19, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Fashion Valley mall. Tickets are $45 for VIP tastings (1-5 p.m.) and $40 for general admission (2-5 p.m.).
Two stages will provide live entertainment.
Bi-national identity
The Xolos were founded in January 2007 and promoted in 2011 to Liga MX, the highest level of professional soccer in Mexico The team continues to play at that level. Club Tijuana won its first title in the 2012 Apertura.
The team has uplifted the spirits of fans throughout the San Diego-Tijuana region.
Chula Vista is host to one of six youth soccer academies in the United States associated with the team. Other sites include Utah, North Carolina, Minnesota, New Jersey and Oxnard.
The Xolos’ reach has been far and wide.
In fact, several Chula Vistans have gone on to play with the Xolos, most notably Sweetwater High School graduate Joe Corona and former Mater Dei Catholic High School standout Paul Arriola.
The proximity of Chula Vista to Tijuana — 18 miles — was a factor in Arriola’s signing with the professional Mexican team, he said.
The 21-year-old forward even has his own page on Wikipedia where he states, “I felt that Xolos was the place for me. I love the club, it’s my home team and the people down there are wonderful.”
Arriola was invited to train with Club Tijuana in December 2012. He has since made more than 40 appearances with the team, starting with a preseason match against Club America on July 6, 2013, at Petco Park. Arriola was able to make his debut with the Xolos a memorable event when he scored a goal in the 54th minute in what would turn out to be a 5-2 win for Club Tijuana.
Arriola made his professional league debut for the Xolos 13 days later and assisted on a goal only four minutes after entering the game as a substitute. A few days later, Arriola scored his second professional goal in a CONCACAF Champions League match against C.D. Victoria.
Corona scored the game-winning goal in Sweetwater’s 1-0 victory over Oceanside to win the 2008 San Diego Section Division II championship. He played briefly at San Diego State University — scoring three goals and one assist in 15 games in 2008 — before signing a professional contract with Club Tijuana.
Corona earned recognition as the first player coming from a youth team to score a goal with the Xolos pro team when he accomplished the feat in September 2010.
During the 2010-11 season, Corona made 39 appearances for Club Tijuana, including 34 starts, and scored six goals as the team earned promotion to the Primera Division. He is recognized as the player who scored the goal to earn the team its historic promotion and quickly became recognized as the bi-national face of the team.
The former Red Devil and Chula Vista resident has made more than 150 appearances for Club Tijuana since joining the team in 2010 and has scored 10 goals. He appeared in nine games on loan to Veracruz in 2015 and is currently on loan to Dorados de Sinaloa.
Both Corona and Arriola have played internationally for the United States.
Corona was part of the Team USA U23 squad that fell just short of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympic Games. He scored three goals in a 6-0 win over Cuba in an Olympic qualifying match on March 12, 2012, and scored a goal to push the United States to a 3-2 lead over El Salvador before the El Salvadorans scored a late goal to tie the match and eliminate the American squad from Olympic qualifying.
Corona has 21 national team appearances to his credit since 2012, with six goals. He made his first official appearance with the U.S. men’s national team in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Guatemala.
He was a member of the United States’ champion CONCACAF Gold Cup squad in 2013.
Arriola made six appearances with the United States U17 team in 2010-11 and five more appearances with the U.S. U18 team in 2012 before being promoted to Team USA’s U20 squad in 2014-15.
He made three starts in four matches at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico and appeared in four of Team USA’s five matches at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. He scored a goal in a 4-0 win over the host nation in a group stage match.
Arriola earned 14 caps with the U.S. U20 team and has appeared in 25 matches with Team USA at all age group levels, with three goals to his credit. However, he applied for Mexican citizenship, which would allow him to play as a domestic player in Liga MX matches and not count as one of five foreign players on a team’s roster.
