Lights, Camera, Social Action for Their ‘Hood

For almost a decade, students at Barrio Productions in Oxnard have been educating and representing their ‘hood.

They’ve put together shows on local artists, poets and musicians. They’ve highlighted local bands in their Spanish language, MTV-like show and produced videos on everything from teen pregnancy to graffiti. Finally, they’ll get a little recognition for their hard work.

They’ll receive El Concilio del Condado de Ventura’s youth award at the organization’s annual leadership awards event Saturday.

“We picked them because they’re reaching so many youth through their efforts,” said Ivonne Gutierrez, executive director of El Concilio. “We want to showcase them and show that this has done a lot” for young people.

The awards recognize local individuals and organizations that have made positive contributions in the Ventura County area.

Barrio Productions is a city-sponsored program that began in 1994 as a summer media apprenticeship for minority youth who mainly live in public housing. Since its inception, the program has grown to year-round and now includes all Oxnard students. The majority though, still live nearby in public housing.

It’s a small group of students, who either hear about the program and apply or who wander into the tiny studio at the Public Housing Authority office on Colonia Road and find it hard to leave.

When Pris Torres, 18, first came to the studio, she didn’t know anything about editing, writing, directing or even operating a camera. A couple of months later, she thinks she’s found what she wants to do with her life.

“Hopefully, I can study film or media,” said Torres, who graduated from Frontier High School, a continuation school in Camarillo, last month. She starts classes at Oxnard College in May.

Torres says she has no desire to ever be in front of the camera. She’d rather find interesting people to film.

“Kids especially are my favorite part,” Torres said. “When you film them, they smile at you and they’re so happy about it. It’s just a very cool experience.”

Julio Alcala, the program’s coordinator, said Barrio Productions is an outlet for young adults who might otherwise be engaging in negative activities. The work keeps them busy but also educates them about the media and makes them part of a kind of local consciousness-raising, he said.

Every week, viewers can tune in to their local TV station and hear from local artists and poets. The Barrio Productions team is also busy creating educational videos for parents. Recently, it produced a Spanish-language show about the importance of playing with children under 5.

“We’re putting out these ideas, covering the local scene,” Alcala said. For example, The neighborhood “isn’t known for being a producer of music. There are other things we’re known for, and now we’re showing the public something else.”

Marcos Ruelas, 21, said he’d probably be home “bummin’ or writing songs” if he wasn’t out filming and producing the sounds for Barrio Productions’ films. Ruelas, who would like to go into music or television production, says he enjoys the general vibe at the production company.

“There’s a lot of people here who care about their neighborhood the same way I do,” said Ruelas, who is trying to go back to school and earn his grade equivalency diploma. “We got rappers, we got musicians, we got people who recite poetry. There’s talent all over this neighborhood.”