ABSTRACT
Hector Galan is a prolific independent filmmaker, notable for his insightful and comprehensive documentation of the Latino experience in America. He has produced and directed more than thirty documentaries, most under the banner of the Austin, Texas-based Galan Productions Inc. Galan founded the company in 1984, in large part to fill a void in media representation of MexicanAmerican culture, politics, and history. Since then, Galan has won numerous national and international awards for exploring such diverse topics as illegal immigration, race relations in the military, HIV/AIDS prevention, college athletics, and women in ranching culture. His productions appear regularly on national PBS television. He has produced or directed eleven episodes of the provocative ‘‘Frontline’’ series, as well as two programs for the acclaimed ‘‘The American Experience’’ series. Galan’s seminal four-part series, Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, was screened at the White House for President Bill Clinton. In 1998, a retrospective of his work was shown at the Smithsonian. Taken as a whole, Galan’s substantial body of
work represents a compelling and multifaceted visual record of the Latino experience in America.
