Author, Filmmaker to Show Memories of Colton

A special presentation focusing on South Colton is set to come to the Colton Area Museum this weekend. Author and filmmaker Antonio Gonzalez Vasquez will make a special presentation titled Hub City Heroes: Memories of South Colton, hosted by the Colton Area Museum Association, on March 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the museum, 380 N. La Cadena Drive. Vasquez, who is also the founder of Inland Mexican Heritage, will discuss his work and share photos and video from the Living on the Dime collection. Vasquez is currently consulting on a new South Colton community history project and will provide information on how interested residents can help and become involved, according to a release issued by the museum. For several years, Vasquez explored and documented communities along the I-10 freeway, including South Colton. The free presentation will also feature a limited number of signed copies of his book, "Mexican American in Redlands," available for purchase. A third-generation native and resident of California, Vasquez is an indigenous culture bearer, author, filmmaker and lecturer who’s work has inquired into topics as diverse as water and land use, cultural, spiritual and ethnic identity, environmental and social justice, community development and historic migration. In 1994, Vasquez created the Redlands Oral History Project, which brought to light long overlooked stories of Mexican barrios in California’s East San Bernardino Valley. Vasquez was awarded a grant in 1999 from the California Council for the Humanities to produce Visions & Versions, a multimedia exhibition and lecture series that generated significant new materials. The positive community response encouraged Vasquez to establish Inland Mexican Heritage to promote and develop community-based research, archive materials and media projects. Inland Mexican Heritage was awarded a grant in 2002 to produce Living on the Dime. This sprawling, multi-year, environmental history and humanities project traveled hundreds of miles along highways, freeways, and back roads documenting the people and land of Inland Southern California. Inspired by WPA projects that told stories of America during the Great Depression, Vasquez was determined to gather stories of the early 21st century boom that was in progress before it went bust. Over the next four years he and a team of professionals, students and inspired volunteers created an archive of several thousand images and over 100 hours of video about the history and effects of the I-10 freeway across Inland Southern California. In 2006, Vasquez established Panchebek Media to develop, produce and distribute documentary video and multimedia projects. Panchebek has produced seven documentary films, the book Mexican Americans in Redlands and continues to produce cultural and media content about California and the Southwest. Vasquez founded Casa de Culturas in 2013 creating a physical space to continue his work and research. Casa de Culturas houses the Inland Mexican Heritage archive, a spiritual retreat space and the Tonantzin Indigeneous Study Center.