Winner of both the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance 2026, American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez played a 40-city theatrical run this summer and comes to PBS’s American Masters on October 6. CCA member Tim Cogshell sits down with the subject of the film Luis Valdez, writer/director/producer David Alvarado, and producer Everett Katigbak to talk about writing a fictional narrator into a documentary, rescuing 80,000 feet of endangered El Teatro Campesino film, and putting the father of Chicano theater on the big screen.
 
Film Synopsis – Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story. Narrated by Edward James Olmos, American Pachuco is the first feature documentary about the father of Chicano theater and film.