“I wish that I had been allowed to be talented,” blurts a simmering Lupe López as he tries to cajole, guilt, and shame his son Jesus to play the trumpet at his 65th birthday celebration. The backyard mariachi concert by La Familia López is the crowning moment for a beaming Lupe, the proud patriarch of his family.
Jesus’ refusal to play causes Lupe to reflect on his youth and the repressed desire to learn the trumpet and his own father’s coaching on how to mask his emotions. These are some of the themes explored by Laredo filmmaker Isaac Garza in the 2023 film short The Son Who Can’t Play Trumpet.
As the camera pans the gathered guests, we see faces familiar to us. El huerco chiflado, el gringo who has learned the “I got you ‘aghhhhhh’” heard here every day, the boisterous chanters encouraging the reluctant Jesus. The scenes filmed across from the Plaza Theater and the party gathering are authentic because they take place in Laredo to a score composed by Laredo-born Grammy award winner Adrian Quesada.
This was the backdrop that director Garza was seeking when he decided to film in his hometown.
The project catalyst was his award-winning HBO film Pepito that explored the relationship between a son and his very religious mother. Pepito was filmed in the Austin area. Karen Gaytan, one of the founders of the Laredo Film Society told Garza, “You know that’s a Laredo film shot somewhere else.”
When Garza received a $25,000 grant from the HBO One-Fifty Pa’Lante Promise program that focused on underrepresented communities, Gaytan encouraged him to expand the funding and film entirely on location in Laredo. She is the film’s producer.
“I know Karen as a problem solver, and I involved her to strategize about shooting in Laredo,” Garza said.
Gaytan, a filmmaker with a background in community organizing, cut her teeth as a production assistant on Journey, a full-length film shot partially in Laredo with an international cast.
Gaytan credits that experience with her own journey of telling border stories that validate tales neglected by mainstream media.
Soon Garza and Gaytan had galvanized the Laredo arts community, and they succeeded in convincing the City of Laredo and private donors to contribute. With a modest $75,000 budget the project relied on Garza’s Austin area collaborators and Gaytan’s Laredo Film Society network of local aficionados to tackle the project.
The father-son conflict of The Son Who Can’t Play Trumpet was a universal theme seen through a niche world, said Garza. That story was intertwined with the immigrant themes of assimilation in a border culture.
Amidst financial and logistical challenges, Gaytan and the production team developed COVID pandemic testing protocols before major scenes.
Garza said that the whole experience was fulfilling and that his film crew was inspired by the adventure. He wants to tell more Laredo stories in the future and encourages the support of the Laredo Film Society and developing infrastructure for future endeavors in the region.
The Son Who Can’t Play Trumpet can be found on Omeleto, a free streaming platform at youtube.com/@Omeleto.
(Armando X. Lopez is an attorney, poet, journalist, and lifelong advocate for this frontera that he loves dearly.)
