Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film
“Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film” explores the history of labor in the US–Mexico borderlands through Tap Dance, Mexican Zapateado, Son Jarocho, Afro Caribbean movement, and live music. Co-directed by John Jota Leaños and Vanessa Sanchez, this work brings together polyrhythmic movement and an original score to look at the (ongoing) years of systemic exploitation of labor while highlighting the power and joy of collective resistance.
Based on farmworker interviews in California, this work honors the sacred hands that feed us and was filmed on Avila Garcia Farms with support from "Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS)," a non-profit advocacy organization for farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, CA. A full-length dance theater production of Ghostly Labor will premiere in 2023.
Performers: Vanessa Sanchez, Sandy Vazquez, Kirsten Millan, Diana Aburto, Micah Sallid, Javier Navarrette, Pedro Gomez, Elena de Troya, Tanya Benítez, Sharon Benítez
Interviewees: Rocio Avila Garcia, Serafín Avila Garcia, Don Ramon Sonoqui Martínez, Antonio Castro
Director of Photography: Elie M. Khadra
Gimbal Operator: Andrew Lew
1st Assistant Camera: Yuito Kimura
Editor: John Jota Leaños & Harry Gregory
Music: "El Camotal, Manos Que Nos Dan," Lyrics by Laura Rebolloso
Musical Arrangements by Javier Navarrette & Vanessa Sanchez
Produced by Harry Gregory & Sharon Benítez
Sound Engineer: Greg Landau
Audio Engineer: Jim Choi
Colorist: Robert Arnold
Production Assistant: Joseline Granados
About La Mezcla
Vanessa Sanchez (she/her) is a Chicana-Native dancer, choreographer, and educator who emphasizes the voices and experiences of Latina, Chicana and Indigenous women and youth through contemporary performance, community arts, and traditional dance forms. Sanchez is the director and founder of the San Francisco-based dance company, La Mezcla. vanessasanchez.net/lamezcla/
John Jota Leaños (he/we) is a Mestizo (Mexican-Italian-Chumash) interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, animator, and Professor of Film and Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz. A Guggenheim Fellow and Creative Capital Artist, Leaños creates work within the embattled terrains of memory and history. leanos.net
Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film
“Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film” explores the history of labor in the US–Mexico borderlands through Tap Dance, Mexican Zapateado, Son Jarocho, Afro Caribbean movement, and live music. Co-directed by John Jota Leaños and Vanessa Sanchez, this work brings together polyrhythmic movement and an original score to look at the (ongoing) years of systemic exploitation of labor while highlighting the power and joy of collective resistance.
Based on farmworker interviews in California, this work honors the sacred hands that feed us and was filmed on Avila Garcia Farms with support from "Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS)," a non-profit advocacy organization for farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, CA. A full-length dance theater production of Ghostly Labor will premiere in 2023.
Performers: Vanessa Sanchez, Sandy Vazquez, Kirsten Millan, Diana Aburto, Micah Sallid, Javier Navarrette, Pedro Gomez, Elena de Troya, Tanya Benítez, Sharon Benítez
Interviewees: Rocio Avila Garcia, Serafín Avila Garcia, Don Ramon Sonoqui Martínez, Antonio Castro
Director of Photography: Elie M. Khadra
Gimbal Operator: Andrew Lew
1st Assistant Camera: Yuito Kimura
Editor: John Jota Leaños & Harry Gregory
Music: "El Camotal, Manos Que Nos Dan," Lyrics by Laura Rebolloso
Musical Arrangements by Javier Navarrette & Vanessa Sanchez
Produced by Harry Gregory & Sharon Benítez
Sound Engineer: Greg Landau
Audio Engineer: Jim Choi
Colorist: Robert Arnold
Production Assistant: Joseline Granados
About La Mezcla
Vanessa Sanchez (she/her) is a Chicana-Native dancer, choreographer, and educator who emphasizes the voices and experiences of Latina, Chicana and Indigenous women and youth through contemporary performance, community arts, and traditional dance forms. Sanchez is the director and founder of the San Francisco-based dance company, La Mezcla. vanessasanchez.net/lamezcla/
John Jota Leaños (he/we) is a Mestizo (Mexican-Italian-Chumash) interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, animator, and Professor of Film and Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz. A Guggenheim Fellow and Creative Capital Artist, Leaños creates work within the embattled terrains of memory and history. leanos.net