Documentary Feature Film, 2 hours 2 seconds, Rio Grande Valley Premiere

Synopsis:

Los Tejanos: A 500-Year History is a feature documentary tracing five centuries of Tejano history in South Texas, from the early 1500s to the present. Expansive in vision yet deeply rooted in place, the film reveals the resilience, influence, and enduring presence of Tejano communities — brought to life through oral histories, archival research, and the voices of those who have safeguarded this heritage across generations. From the vaquero tradition to the leadership of Tejana women, the film illuminates a history woven into the cultural, economic, and political fabric of Texas and the United States. It is also a history marked by exclusion. Tejanos did not immigrate to the United States; their ancestors were already here. Yet of the 59 men who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, only two were Tejanos. In the aftermath of annexation, Spanish-speaking communities across South Texas — from Corpus Christi to Brownsville, Laredo, and San Antonio — faced dispossession, discrimination, and the systematic erasure of their contributions from dominant historical narratives. At once an act of historical reclamation and a tribute to cultural endurance, Los Tejanos brings forward overlooked voices, stories, and documentation that reveal the richness and complexity of early South Texas Tejano life. It honors the generations who shaped this region and recognizes the enduring legacy Tejano communities continue to carry into the present and future. Screening at the South Texas International Film Festival in Edinburg — itself part of the Rio Grande Valley communities at the heart of this story — Los Tejanos brings its history home. The film features voices from historians, educators, archivists, musicians, artists, ranchers, policymakers, and community leaders across the Tejano community.

• Website: https://lostejanos.today

Joseph C. Stillman,

Jeri Wachter,

Richard Stillman

Bios:

Joseph C. Stillman (Director) is an Emmy-winning producer, director, cinematographer, writer, editor, and co-founder of Important Films Media. Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Stillman brings over four decades of filmmaking experience to create substantive documentary films, motion pictures, television programming, and other video and film projects for clients worldwide. His feature documentary works include the internationally acclaimed, Citizen Clark... A Life of Principle, the story of former U.S. Attorney General and Human Rights activist Ramsey Clark, From Mills River to Babylon and Back... the Jimmy Massey Story, a film about a returning veteran from the 2003 Iraq war, and the motion picture Bear (2023), which he wrote, produced, and directed. A consummate artist dedicated to human rights and social justice, Stillman's impactful works have been seen around the globe. He is a Brooks Institute of Photography graduate in Santa Barbara, California, majoring in Motion Picture Production.

Jeri Wachter (Producer) is a filmmaker, producer, cinematographer, and former scientific publisher whose work reflects a longstanding dedication to social justice, public understanding, and institutional change. Raised between New York City and rural Georgia, she draws on both perspectives in her documentaries, including Something in the Water, Rural Matters: Poverty in Other America, and Twice Upon a Time in America — films that examine urgent historical and contemporary social and political issues with rigor, clarity, and an eye toward informed dialogue. Before founding Important Films Media, Wachter co-founded and chaired William Andrew Publishing, building it over two decades into a leading publisher of technical and scientific works and the Knovel platform. She later spearheaded the Workplace Equity Project, advancing research and action on systemic workplace bias in scholarly publishing. Wachter holds a bachelor's degree in biology, with a minor in sociology, from Baruch College, CUNY.

Richard Stillman (Executive Producer) is a native-born Tejano. He is a Tejano Erudito, ranchero for over 40 years, y widely respected expert on the history and culture of Tejanos in South Texas. As a leading advisor on Los Tejanos: A 500-Year History, he contributed invaluable historical knowledge and cultural insight to the film. As a founder y member of La Santa Cruz de la Concepción Tejanos (SCCT) in Concepción, Texas, Stillman has devoted decades to preserving the traditions and historical memory of Tejano communities in the region. Born and raised in Corpus Christi, he has spent decades ranching in Concepción and is recognized for his deep connection to the land, the people, and the enduring legacy of Tejano life in South Texas. Stillman is a graduate of Texas A&I University in Corpus Christi, TX.