Paul Espinosa Papers, 1970-2008 (MSS 768)

Series 1) EARLY RESEARCH AND DISSERTION: Notes, interview transcripts, and writings created while Espinosa was a graduate student in anthropology at Stanford University and the years directly following. Arranged in four subseries: A) Course Materials and Notes, B) Interviews and Notebooks, C) Lou Grant Show, and D) Writings.

A) Course Materials and Notes: Calendars, correspondence, and notes on phone calls relating to Espinosa's Stanford University dissertation and magazine publications. Also includes lecture notes from Stanford University, primarily from classes on anthropology, Spanish, and communication, and some course materials for classes taught by Dr. Espinosa.

B) Interviews and Notebooks: Interviews and Notebooks: Transcripts of Espinosa's interviews with screenwriter Ken Trevey and with LA Times journalists and editors, and notebooks containing personal notes, journal entries, and lecture and research notes.

C) Lou Grant Show: Espinosa's notes on the cast, characters, and production of the Lou Grant television series, used as research for his 1982 dissertation, Text-Building in a Hollywood Television Series: An Ethnographic Study.

D) Writings: Drafts, notes, and correspondence for Espinosa's dissertation and other writings while a student at Stanford University.

Series 2) KPBS OFFICE AND SUBJECT FILES: Office and subject files, most of which were collected by Paul Espinosa while working as senior producer for the Office of Latino Affairs and as executive producer for Public Affairs and Ethnic Issues at KPBS. Files include correspondence, ephemera, reports, proposals, notes, clippings, press releases and planning materials regarding programs and research at KPBS. Emphasis is on topics pertinent to Latino culture, organizations, and issues in the San Diego-Tijuana region, though files on broadcasting environments and executive materials are included. Extensive additional newspaper clippings files may be found in Series 8. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Series 3) PRODUCTION FILES: An extensive series of scripts, interview transcripts, research files, proposals, correspondence, notes, publicity, and other production materials regarding films and features produced by Paul Espinosa, including work still under development. His dramatic and documentary films highlight Mexican Americans, Latino culture, and U.S.-Mexico border issues. Supporting audiovisual materials for productions, such as original video and sound recordings of interviews, are in Series 6 and 7.

Arranged chronologically in twenty-one subseries, by production: A) Junior Robles: Tribute to a Champion (1982); B) Fronteras (ca. 1981-1986); C) The Trail North (1983); D) Ballad of an Unsung Hero (1984); E) The Lemon Grove Incident (1986); F) Mexican Folk Art (1986-1988); G) In the Shadow of the Law (1988); H) Uneasy Neighbors (1990); I) The New Tijuana (1990); J) Los Mineros (1991); K) History Wars: Textbook Debate (circa 1991); L) Challenge of Diversity/A World of Difference (1991-1992); M) 1492 Revisited (1992); N) The Hunt for Pancho Villa (1993); O) ...and the earth did not swallow him (1996); P) U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848 (1998); Q) The Border (1999); R) Pain and Privilege in Peñasquitos (2000-2003); S) Visiones: Taco Shop Poets (2004); T) California and the American Dream: The Price of Renewal (2006); U) Padre Martínez (2002-2003).

A) Junior Robles: Tribute to a Champion (1982): Interview transcripts, scripts and production files for Espinosa's biography of San Diego boxing coach Yrenio "Junior" Robles.

B) Fronteras (ca. 1981-1986): Current events program on KPBS with a focus on Mexican Americans and the border.

C) The Trail North (1983): Correspondence, interview transcripts, notes, photographs, proposals, ephemera, research files, graphics, and treatments for Espinosa's 1983 film. The film documents the journey of anthropologist Robert Alvarez and his son, Louis Alvarez, as they trace the history of their family's immigration from Baja California to San Diego. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

D) Ballad of an Unsung Hero (1984): Production materials for Espinosa's biography of singer and radio broadcaster Pedro J. Gonzalez, including correspondence, interview transcripts, scripts, and funding and promotional materials. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

E) The Lemon Grove Incident (1986): Production materials for a film on the 1931 legal challenge to school segregation in Lemon Grove, California. The film used both dramatic scenes and documentary materials. Includes correspondence, notes, research materials, interview transcripts, treatments, graphics, and ephemera regarding the film's production. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

F) Mexican Folk Art (1986-1988): Scripts, research files and notes on the San Diego Museum of Man's Mexican folk art collections in the mid-1980s.

G) In the Shadow of the Law (1988): Interview transcripts, notes, treatments, scripts, graphics, and funding and promotional materials for this documentary on undocumented families living and working in the United States. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

H) Uneasy Neighbors (1990): Production files for this documentary on migrant worker camps in north San Diego County and their affluent neighbors. Includes interview transcripts, research files, scripts, and other production files. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

I) The New Tijuana (1990): Production materials for a documentary on historical and contemporary changes in Tijuana, particularly its press, politics, industry, and economics. Includes correspondence, notes, research files, transcripts of archival footage, interview transcripts, treatments, and scripts. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

J) Los Mineros (1991): Project binders and publicity files for a documentary written by Espinosa for American Experience. The film chronicles the fifty-year struggle for labor rights by Mexican American copper miners in Arizona. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

K) History Wars: Textbook Debate (circa 1991): Project binders, notes, and interview transcripts related to the controversial development of history textbooks and curriculum.

L) Challenge of Diversity/A World of Difference (1991-1992): Proposals, notes, correspondence and publicity regarding a special multicultural programing agenda. The files includes transcripts of interviews with San Diego residents for on-air spots on the topic of diversity. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

M) 1492 Revisited (1992): Scripts, interview transcripts, and other production files for a documentary on the 1992 art exhibit "Counter Colon-ialismo," which offered an alternative perspective on the quincentenary celebration of Columbus's voyage to the Americas.

N) The Hunt for Pancho Villa (1993): Scripts, treatments, interview transcripts, research files, and project binders for the 1993 documentary, which aired on American Experience. The film chronicles Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa's 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico and the U.S. Army's attempt to capture him.

O) ...and the earth did not swallow him (1996): Espinosa's film adaptation of Tomás Rivera's novel about a Mexican American boy and his migrant farm worker family. Includes scripts, proposals, correspondence, photographs, and files on the film's publicity and awards.

P) U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848 (1998): Correspondence, research files, interview transcripts, translations of historical documents, scripts, treatments and other production files regarding Espinosa's documentary on the U.S.-Mexican War. Arranged alphabetically by folder title. Includes extensive supporting research files.

Q) The Border (1999): Espinosa's documentaries features life on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border, including segments on the filming of Titanic in Rosarito, the economy, and the Latino comedy group Culture Clash. Production materials include interview transcripts, research files, and scripts. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

R) Pain and Privilege in Peñasquitos (2000-2003): Interview transcripts, trailer scripts, and other materials regarding Espinosa's planned documentary on the violent attack of migrant workers by a group of affluent Rancho Peñasquitos teenagers in 2000. Controversy centered on whether the teens should be tried as juveniles or adults under Proposition 21.

S) Visiones: Taco Shop Poets (2004): Documentary on the San Diego poetry and spoken word group Taco Shop Poets for the television series Visiones. Includes interview transcripts, poetry and scripts.

T) California and the American Dream (2006): Production files for a documentary series project for which Espinosa served as an executive producer. His independent contribution was the episode The Price of Renewal, which focused on urban development in the culturally diverse neighborhood of City Heights in San Diego. The files for The Price of Renewal include interview transcripts with City Heights residents and business owners, research files, scripts, treatments, proposals, correspondence, and other production materials. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

U) Padre Martínez (2002-2003): A small amount of preliminary materials for a project still in active development.