McFarland, USA (2015) Full Cast & Crew. Cardenas, a staff sergeant in the Army stationed at Fort Eustis, was part of that team from a poverty-ridden California town that "comes from behind" to win its first state title. Football coach White, after being too tough on his team at a previous high school in a far more prosperous place than McFarland, accepts a teaching position and assistant coaching job at McFarland High School. Thats want counts as much as a victory itself. We would not ask it from our loved ones, but somehow think it is okay to ask of ourselves. Learn how your comment data is processed. Warmly, Laura. Samaniego currently holds CSUBs 18th best time in the 1,500-meter race. I lived in a dilapidated one-bedroom house across the street from my church with a couple older brothers who worked in the fields. "Sometimes he wakes up and he goes crazy," Cardenas says of his son. But by going out so fast, I had endangered our dream. David has a Facebook page, but there hasnt been any updates posted since 2014. Still, my heart began to sink when a screening of McFarland, USA rolled around to its climax. Mal Vincent has been a longtime culture writer for The Virginian-Pilot. Jims wife Cheryl makes friends with Javis girlfriend (Martha Higareda). When we run, our spirits fly. The team and his family learn about this new job possibility and become upset. White really did go and work in the fields and pick crops with his runners to show support to them and their families, as it is portrayed in the film. Thank you for being part of this community. The inspirational message of the movie is essentially true. Kevin Costner stars as the coach of a seven-member team of cross-country underdogs. The 2015 film McFarland, USA tells the true story of California high school cross-country coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) and his underdog team of Latino runners who had never competed in the sport before and who, when they werent training, had to help their parents pick crops in the fields. John Ortiz as Jose Cardenas in "McFarland, USA." McFarland, USA John Ortiz as Jose Cardenas, Ramiro Rodriguez as Danny Diaz, Carlos Pratts as Thomas Valles, Sergio Avelar as Victor Puentes, Michael Aguero as Damacio Diaz, Kevin Costner as Jim White, Hector Duran as Johnny Sameniego and Rafael Martinez as David Diaz in "McFarland, USA." Not immigrant no more. David Diaz also went to college and is now the North Kern State Prison Supervisor of Academic Instruction. Danny Diaz. The latitude of Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France is 45.688499, You won as a team and you played such an important role in this team. Many other shots of the town and high school were also filmed on-location. It is also true that most of the runners had never seen the ocean before. And by that measure, maybe I can let go for good the sour memory of the state race. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Mcfarland High School Class of 2011 Ricardo Carmona . No one is perfect. The Disney studio, maybe, should thank me for adding a little drama but, all these years later, I'm having to relive it.". I can understand your disappointment at your personal performance and I cannot take away those feelings but I what I can share is how I felt and that was a profound sense of pride and admiration toward fellow Mexican-American. Do you have any thoughts about those experiences youd like to share? McFarland, though unique with its amazing story, wasnt the only underdog small town cross-country team in that area to do well. The home theyve bought is old and run-down, and the family experiences culture shock. Jim Price, a janitor at the high school, let me live with his family. "I lost my job and everything, so I didn't have nothing.". Quotes.net. In truth, David Diaz had graduated the year before the team won the state championship. So happy they all turned out to be heroes. Es uno de los tres hermanos Diaz, lo ms gordito, el ancla del equipo. In 1999, police caught him driving a meth dealer around, and he was convicted of drug conspiracy. After high school graduation I went to junior college half an hour up Highway 99 and continued running. Its been an emotional roller coaster, but they put together a very good movie for a general audience, Cardenas says. In response to his essay, Laura Nicole Diamond wrote an open letter to Jose to encourage him and let him know how an inspiring example he was to people. During that year when the team won the title, all three daughters were actually in college in Texas. But I found no mitigation for my pain in the movie, which portrays the team as an upstart group of runners who start out losing races but improve quickly to win the state championship. He remains an active and well-loved member of the McFarland community, often working with youth. We speak the birds' language. On the way home, Jim stops by the beach in Cayucos and lets the runners have an afternoon of fun there because theyve never seen the ocean before. I enjoyed your essay as well. Jose has done speaking engagements as well since the movies release. Upon his release, he returned to college to continue his education and landed a quality job on a ranch. All other trade-marks and graphic not owned by www.MrsKathyKing.com that appears on this post are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or a sponsored of www.MrsKathyKing.com. We had the right principles and the right attitude. Track coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) is a newcomer to a predominantly Latino high-school in California's Central Valley. All together now: Ommmm and Just Win,Baby, Never a Dull Moment, With The Big QuestionsKid, Open Letter to Jose Cardenas, One of McFarland, USAs Real LifeChampions, View lauranicolediamondauthors profile on Facebook, View @LauraNDiamond1s profile on Twitter, View laurandiamonds profile on Instagram, DELIVER ME: True Confessions of Motherhood, McFarland, USA - The 1987 McFarland Cross Country Team, Open Letter to Jose Cardenas, One of "McFarland, USA"'s Real Life Champions, Forget spring cleaning in a soon-to-be empty nest. You didnt let your team down. Dr. Barragan, I appreciate your comment and couldnt agree more. Pace yourself. Get our L.A. ", Perhaps for "dramatic" reasons, the all-Hispanic team's opposition in the movie is made up exclusively of blond, privileged, preppy snobs. The state championships arrive, and the entire town of McFarland comes to support the team. He says McFarland, a small town south of Fresno, in California's San Joaquin Valley, was more urban and less ethnically polarized than is pictured in the movie. The community has been real supportive of his being here, Marsh says. (Erika Aguilar/KQED News) The California Report DMS (degrees, minutes and seconds) format. If you read some of the stories, some of them are pretty crazy. 79 were here. You all did. Sign up for our daily newsletter. On the day he met Kevin Costner during the film shoot, Costner shook his hand and said, Youre better looking than the actor whos playing you! Danny was never overweight as portrayed in the film but rather, quite the opposite. 1987 was a tragic year in many ways for McFarland, which made the teams cross-country title even more meaningful for a community struck by grief. The incident costs White his job, and, with no other employment choices, he moves out of town with his wife Cheryl (Maria Bello) and two daughters, Julie (Morgan Saylor) and Jamie (Elsie Fisher). They call us pochos sometimes.". Then. Theres make-it or break-it drama in his recruiting efforts, drama of the kind that reveals the characters of the young men and White. In real life, I consoled myself by reasoning that even though my place had not counted in the state championship, I had been the fourth man on a team that had won a dozen or so invitational races that year, some harder than the state meet. We are portrayed as the underdogs, but thats not necessarily the way you see yourself as a child.. Eventually, his love for the water led to the Army. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. Despite all the setbacks, their hard work pays off, and the team does well enough in their next race to qualify for the state championships. He has a wife and a daughter. Visit MrsKathyKing's profile on Pinterest. Ms. Diamond, Like yours. It was not predominately Hispanic as depicted in the film. But Cardenas isn't that worried about the enduring connection to one of his most regrettable moments. You and your friends worked in the mornings before school and on the weekends in the fields picking vegetables and fruit, just about the hardest (and most important) work anyone can imagine. Coach Jim White, whom the team called "Blanco," persuaded Cardenas to switch from football to cross-country. Besides Mr. White, other good-hearted adults looked after the towns needy youth.. In the movie and reality McFarland did barely win state when our usual sixth man, Danny Diaz, whose place in races had not counted all season, moved up to fifth, the last runner whose place counts. But his school had a long tradition of success in cross country, which is not how its portrayed in the movie. The running scenes in the orchards were filmed on-location in McFarland, in the same place where the real team trained. Aix-les-Bains, city and Alpine spa, Savoie dpartement, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes rgion, southeastern France, southwest of Geneva. Joe Vaughn is best known for leading the Buena High, California girl's basketball team to 500 plus victories. Currently, he is a correctional officer at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California. The odds seem stacked against Jim, who is just as inexperienced at coaching cross-country as the boys are at running it. They knew he truly cared about them, and the guys would work extremely hard because of the respect they had for him. Have a team. After high school, Cardenas went to a junior college "half-an-hour up Highway 99 and continued running, but on paper. The event is set for 5:30 p.m. and tickets are $8. To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. . Pretty much our whole team is going to be there, she says. In reality, White had been coaching the cross country team for seven years (since 1980). He would often buy shoes and food for his runners. In addition, McFarlands mysterious cluster of cancers, which rapidly claimed the lives of several children, happened around the same time and gained national media attention. That race is going to healyour daughtersheart some day. The mother of the three Diaz boys really did forbid them to run cross-country at one point. Its good to hear from you. He was an inspiration and a father figure to the boys, Cardenas says. Yes.after i watched the movie im curious about what happen to JOSE CARDENASso truethere are times that we would like to give our best but then somehow it was still not enoughbut you know MR JOSE CARDENASyou played a very big role from the beginning ..the first MCFARLAND had won until the state championshipyou are an inspiration to us allyour hardwork in how to balance your life and do rigorous trainings , so did the rest of the team and the dedication of the coach were so amazing. The 67-year-old Cardenas was born in Mexico but moved to the United States when he was seven years old. as part of a group of deported veterans lobbying the government to allow them to return to the U.S. Adelante Latin America Reporting Initiative. Sponsored . 5, was not in the picture. This movie has been an awesome inspiration to me, cause it takes back to my childhood years, and how tough it was at times, but I had the type of parents, and Im so happy to say, that were always pushing us to be better. "The main crop was almonds. McFarland was not a desperate last resort. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. I will look for more pieces by you, as well. Johnny Sameniego: Sergio Avelar . The inspirational movie, which opened last week, is building word-of-mouth momentum as a minor hit in the shadow of the current box office titan, "Fifty Shades of Grey.". No stupid Mexicans. The movie opens Friday. Yours sincerely, Bettina, Johnny, Alexis and Natalia from Paraguay. Jose Cardenas, left, and actor Johnny Ortiz attend the premiere of Disney's "McFarland, USA" at the El Capitan Theatre on Feb. 9, 2015, in Hollywood, California. The school is notable for its succession of twenty-four CIF Central Section championships in cross country between 1987 and 2013. McFarland USA will choke up undemanding viewers, but there isn't enough in it to be remembered as a great sports film. Jose, one of their key runners, starts out too fast. I wish I could say I never fell short of working hard; I often do. His journey from McFarland was pushed by his love for writing. Hes looking forward to answering questions about the movie tomorrow evening, and to talk about whats accurate and whats not. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? The movie is also going global. Hell talk about the ins and outs of the movie, running and more as part of a spaghetti fundraiser Saturday night at the J.F. In June 2016 he plead guilty and his sentencing will occur in September 2016. Jose Cardenas, 67, stands at U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana that has been painted with the names of deported U.S. veterans. Sending love & good vibes your way, always. I began to lose track of my teammates and my town. (LogOut/ It was a dismal day for me at Woodward Park, Nov. 28, 1987. Nonetheless, the real challenges White and his team face pull the viewer along for the ride. Team God bless you , I really enjoyed your article Mrs. Laura Diamond, and I am watching McFarland as I write. The head coach complains to Principal Camillo and has Jim removed from his post as assistant coach. In one of the 1987 races, an opponent from Bakersfields Centennial High School is shown. Despite winning their first race against local powerhouse Clovis, the father of the Diaz brothers pulls them from the team to pick in the fields. The mantra at our house has all ways been that good luck and opportunity comes through HARD WORK. Give others a chance to shine. Which is why, when Mr. White was trying to persuade me to switch to cross-country for my junior year, he jokingly told me that they would win the inaugural state championship with or without you.. I agree, Griselda, he is an inspiration to people all over the world. "All you can do is just hope that everything goes okay and thats it.. The town is a known resort and a destination for tourist since it is situated on the shores of a large natural lake, the Lac du Bourget, which is a home to a few SPA resorts and excellent places to relax. Jose Cardenas, McFarland's expected No. After high school, Cardenas went to a junior college "half-an-hour up Highway 99 and continued running, but on paper. . A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? We saw the movie as a team, but we also wanted to invite local runners and the whole community, too.. Eventually sophomore Danny Diaz crossed in 91st (68th) to close out the scoring. White takes a position at a small, humble high school in McFarland, California in the middle of the vast agricultural flatland of Californias Central Valley. Now, 28 years later, Cardenas has had to relive that vexing memory because his performance is a focal part of "McFarland, USA," a film occupying theaters nationwide. Cardenas was a member of the California state championship cross-country team whose story is portrayed in the new movie "McFarland, USA," which was released by Disney in February. You inspired me Jose Cardenas!!! Great reminder that we can revisit the things that inspire us. The runners begin their training with doubt about their white coach, whom they nickname Blanco. We speak to the gods. After a difficult first half, a disrespectful player talks back to White in the locker room during the coachs half-time talk. Cardenas was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970, served seven years in the U.S. military and was deported in 2009 after a drug conviction. The success of the team is documented in the 2015 Walt Disney Pictures film McFarland, USA starring Kevin Costner as James White, a . McFarland, USA tells a heartwarming story about underdogs who, to the surprise of everyone, including themselves, establish a sports dynasty. You set out sprinting, on fire to prove something. Too often I have found that our own will criticize those of us who want something better and different. Web. Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France is located at France country in the Towns place category with the gps coordinates of 45 41' 18.5964'' N and 5 54' 55. . He states that the movie has changed his life and helped him become a better person. The film only depicts two. The country code given is in the ISO2 format. In their first meet in Palo Alto, the boys endure mockery from the other more experienced and well-funded teams, and they suffer the humiliation of finishing in last place. 2023. Running 8-12 miles a day, and going to school, AND working in the fields as much as time allowed. Jim begs the father to change his mind and even spends a day working in the fields helping them to convince the father to let the brothers stay on the team. This past weekend I saw McFarland, USA, a movie about one phase of your life, growing up in the agricultural town of McFarland, California. Damacio Diaz went to college, then became a police officer and a 17-year veteran of the Bakersfield Police Department as a detective. Thomas Valles . . I took it for granted that I would go. Marsh says she hopes the movie will help her runners understand that hard work pays off. But "I broke out too early and faded about half way through the 3-mile course," Cardenas said. Please feel free to share with your friends by click on the share button. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. In fact quite the opposite it was an inspiring, a wonderful example of perseverance and what it means to work as a team. Because his citizenship application never went through, Cardenas was deported to Mexico after serving 10 years in federal prison. Im still active and I still run, said David in a recent interview. But Cardenas isn't just sitting around and hoping. His wife enjoyed it more than he did, he says. Corrections? McFarland was a more balanced community of Latino and white residents then. So happy I found this sight. According to an interview, both he Cheryl, have seen the movie three times and cried three times. According to People Magazine, even Oscar winner Costner was impressed by the man he portrays in the new Disney film. His teams won nine championships in 14 years. The land is ours. You saw your mistake of setting out filled with fire and speed as failure; we thought you may have inspired your teammates to run faster, push harder than they otherwise might have. And White wasnt the only adult who looked after the kids. Cardenas was a member of the California state championship cross-country team whose story is portrayed in the new movie McFarland, USA, which was released by Disney in February. The Cougars finished sixth last week at the CIF Central Section Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno. The land is ours. P.S. It happens to all runners at least once, she says. Latitude and longitude coordinates are: 45.688499, 5.915300. Appreciate your different philosophical way to look at things. McFarland, USA (2015) Johnny Ortiz as Jose Cardenas. After graduating high school in 1990, Johnny went to College of the Sequoias and competed as a runner from 1990-1992. Updates? Showing all 2 items Jump to: . Jim White retired from coaching and still lives in McFarland. He then worked at an institution in Soledad, California, followed by a job at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, California. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? A part of the region of Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes situated in the eastern France, the town of Aix-les-Bains is a part of the Savoie department and is a small community established on an amazing natural setting, in the highlands of the Alps. Cardenas was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970, served seven years in the U.S. military and was deported in 2009 after a drug conviction. Costner gives Whites lessons learned late genuine weight. If I had run as well as I did the previous week on the same course when we won the regional championship, the state race would not have been a nail-biter. I knew a movie involving one of the biggest disappointments in my youth might be made someday. His group painted a section of the border fence in Tijuana red, white and blue with the names of deported veterans. Nearly three decades later, Jose Cardenas is still bothered by that one race. But lets talk about that race. The school is located in a poor Latino community. I never get tired of reading the essay & watching the movie. You were born in a community where that was not true, but with the blessings of a great coach and other adults topoint the way to other paths, you made that your reality. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. "I went into a depression," he says. Coach White took care of the young runners - sometimes getting them shoes or letting people stay with his family, as did the community. We went on to better our lives.. On the Scene with Mrs. Kathy King a fully discloses by the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. I told you we would win with or without you, our coach, Jim White, told me on the bus ride home from Fresno. One of these leaders was. Facebook gives people the power to. When I got deported I didnt even know where I was," Cardenas says. Keep going. The film follows their rise from obscurity in the tiny agricultural town of McFarland, California to become a legend in the sport of cross-country. Jos Cardenas is a true inspiration. "It was over two decades ago, and there it is - on film. God Bless. A day later, I read inyour essay in the L.A. Times that your State Championship race was one of the biggest disappointments in my youth. Your long-held regret stirred the nurturer in me, and although you are a grown man, a journalist, husband, father, and Army sergeant, in my mind you are still that high school kid, and I cant help my motherly instinct to tell you how I see what you did that day, and what lessons you have taught me and my children. Thomas is the head coach of the McFarland Track Club for kids and I help him with that. Your email address will not be published. The father agrees. Even that teaches everyone who sees your story to see these truths: 1. Veterans who leave active military duty with an honorable discharge are eligible for a burial spot in a Veterans Administration national cemetery. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), First Minority Business Trade Show helps spread word for entrepreneurs, Salisbury City Council to discuss new fire station on Mahaley Avenue at Tuesdays meeting, License plate reader cameras assist area law enforcement. It drew national attention because for him, the final race portrayed in the movie was one of the most painful memories of his life his mistake of starting out too fast put enormous pressure on his team to make up the points. All Rights Reserved. Cardenas says he was deported to somewhere near the U.S.-Texas border, far from his birthplace in southern Mexico town of Tecomn in the state of Colima. 6. Its sulfur and alkaline springs were exploited by the Romans, to whom they were known as Aquae Gratianae, and they are still the basis of modern health resorts. Costners coach, a man wholl do what he thinks is right despite the consequences, is quickly relieved of his assistant football coaching duties at McFarland. Those were my parents. Well, they certainly cant afford cars. In a dramatic instance of culture shock, White, his wife, Cheryl (Maria Bello in a one-dimensional role as supportive spouse and mother), their disapproving teen daughter, Julie (Morgan Saylor), and the familys youngest child, little sister Jamie (Elsie Fisher), move from a predominantly white, middle-class neighborhood to a poor Mexican-American community. The player, Johnny, is also kicked off the team. We would have crushed the team that finished second. We were a poor community, but we were not underdogs in the athletic sense.. Photographs taken from the album of Sylvia Diaz (one of the girls who died in 1986) are some of the last pictures that those two girls took with their teammates. The emotional trip-to-the-ocean scene in the film really did happen, though not in 1987. We would have crushed the team that finished second.. "McFarland, USA" tells a heartwarming story about . And Rita Peebles, a cook in the cafeteria, slipped five bucks into my pocket before every away meet so I wouldnt go hungry when the bus stopped at McDonalds. His work will appear occasionally in The Pilot and on HamptonRoads.com. You were and are a team player. "But they've taken some liberties with the facts.". We all know different moments of defeat and victory. New Zealander Niki Caro (Whale Rider, North Country) directs the late 1980s-set McFarland, USA, a tightly focused drama based on the true story of White and his out-of-left-field cross-country runners. Jose Cardenas has made peace with seeing his life splashed across the silver screen. Maria Marisol : [reading Jose Cardenas's paper] We fly like blackbirds through the orange groves, floating on a warm wind. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Then I transferred to Humboldt State. Victor Puentes: Michael Aguero . Mr. Cardenas, chin up! All season we had dreamed of winning Californias first high school cross-country state championship. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He'll talk. When we run, we are the gods. When we run, our spirits fly. Just across that border are great grandkids he's never met, his two daughters and a son who also served in the U.S. military in Kosovo and Iraq, he says. But like any movie based or inspired by a true story, not everything in McFarland, USA is literally true. For me, the story of the championship year and a path to a better life started in middle school. Now, we take our kids out of state for runs, three to four times a year. And that hurts me because I cant do that.". Every word was right on. 1 for 4 weeks, Jack Nicholson returns courtside to cheer beloved Lakers to playoff win. I thank you and your fellow team mates for a real life example for ALL the young folks. I google searched Jose Cardenas after watching McFarland, USA out of curiosity, because as you may see, my last name is also Cardenas. He had been in a bad way since his oldest son was killed in a gang shooting. Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes has about thirty thousand residents and it is a very important cultural center of the region, with plenty of various cultural events and sports competitions taking place there year round. Stay in touch. "That wasn't quite true, either," Cardenas said. I ran track in the spring of my freshman and sophomore years but played football in the fall. feeling awkward and labored. The students that Jim coached have grown up to become coaches themselves. His journey from McFarland was pushed by his love for writing. He took my place, and McFarland miraculously still won. KGET TV-17, an NBC affiliate in Bakersfield, California, created this Emmy-nominated segment that tells the story of McFarland High Schools legendary cross country program and the family, and coach, that helped mold a town. You close your essay with this glimpse of forgiveness: McFarland, USA suggests my teammates became winners in life. He says Tijuana is almost like living in the United States because there are many Americans there, but there's one big difference: Cardenas can't see his family, who lives just across the border in San Diego, his home of more than 50 years. Like his new students in McFarland, hes beaten down, carries a chip on his shoulder, is pessimistic about the future. A caption says what became of me,a sort of champ in my own life, too, I guess. Mr. Cardenas, theres nothing to guess about. McFarland didnt have low riders in 1987, as depicted in the film. Im so happy to hear from you, Jose. View JOSSUE CARRILLO CARDENAS' professional profile on LinkedIn. Im sure there is some embellishing going on in the movie, but it truly is an amazing story.. However, just when it seems like the team will lose, Danny, the overweight runner on the team who typically never finishes fast enough to score points, picks up speed and reaches the finish line fast enough to secure the needed points for McFarland to win the championship. Jim doesnt want their spirits to sink too low and takes responsibility for the loss, saying it was on him. I havent ran another race since middle school because of it. The dream came true for them, but not me. However, his come-from-behind clutch running performance in the 1987 championship that secured the title for McFarland really did happen. In reality, their opponents were more friendly and respectful. Their coach, Jim White, a non-Latino newcomer to the McFarland community, is, in the eyes of many, a loser, too.