A film screening program of the award-winning Public Television special “Roberto Clemente” that featured commentary by California State University, Stanislaus History Professor Dr. Samuel Regalado will be held at the University on Friday, November 14.
Co-sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the CSU Stanislaus-UC Merced Ronald McNair Scholars Program to honor Hispanic heritage, the showing also featuring filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz of New York is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Gemperle Lecture Hall (Room 167) of Demergasso-Bava Hall. Admission is free and open to the public, with free parking in the University’s Crowell Road lots, and there will be a question and answer session with Ruiz and Regalado after the film.
“Roberto Clemente,” a documentary about the legendary Major League Baseball Hall of Famer that aired nationally as part of “The American Experience” series in April and featured commentary by Regalado, received the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) ALMA Award as the Outstanding Made-for-Television Documentary in August. Regalado, an historian recognized for his expertise on the impact of Latin baseball players in American professional baseball, was featured in the highlight clip of the nationally-televised awards program that aired in September on the ABC Television Network.
A 21-year veteran of the CSU Stanislaus faculty, Regalado has appeared in a number of national television specials and was designated a Smithsonian Faculty Fellow in 1994. He recently released the third edition of his popular book titled "Viva Baseball: Latin Major Leaguers and their Special Hunger" that has attracted international coverage and recognition.
“It was an honor to be a part of this important film project,” Regalado said. “The ALMA Award is well-deserved. I can’t say enough about our talented filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz, whose tireless efforts and dedication to the film and Roberto Clemente’s legacy inspired the entire cast and crew.”
In addition to being interviewed during the program about Clemente and the struggles and triumphs of Latino ball players, Regalado served as academic adviser for the documentary. The program chronicles the life of Clemente as a committed humanitarian who challenged racial discrimination to become baseball’s first Latino superstar. His career was cut short at the age of 37 on New Year’s Eve 1972 when he died aboard a cargo plane that crashed while flying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Ruiz is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who has written and produced documentary programs for PBS, A&E Biography, Discovery, MTV, National Geographic, and The Learning Channel. He is co-producer of the highly honored PBS show “The Sixth Section,”/ “La Sexta Seccion” which aired nationally in 2003. He is a board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers.
Dr. Regalado, a faculty member in the History Department which is part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), can be contacted at (209) 667-3692 or call the History Department at 667-3238. For more information on the program, contact Teresa Berry in the CHSS Dean’s Office at tberry@csustan.edu or (209) 667-3531.