Tamales On The Run
MacArthur Park Media’s first multimedia piece! Produced in collaboration with Anna Bosch of Ruido Photo. Starring Antonio Bautista. Also available en Español.
This entry was posted by devinelizabeth
on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 8:22 pm and is filed under multimedia, news, work and tagged with Antonio Bautista, Tamaleros, Tamales.
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As someone who now fixes the bicycles of underground vendors, I can attest to the crappy, crappy, state of repair these vehicles are in. The fellow has really got the right idea with this tricycle, and I commend him for working long and hard enough to acquire it. I, too, ride a cargo bike and its utility is unparalleled.
What a great piece – the audio mix, the timing, the different uses of text, and of course the pictures. Interesting that the number one rule is to not throw trash on the street. He can’t afford to attract any more cop attention. And it’s amazing that the bike-cart actually works for his getaways, given how easy it must be to recognize. I might have to ride down Alvarado for lunch.
having recently taken to the streets again (ooh, I love this typing box!) on a bicycle in LA, and having felt the rush of moving through the world at a pace somewhere between pedestrian and police-car, I imagine Antonio’s momentum makes his tamales all the more thrilling to taste! it’s stories like this, about people who innovate for the sake of pure practicality, that make me hungry for the same in my own life, and I’m happy your site is dedicated to giving us a 360-degree lens on this slice of life! can’t wait to track Antonio down on my own two wheels! (zoom-zoom & mmm-mmm)
This guy’s story is so compelling. It’s so cool that he can zip away at the first sign of danger, but what a crazy life! Thanks for bringing Antonio’s life into focus in such an engaging way.
Tamales is teaching me something. Thank you and how I admire the perseverance and high spirit of such a man who everyday life is filled with treachery and insecurities.
Devin, this piece is amazing! Your audio is incredible! Love the mix and the text. So compelling. I’m very proud to be a part of MacArthur Park Media. Thank you for sharing the tamale story with everyone!
Wow, something to remember next time I complain about my job…
I enjoyed this and learned from it. Do More!
Great story. Hard worker, no welfare, just perseverance. Thanks!
but are the tamales good??
[...] UPDATE Devin Browne says: “[T]he radio story was based on a multimedia piece Anna and I produced together which can be seen here.” [...]
WOW – is all I can say about that piece.
We as a society have so many colorful people living amongst us. It amazes me that the most colorful people always carry a knowledge that one must make it on their own, no matter what the hurdle or task. Unlike the majority of the people who think everything should be given to them with out any exchange or price paid monetarily, physically or emotionally. I will not forget this story the next time I wish something would come easily. It takes a real person to make the most of the day, no matter what the task necessary to survive.
[...] things food. So, as an ardent lover of Mexican cuisine, I was keenly interested in watching “Tamales on the Run.” Little did I know, that the short show would not only involve tamales, but also contain an [...]
Hey, thanks everyone! How amazing it will be when Antonio someday gets on the internet and sees his own celebrity. I got the feeling when I showed him the (Spanish version of the) story on my laptop that he thought this is the only place it lived. Which is really not the case. Tamales on the Run was re-purposed by Marketplace and featured on Boing Boing. I was interviewed about the story by a young undergrad in USC’s journalism program and it has received more comments and track-backs than anything else on the site so far.
Check him out on Marketplace:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/04/pm-tamaleros/
or on Boing Boing:
http://boingboing.net/2009/08/04/its-not-easy-being-a.html
and also a review of the piece at 365 Days of Thanks:
http://melissaleu.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/tamales-on-the-run/
The real relief is that Antonio liked the story very much, enough in fact to ask for his own copy to send to his kids in Mexico who he says have no idea what his life is like in LA. I actually don’t know how to convert a swf file so that it can be saved on a DVD to give him, so if there is someone reading this that does, please! get in touch. I owe him not only for letting me document his life, but also for literally testifying on my behalf one morning this summer when he stumbled upon Louise and I in a failing attempt to convince the men who pack flowers and cherries on Bonnie Brae to let us take pictures of them. They thought I was with immigration. Antonio told them otherwise. I don’t actually know what he specifically said, because he was speaking Spanish too fast for me, but whatever it was, it worked and we got to photograph the men and their flowers for a full hour. The pictures are now featured in Pleased To Meet You. We gave all the men with the flowers copies.
LOVED this, Devin. I feel his and your humanity. It’s sometimes complicated, this business of survival. And how wonderful, he has wheels. Having eaten “street” food for most of my life, we must trust in the hygienic nature of it, be unafraid of the germs, thereby developing guts of steel, like the tamaleros must!
xo
[...] By redroomsalon And here is a link to something someone else in the building I live in did. And I happened to notice the tamale guy on his bike yesterday, and here today I am reading an [...]
[...] on the run.” You’ll become a fan after seeing this multimedia story about the tamaleros created by Devin and her reporting partner, Kara [...]