I told you we would win with or without you, our coach, Jim White, told me on the bus ride home from Fresno. Niki Caro Writing Credits . "It worries me because you never know whats going to happen, and you cant do nothing here," he says. You saw the film as being about your disappointment. 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. Currently, he is a correctional officer at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. View the profiles of people named Jose Cardenas. Updates? The community teams up with the White family to raise money for better uniforms for the cross-country team, and they throw a delightful quinceaera party for Julies 15th birthday. Although White isnt a track coach, he sees great potential for a cross-country team at McFarland High. For me, the story of the championship year and a path to a better life started in middle school. So happy they all turned out to be heroes. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? "It was over two decades ago, and there it is - on film. It was a real eye-opener for our kids, because the kids in the movie picked in the fields before and after school.. Its amazing how everybody is connected to it. In 1999, police caught him driving a meth dealer around, and he was convicted of drug conspiracy. 79 were here. Veterans who leave active military duty with an honorable discharge are eligible for a burial spot in a Veterans Administration national cemetery. Victor Puentes, one of the brightest students on the team, went to college but then had to leave school when his mom got sick. David Diaz also went to college and is now the North Kern State Prison Supervisor of Academic Instruction. Cardenas turned an internship at the Los Angeles Times into a full-time job on various beats. 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. Well, they certainly cant afford cars. Es uno de los tres hermanos Diaz, lo ms gordito, el ancla del equipo. The 67-year-old Cardenas was born in Mexico but moved to the United States when he was seven years old. Have a team. You pushed too hard; you didnt last. We are real close. Located in California's agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley, McFarland is one of the poorest communities in California. Jim has to talk him off. 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.". Actually, we were favored to win by a larger margin. David Diaz and Valles are still running buddies, and Diaz recently completed the 5K Fog Run in Bakersfield. He was an inspiration and a father figure to the boys, Cardenas says. The company also supplied soft drinks for a gift basket for the speaker, which also includes goodies from Catawba College and the Y. We went on to better our lives.. 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. The reality is much less dramatic: he started teaching in the McFarland school district in 1964 and only middle school after graduating from Pepperdine University. Jose Cardenas, left, and actor Johnny Ortiz attend the premiere of Disneys McFarland, USA at the El Capitan Theatre on Feb. 9, 2015, in Hollywood, California. Sports can be a great teacher, in the losses as much as the wins. Lupe has Javi fix Cheryls car after it breaks down and gives Cheryl a free manicure in her salon while she waits. McFarland also had a superb girls cross-country team. I never get tired of reading the essay & watching the movie. He also occasionally travels as a motivational speaker and in the course of doing these promotional appearances, he has seen the movie eight times. When we run, we own the earth. It was not predominately Hispanic as depicted in the film. The actual trip, which included stops at Morro Bay and Cayucos after an Atascadero race, was even more moving than what we see in the film because it included the girls team. McFarland USA will choke up undemanding viewers, but there isn't enough in it to be remembered as a great sports film. The McFarland team continued to run races in North America, Europe, and Asia. In the end, he says, its a Hollywood movie. Thomas, who was suspended for fighting a kid that made fun of his pregnant sister, is given a chance to avoid suspension if he agrees to join the cross-country team. "I did not run a good race that day," he said, explaining that he was so far back that he earned no points for the team. Its good to hear from you. "All you can do is just hope that everything goes okay and thats it.. He also coaches the McFarland Youth Track Club as an assistant to Thomas Valles, who is the head coach. The school is located in a poor Latino community. Our kids are so excited about his appearance.. Please use Latlong.net at your own risk. Then you spent afternoons running miles upon miles upon miles. He still follows local cross-country avidly and despite the artistic license of the film, he enjoyed the movie greatly. "I never had any live chickens around where I lived and, in the 1980s, we listened to the same music as other kids - Madonna and Michael Jackson and pop things like that - in addition to Hispanic music.". The mother of the three Diaz boys really did forbid them to run cross-country at one point. Dr. Barragan, I appreciate your comment and couldnt agree more. Jim White and his wife Cheryl still live in McFarland. -BakersfieldCalifornian.com Did Coach White really help the kids work in the fields? The film opens with Jim White coaching a high school football game in Boise, Idaho. And that hurts me because I cant do that.". First:; I want to say that I loved the poem Jose wrote. While he was in the military, Cardenas applied for U.S. citizenship, but he says his application was never processed. At a cross-country race almost 30 years ago, the gun sounds and the seven boys from McFarland High burst across the starting line amid a stampede of runners from around the state. Its a beautiful story of perseverance, teamwork and community! He was never sent into combat, but after his two years were up, he joined the Army Reserves and then the National Guard for a total of seven years of military service. And then there is his most uncomfortable moment in the movie - as in life. June 7, 2016. We were a poor community, but we were not underdogs in the athletic sense.. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? And by that measure, maybe I can let go for good the sour memory of the state race. 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. . 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. Gang problems, as depicted in the film, were a real issue in McFarland. We are portrayed as the underdogs, but thats not necessarily the way you see yourself as a child.. Samaniego currently holds CSUBs 18th best time in the 1,500-meter race. And there was cotton," he said. All he had to do was run as he had all season - not necessarily finish first, just well enough to earn points for a team victory. The land is ours. White wonders if he made a mistake. One runner, Luis Partida, was replaced with David Diaz, the brother of Damacio and Danny Diaz. Thats want counts as much as a victory itself. In California, Cardenas notes, the movie is a lot bigger deal. His former team members are making the rounds, speaking at schools and churches. His wife Cheryl, who tirelessly supported her husband and his coaching, described the runners this way: These kids are like our own kids and grandkids. Sending love & good vibes your way, always. Thomas is the head coach of the McFarland Track Club for kids and I help him with that. Since his retirement, he has also traveled the country as a motivational speaker and to help promote the movie. Then computers.". 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. . Then. I agree, Griselda, he is an inspiration to people all over the world. 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. Kevin Costner stars as White, an embittered man whos struggling to support his wife and two daughters. Beautiful family. Jim Price, a janitor at the high school, let me live with his family. Jose wrote an essay for the Los Angeles Times in March 2015 describing his experience with the McFarland team. I was never good at sports I chose ballet after my volunteer coach shamed me in pee-wee baseball and appreciate all the more how people can rise after defeats. And when Jose lost his steam and fell behind in the end of the race, the other runners really did pull off the unexpected, and they made up the difference, which included Dannys dramatic come-from-behind performance as we see in the film. Appreciate your different philosophical way to look at things. The family quickly goes home. When we run, our spirits fly. It moves me everytime I watch the movie and I WATCH IT OFTEN WHEN I NEED TO FEEL GOOD. Cardenas is now a staff sergeant with the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Eustis, Va. A Y member has a sister who works with Cardenas wife, thus the invitation to come to Salisbury. Jim White retired from coaching and still lives in McFarland. You see I was in the same boat as I was growing up in Salinas Ca. Victor Puentes served a sentence at the penitentiary, but continued his education and got a good job. Besides Mr. White, other good-hearted adults looked after the towns needy youth.. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Aix-les-Bains, CRW Flags - Flag of Aix les Bains, France. 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." To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. As his addiction became worse in the 90s, he got in trouble with the law and served time in a penitentiary. He then worked at an institution in Soledad, California, followed by a job at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, California. This past weekend I saw McFarland, USA, a movie about one phase of your life, growing up in the agricultural town of McFarland, California. The head coach complains to Principal Camillo and has Jim removed from his post as assistant coach. (1999) 25,732; (2014 est.) P.S. Victor Puentes served a sentence at the penitentiary, but continued his education and got a good job. But Cardenas isn't just sitting around and hoping. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. Kevin Costner stars as the coach of a seven-member team of cross-country underdogs. Well said! "But they've taken some liberties with the facts.". Some of the runners who were on the 1987 team were not depicted in the movie. We just went to Cross Country Nationals in South Carolina. In an interview for the film, David also mentioned that he is a person of faith and that faith was a big part of the team. And though people in McFarland did have jobs in the farms, they weren't picking lettuce, as shown in the film. Their coach, Jim White, a non-Latino newcomer to the McFarland community, is, in the eyes of many, a loser, too. The home theyve bought is old and run-down, and the family experiences culture shock. The McFarland, USA true story confirms that at first, the mother of the Diaz brothers -- David, Damacio and Danny -- forbid them from competing. Their oldest daughter, Tami, is not depicted in the film. Omissions? I too did not see your performance as a failure. Quotes.net. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images). 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. Danny Diaz. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like JOSSUE CARRILLO CARDENAS discover inside . As the race begins, something goes wrong right away. Maria Marisol: [reading Jose Cardenas's paper] We fly like blackbirds through the orange groves, floating on a warm wind. The inspirational message of the movie is essentially true. Tragically, in November 2015 he was arrested for bribery and drug charges, including assisting a drug dealer. The dream came true for them, but not me. 3. We are all human, which is to say we are all flawed, and to expect perfection is to expect the impossible. The movie opens Friday. The community has been real supportive of his being here, Marsh says. White taught fifth-grade science and seventh- and eighth- grade PE and woodshop. No stupid Mexicans. While Jim and his daughter Jamie watches the boys in his PE classes run laps around the track, Jamie makes a comment about Victor and Johnny being incredibly fast runners; Jim agrees, and has an epiphany: to start a cross-country team. I saw the film as being about your tenacity, determination, loyalty, perseverance, athleticism, and strength. What we do is nothing compared to what they had to do, she says. 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. We would have crushed the team that finished second. I was preparing myself because I knew I was going to get drafted," Cardenas says. He has a LinkedIn profile but it does not contain much detail. 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. Disney Pictures can thank me, I guess, for creating some true drama. I enjoyed your essay as well -jose, You are a Radiant Beam Still As everyone is celebrating and hugging, Jim goes to the Palo Alto coaches who had offered him the job and turns it down with one word: McFarland., Clearly Coach White is a big reason why they had so much success. In a public statement, Damacio said that he regrets the decisions hes made and the lapse of judgment that led to the crimes, and that this was not the person he really was. We still enjoy the whole running thing. Your email address will not be published. (9%) are the normal age for attending high school (15-19). The film only depicts two. The final climactic race in the film happened exactly as it happened in real life, including all of the drama. Jim is so distraught by this incident that he begins to seriously consider leaving McFarland and accept the job offer at the wealthy school. Whites road to reinvention comes to him almost as a vision. McFarland, USA (also known as McFarland) is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by Antnio Pinto. A summer and winter resort with a beach on Bourget Lake (France's largest lake) and an aerial cableway up fir-covered Mount Revard (5,125 feet [1,562 metres]), it is a fashionable Alpine spa maintaining the sedate luxury of the Victorian era. 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' 55.0800'' E. Coordinates of Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France is given above in both decimal degrees and McFarland, USA runs an inspirational race. I began to lose track of my teammates and my town. Jim retired in 2002 after 23 years of coaching and continued to serve as a volunteer coach occasionally. (Erika Aguilar/KQED News) The California Report Jose Cardenas, 67, stands at U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana that has been painted with the names of deported U.S. veterans. He is in excellent physical shape and he continues to exercise even though he no longer competes. The success of the team is documented in the 2015 Walt Disney Pictures film McFarland, USA starring Kevin Costner as James White, a . The running scenes in the orchards were filmed on-location in McFarland, in the same place where the real team trained. His arrest was a big shock to the community because he had been so well-loved and respected. He hadn't lived in Mexico since he left when he was seven years old, and he spoke little Spanish. The students spend long hours with their parents picking cotton, sugar beets, almonds, citrus and grapes in the areas vast produce fields. Johnny Ortiz, an actor who held roles in the Kevin Costner-led film "McFarland USA," and "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie," has been charged with attempted murder, Fox News has confirmed. Es uno de los 3 hermanos que corre para Jim White. 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. Jim White never lived in Boise, Idaho, he never taught high school (he taught middle school but later coached high school sports), he was never fired from his teaching job for having an outburst against a student, and he did not have a troublesome teaching career before starting at McFarland. ), Aging beloved YA author Judy Blumes inevitable foil isnt so bad after all, Review: The entertaining Peter Pan & Wendy charts a familiar course to Neverland, Rihanna has Smurfs on the brain for her next movie: Hope this gives me cool points, Review: In Guardians 3, ultra-weird superhero fun doesnt have to be Rocket science, The new Tom Cruise just might be a London office worker with a taste for risk. Powered by - Designed with theHueman theme, (Visited 2,021 times, 2 visits today, 1,283,698 total visits overall), describing his experience with the McFarland team. Meanwhile, Jim settles into his neighborhood and learns about the troubled life of one of his other students, Victor Puentes (Sergio Avelar), whose uncle just got out of prison and whose father is still in prison. After high school, Cardenas went to a junior college "half-an-hour up Highway 99 and continued running, but on paper. Sign up for our daily newsletter. McFarland, though unique with its amazing story, wasnt the only underdog small town cross-country team in that area to do well. Other questions:[email protected]. Jose read the blog post and responsed: Thank you Laura for your take on my essay. I came across this letter of yours, and I must say I am touched and inspired by your words. 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. Every word was right on. Coach Jim White, whom the team called "Blanco," persuaded Cardenas to switch from football to cross-country. Where did Thomas Valles go to college? Johnny Sameniego: Sergio Avelar . Subsequently, McFarland High School missed qualifying for the 2014 State Meet for the first time in 24 years; many feel the school is being punished for its success. 2. I saw you as one who was so excited to make that difference that pace was unbalanced and it happens. Meanwhile, the White family builds a bond with the McFarland community. "The life out there and the life in here is totally different," he says of living in Mexico. His teams won nine championships in 14 years. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Thank you for sharing your appreciation! Even that teaches everyone who sees your story to see these truths: 1. We were good Christian kids, and we put our abilities to good use. 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. 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. 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. 1 for 4 weeks, Jack Nicholson returns courtside to cheer beloved Lakers to playoff win. It took one of our usually slower runners to sprint mightily down the stretch. Latitude and longitude coordinates are: 45.688499, 5.915300. On The Scene With Kathy King. She eventually concluded that it was good for them as long as they still worked. Join Facebook to connect with Jose Cardenas and others you may know. They call us pochos sometimes.". Jim White retired from coaching and still lives in . When we run, our spirits fly. He remains an active and well-loved member of the McFarland community, often working with youth. 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.
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