One Minute One Story
'We can talk for hours...' - Let's break it down in 1 Minute
The best conversations last for hours. They’re captured on tape, dissected in the editing room, split into paragraphs and published in long formats. After working on Radio and TV segments for many years, I realized that even the most complex stories can be told in just 60 seconds. Like a musician who needs just 4 bars to get his audience hooked.
The Story
I discovered Maria De Los Angeles in NY Magazine. She was profiled in the style section with a big dress, self-made, out of paper. She painted 'Deport Me' and 'DACA' on it. Her powerful statements referred to her own art, motivated by the politics of this country, and her immigration status.
Maria is undocumented. She was smuggled over the Mexican border to California when she was 12 years old. And, in spite of having acquired Ivy-League Education in the US, she still remains undocumented, and is granted DACA Status. Maria calls the United States her home and resides in New York City.
©Bobby Doherty
Maria's story took me from the minute we met in her Studio in 2016. At the time, the Trump vs. Clinton TV campaign was in full effect. The “What if Trump will be the next...” question was looming over our heads. And while we talked about art, her story, and our feelings about the nasty election campaign, Maria told me, through teary eyes, that her future might be doomed if Trump became President.
Maria is an amazingly talented artist, she teaches drawing to kids and young students. She is a fighter for justice, always outspoken and one of the bravest people I have met. Our first interview was aired on my radio show, the next meeting was aired on a documentary on German TV.
But I still had the feeling that her story needs to be told in a different way. I went back to re-edit the audio files, I searched, I played around with the structure, and our conversations continued. But then, Maria started to draw her life story in front of my camera. For the first time in its entirety. 'One Story One Minute' was created. We started a collaboration.
#1: Coming to the States
Episode #1
From the moment Maria and her siblings arrived in the US, their aunt was in charge of their education. Maria woke up in a new world where she felt out of place.
Episode 2
The culture shock was about to hit her. Maria didn't speak any English. Back in Mexico, she was one of the best students of her class, and was offered to skip to the next grade. In her new school, in California, she couldn’t understand her teachers.
Episode 3
“A lot of it is mental weight that happens when you emigrate. Because people miss home and think about it. And they have law issues. Even though you don’t know if someone has a hard time… for them it becomes very internalized. A type of shock, post dramatic stress in way.”
Maria is part of the ‘Dreamer’-Generation and is allowed to the stay in the US under the DACA policy. Everyone who entered the US before 2007 and were under 16 years of age qualify for DACA. The DACA immigration policy was initiated by President Barack Obama in 2012 and changed Maria’s life.
“No one could have a legal job, or a driver’s license, if we got into any trouble, even if it was just an accident and you couldn’t show an ID, the police could deport you. With DACA I have been able to have a job and a drivers license, which is excellent. The most important part of that law is it prevents you from being deported. If something happened and the police came... I can show my idea and they can’t deport me. That is most important thing.”
Her life without DACA in the US would turn into a permanent state of fear. As of now the Trump administration plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Maria’s future is very uncertain
Thanks to Beverly Bryan, Samhita Ayyagari, Bryan Santiago at Lookerlab.