McFarland, USA vs. the True Story of Coach Jim White's 1987 Team The rest of the film was shot around Los Angeles and in Camarillo, California. The latitude of Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France is 45.688499 , and the longitude is 5.915300 . Our coach, played by Kevin Costner, built a sports powerhouse largely with the children of farmworkers in a lackluster part of the state. Thomas is the head coach of the McFarland Track Club for kids and I help him with that. You are a father. Sports can be a great teacher, in the losses as much as the wins. White wonders if he made a mistake. 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. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Thank you for sharing your view as his cousin. Maria Marisol: [reading Jose Cardenas's paper] We fly like blackbirds The opening sequences of the film are fictional. Some of the runners who were on the 1987 team were not depicted in the movie. Jose Cardenas has made peace with seeing his life splashed across the silver screen. We are all human, which is to say we are all flawed, and to expect perfection is to expect the impossible. McFarland, USA (2015) Johnny Ortiz as Jose Cardenas. I think its a pretty darn big deal.. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. Omissions? 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. His battles with the church arent over, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! I was preparing myself because I knew I was going to get drafted," Cardenas says. The head coach complains to Principal Camillo and has Jim removed from his post as assistant coach. The students that Jim coached have grown up to become coaches themselves. McFarland didnt have low riders in 1987, as depicted in the film. Showing all 2 items Jump to: . Julie and Jamie are also depicted younger than they were in 1987. 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. Es uno de los 3 hermanos que corre para Jim White. We speak the birds' language. It moves me everytime I watch the movie and I WATCH IT OFTEN WHEN I NEED TO FEEL GOOD. He can be reached at mal.vincent12@gmail.com. "People worked together in the town," Cardenas said. 'McFarland, USA' runs an inspirational race - theadvocate.com Hurley Family Y. Jose wrote an essay for the Los Angeles Times in March 2015 describing his experience with the McFarland team. I enjoyed your essay as well. Jose has done speaking engagements as well since the movies release. Despite the setback, the boys stick with Jim and continue training. I love the film as an example for human strengths and will power yours as well. We would have crushed the team that finished second.. The two teams were close and a terrible tragedy that killed two girls on the cross-country team (Sylvia Diaz, 16, and Herlinda Gonzalez, 14, were struck and killed by a car during cross-country practice) earlier that school year, A journalist who covered the 1987 race remembers this moving moment when Thomas Valles, who is a prominent character in the film, ponders the deaths of Sylvia and Herlinda before the championship race: Here was the star runner, just a kid, bringing his hands to his face in prayer and keeping them there for what seemed an eternity before the start of his race The loss of Sylvia and Herlinda followed their teammates into 1987, the year of the boys first state cross-country victory., One of the runners, David Diaz, said this to the same journalist about the tragedys effect: The tragedy that happened to McFarland cross-country that year (1986), I believe, catapulted many of us to run with more heart in the following years. The emotional trip-to-the-ocean scene in the film really did happen, though not in 1987. All season we had dreamed of winning Californias first high school cross-country state championship. When ourfire burns out, we need friends to help carry us for a while. McFarland, USA 2015 Stars: Kevin Costner, Ramiro Rodriguez, Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport Rating: PG Runtime: 129 minutes Track coach Jim White (Kevin Costner) is a newcomer to a predominantly Latino high-school in California's Central Valley. The film opens with Jim White coaching a high school football game in Boise, Idaho. 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. "McFarland, USA Quotes." Aix-les-Bains, city and Alpine spa, Savoie dpartement, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes rgion, southeastern France, southwest of Geneva. ", Perhaps for "dramatic" reasons, the all-Hispanic team's opposition in the movie is made up exclusively of blond, privileged, preppy snobs. You didnt let your team down. The father agrees. He remains an active and well-loved member of the McFarland community, often working with youth. 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.". 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. Principal Camillo agrees, reluctantly, and Johnny is recruited as the teams first runner. 2023. McFarland won a state-record of nine championships with Jim White as coach. The school is located in a poor Latino community. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the given coordinates of the places in our database. And Cardenas still runs, but not competitively. Whites road to reinvention comes to him almost as a vision. You might have miscalculated your strengths, but you took out energy from others as well who tried to follow you. Danny Diaz. David Diaz also went to college and is now the North Kern State Prison Supervisor of Academic Instruction. It was the 1987 California high school state cross-country championships. Jose Cardenas - Fixed Asset Accountant & Receiving - LinkedIn Victor Puentes served a sentence at the penitentiary, but continued his education and got a good job. Cardenas says one of his grandsons just joined the military, too. David has a Facebook page, but there hasnt been any updates posted since 2014. Like yours. He transferred to Humboldt State University, in Arcata, Calif., and earned a journalism degree. Regardless, all opinions are honest and our own. First:; I want to say that I loved the poem Jose wrote. David Diaz: Hector Duran . Now, we take our kids out of state for runs, three to four times a year. The mantra at our house has all ways been that good luck and opportunity comes through HARD WORK. McFarland, USA (2015) - Johnny Ortiz as Jose Cardenas - IMDb 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.. There are currently 37 luxury homes for sale in Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes on JamesEdition. The ethnicity of Whites athletes surprises their competitors but, once the efficiently paced story starts rolling, there are no big surprises in McFarland, USA. Its a feel-good movie, plain and simple. Fortunately, the sympathetic Principal Camillo (Valente Rodriguez) lets him keep his teaching job. Thank you for being part of this community. The player, Johnny, is also kicked off the team. Sports. Its amazing how everybody is connected to it. 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. He now works as a physical education teacher at McFarland Middle School. Later, Jim shows that he genuinely cares about the students when he prevents the ambitious football teams head coach from putting an injured player, Johnny Sameniego (Hector Duran), back into the game despite Johnnys importance to the team. During that year when the team won the title, all three daughters were actually in college in Texas. McFarland was a more balanced community of Latino and white residents then. Running 8-12 miles a day, and going to school, AND working in the fields as much as time allowed. He has a wife and a daughter. In 1999, police caught him driving a meth dealer around, and he was convicted of drug conspiracy. Jos is my cousin & an inspiration to all the family. His journey from McFarland was pushed by his love for writing. All Rights Reserved. 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. The McFarland team continued to run races in North America, Europe, and Asia. In June 2016 he plead guilty and his sentencing will occur in September 2016. Tragically, in November 2015 he was arrested for bribery and drug charges, including assisting a drug dealer. Photo by RON PHILLIPS -- From left, David Diaz (Rafael Martinez), Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), Thomas Valles (Carlos Pratts), Victor Puentes (Sergio Avelar), Danny Diaz (Ramiro Rodriguez), Jose Cardenas (Johnny Ortiz) and Johnny Sameniego (Hector Duran) are featured in a scene from 'McFarland USA.'. Population stats are from the United States Census Bureau. McFarland USA poem by Cardenas - YouTube 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). The Three Diaz Brothers: Danny, David, and Damacio We watched the movie together and they loved it. Open Letter to Jose Cardenas, One of "McFarland, USA"'s Real Life 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. Johnny Sameniego: Sergio Avelar . For me, the story of the championship year and a path to a better life started in middle school. As one of the runners said: McFarland was a more balanced community of Latino and white residents then. Flying with the birds through the groves To this day, I dont know why I went out uncharacteristically fast. And that hurts me because I cant do that.". McFarland, though unique with its amazing story, wasnt the only underdog small town cross-country team in that area to do well. 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. 30,291. Jose Cardenas, 67, stands at U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana that has been painted with the names of deported U.S. veterans. The country code given is in the ISO2 format. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? He also coaches the McFarland Youth Track Club as an assistant to Thomas Valles, who is the head coach. Movies. His alumni now coach the cross-country programs for the elementary, junior high, high school, as well as McFarlands Parks and Rec teams. Another accident killed McFarlands football coach and several beloved students from the school. (Spoiler alert for movie fans who arent aware that Disney movies havehappy and dramatic endings). It is also true that most of the runners had never seen the ocean before. I hope you continue writing even as you pursue your career in the Army. : I love that his story continues to inspire so many people. Their coach, Jim White, a non-Latino newcomer to the McFarland community, is, in the eyes of many, a loser, too. But "I broke out too early and faded about half way through the 3-mile course," Cardenas said. He states that the movie has changed his life and helped him become a better person. Jose Cardenas Carlos Pratts. I was proud to get to play him.. 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. Mr. White was our physical education teacher, and thats when he first encouraged us to run cross-country. Sometimes a setback like that brings people and teams closer and more intimate with each other, and we found ourselves running for McFarland, Mr. White, and most importantly, for each other., During the eighties, McFarland had a larger white population. June 7, 2016. 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. "It worries me because you never know whats going to happen, and you cant do nothing here," he says. 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. Their oldest daughter, Tami, is not depicted in the film. When we run, we are the gods. 5. The Perezchica brothers Henry and Jose led McFarland, finishing 22nd and 37th overall . "Actually, lettuce didn't grow there, but that's a minor thing. You saw the film as being about your disappointment. , THANK YOU FOR COURAGE. The movie opens Friday. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Andrea Riseborough flap prompts most significant Oscar campaign rules change in decades, Looking for fun this Cinco de Mayo weekend? "But they've taken some liberties with the facts.". 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. He competed in the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races and was a part of the team that won the conference in 1994. The company also supplied soft drinks for a gift basket for the speaker, which also includes goodies from Catawba College and the Y. Pretty much our whole team is going to be there, she says. "We were competitive, but the world of cross-country running is such an insular, quiet community that the runners were more friendly.". 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. Gang problems, as depicted in the film, were a real issue in McFarland. Jose, who was one of the top four runners for the team and a key scorer, really did start the race too fast, a very unusual move for a runner who had just recently ran the same course perfectly. Jose Cardenas became a writer for The Los Angeles Times and is currently serving his country in the U.S. army. "They have to add up the average.". And though people in McFarland did have jobs in the farms, they weren't picking lettuce, as shown in the film. Johnny Ortiz, 'McFarland USA' actor, charged with attempted murder Costner gives Whites lessons learned late genuine weight. 5, was not in the picture. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content Top Gap They knew he truly cared about them, and the guys would work extremely hard because of the respect they had for him. The team hot to where they went because of you and others. I told you we would win with or without you, our coach, Jim White, told me on the bus ride home from Fresno.