Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The boy made of lightning


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A note from Barbara Renaud Gonzalez
‘Stoy ganando!
Willie Velásquez loved the rain.  It made the bluejays sing with gusto, like the fire and honey of his mother’s Spanish words.  The rain made the frogs jump for gold medals, and the weeping willow tree in front of his house cried happy tears with so much green.   First lines from The boy made of lightning.  
William C. Velasquez (Willie) Velasquez received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995, one of only three Latinos.  In his short lifetime, he founded the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP), that has registered over 2,000,000 Latinos to vote.  
The boy made of lightning is based on a true and dramatic story that his family told me.  When I tell this story to elementary schools, the children cry and cheer!  They are so proud that he changed the world, and they want to vote! 
Everyone who helped with this promo video -- including the filmmaker and artist, volunteered their time and energy, as they know that Willie Velasquez and so many others have stories whose time has come. 

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