Photo courtesy of “Wela”
A new documentary about West Dallas started with one woman interviewing her grandmother, and the finished film premieres this month.
“Wela” is the film from first-time director Victoria Farrell-Ortiz.
When Farrell-Ortiz interviewed her “wela” or abuela, Spanish for grandma, it was the first time the 24-year-old had heard of Cemento Grande or Cement City, the former Trinity Portland Cement company towns.
She realized she’d scratched the surface of a larger story that she wanted to tell. So she enlisted friends and her husband, Mesach Ortiz, to help her make a full-length documentary.
See it at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Latino Cultural Center.
