Troubadours presents a musical performance by the Nicaraguan folk singing group, Camayoc, which means “messenger” in Nahuatl, the language of ancient indigenous people in Central America. Groupo Camayoc taped this performance with Julia Lesage and Chuck Kleinhans outdoors in Estelí, Nicaragua, in September 1987. They play both their own songs and those of Carlos Mejía Godoy and Pablo Milanés.
In 1981 and 1982, Carole Isaacs and Julia Lesage visited Nicaragua and did in-depth interviews with women in the Managua area. Here Nicaraguan women speak about the topics of work, sexual politics, religion, family life, children, social participation, and defense.
Home Life was shot in Esteli, Nicaragua, in August, 1984. It is a city midway between Managua and the Honduran border whose people acutely felt the impact of U.S. supported contra raids. Videomakers Julia Lesage and Chuck Kleinhans and Seattle-based minister Randall Mullins lived with the people of Esteli for five weeks, and Randall made this tape with the Diaz family to introduce to his parish back home the Nicaraguan family whose life and love he had shared.
University of Oregon’s students of color discuss what race means in terms of their experiences on and off campus. The video is a procession of talking heads, positioning the students as points of authority while also encouraging the viewer to consider their own expectations and ideas of race.