43. Humberto G. Garcia and the 'Mustang Miracle'

Bob Rivard [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Big City Small Town, the weekly podcast all about San Antonio and the people who make it go and grow. I'm your host, Bob Revard. This week's guest is Humberto g Garcia, a San Antonio attorney, avid golfer. And for the purposes of our program today, the author of Mustang Miracle, a self published book chronicling one of the most inspiring small town Texas stories I have ever heard in almost 50 years as a reporter. Mustang Miracle chronicles the lives of 5 Mexican American caddies in segregated Del Rio who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to form the San Felipe Mustangs golf team. The boys overcome racism, exclusion, and poverty in a deeply segregated city and state to win the 1957 State High School Golf Championship. Garcia's book has become a major motion picture titled The Long Game, scheduled for nationwide release on April 12. The film is directed by Julio Quintana and stars actors Jay Hernandez, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Dennis Quaid, and Julian Works.

Bob Rivard [00:01:11]:
Humberto Garcia, welcome to Big City Small Town.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:01:13]:
Thank you. Glad to be here.

Bob Rivard [00:01:14]:
And congratulations on accomplishing what so many of us who have written non fiction books dream of, and that is our stories making it to the big screen. We will ask you to tell us exactly how that happened in a few minutes. But first, let's set the scene in 19 fifties Del Rio, your hometown. Tell us about the 5 Mexican American boys who, along with all the other non Anglo residents of Del Rio, were prohibited from playing golf at the local country club, even though it was on city public property. The boys could caddy for Anglo members who paid them with nickels, dimes, and quarters, but their love of the game and their opportunity to get their hands on some used golf clubs and find a place to teach themselves the game came later and very slowly.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:01:59]:
I'm glad to. They primarily were interested in the job of being a caddy because that was a source of money. They were all poor. People didn't have much on the San Felipe part of town. And but they saw the opportunity because early older boys would caddy and then would invite them and they started getting into it. They liked the idea of making money. But then as they caddied more and more and saw what they were doing and learned the objective of the game, they started thinking that they could actually play it. Unfortunately for them, when they expressed an interest in playing it, they were, suppressed because they said, you're not allowed.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:02:45]:
You can't you can't play here. In fact, nonwhites could not be members of the country club even though the city owned the land, and somehow the powers that be worked out a deal to lease the property, the city land, for $1 a year for a 100 years to the group that established the country club. But it was exclusive, whites only, and you were allowed to be a caddy or a cook in the kitchen. But they liked the idea of caddying and and and making some money for themselves. But once they they saw that they could actually try to swing, they convinced some of the members to either give them a club or they would find the club either in the trash or in the water. Golf is a very frustrating game, so so some golfers would throw their their clubs in frustration of a bad shot, into the creek, which traverses through the golf course. And then they pick it up, and share it between them. And they would sneak in some swings here and there, but it wasn't until one of them suggested that they build their own little golf course that they really develop swings.

Bob Rivard [00:03:56]:
Now, when you say build a golf course, I don't think what our listeners are thinking of as building a golf course is what those 5 boys were intending.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:04:05]:
No. What what they were they had the idea of just clearing some land on the edge of where they lived.

Bob Rivard [00:04:11]:
Which is southwest Texas. It's desert. It's it's High plains desert.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:04:14]:
Caliche, cactus, mesquitoes Thorns. Yes. Yes. And they said, why don't we just clear some land and, create a a green, pat it down, make a hole, put a coffee can in there, and stick a stick in there with, an old handkerchief as as the flagging hole. And they would set out a certain distance away from that hole and hit. Hit over and over. Every day, they would take turns.

Bob Rivard [00:04:43]:
A one hole golf course.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:04:44]:
A one hole golf course. They got a little more creative and moved back the distance to make it a par 4. And then later on, they moved it back a little further to make it a par 5. And then they would just play it over and over and over, each one taking turns with the club or 2 that they had and developed a swing. Now they they didn't have anybody teaching them the swing, but remember they were canning. They were spending about 4 hours with a golfer, and they were paying very close attention to the golfers how they actually did. They would pay more closely to the ones that actually played better and say, oh, this guy, this is how he does it. The ones that played poorly, which there were many, they didn't follow too much, but, they saw the ones, especially the ones that, won money against the plane partners.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:05:35]:
And that included a lot of politicians and government officials, and and, that's how they picked up the swing.

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Alberto Pina [00:06:40]:
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Bob Rivard [00:06:56]:
Humberto, you and I are baby boomers and still remember that Texas remained a state with many segregated communities even into the 19 seventies, long after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which was signed into law by a Texan president Lyndon Baines Johnson, LBJ. You were born and raised in Del Rio in the 19 fifties. Tell us what it was like, for you, your family, your upbringing, your education, and what you had to overcome to become the successful attorney and now author that you are today. We lived on the San Felipe site. The town is, well, it's still divided, but it was physically divided by a a creek, San Felipe Creek.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:07:40]:
To the west of the creek was White Del Rio primarily. And to the east of the creek, southeast of the creek, was San Felipe and it's primarily Mexican Americans with, some African American families as well. Until the school districts were consolidated in 1971, we rarely ventured into the white part of Del Rio, across the creek. It's only for special events, maybe games, etcetera. But our parents wouldn't allow us to go on the other side of the creek. And it took me a while to understand why, but the the reason they were doing this because they didn't want us subjected to the treatment that they knew they were the white part of town would subject the non white members of the community. And it was like I said, it wasn't until 1971 when the schools consolidated and now we're going to high school on the other side of town. But before

Bob Rivard [00:08:36]:
that, you were going to your own schools that were predominantly Mexican American or minority if there were if there were black members, black students there as well. But I I I'm guessing being on the border that most of the town's population was on the San Felipe side of the creek.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:08:55]:
Well, no. But maybe half of it was.

Bob Rivard [00:08:57]:
Half of it.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:08:57]:
And and I'd say about 98% was Mexican American. There may be a 1 and a half percent African American and then half a percentage of white people that would go there. There's a base situated physically within the boundaries of the San Felipe School District and there was a big battle in in 1970, 71 that led to the consolidation of the 2 school districts. But we grew up in primarily Mexican American schools that were run by Mexican Americans. And, during the summers, we would go north to the Panhandle of Texas to work on the fields. Since I was 5 years old, we would go every summer. You and your parents? My parents would take us. Yes.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:09:41]:
And that was a way for us to earn enough money to buy school supplies, school clothes for the next fall. And we we picked potatoes. We picked onions, carrots, cucumbers.

Bob Rivard [00:09:54]:
Even as a kid?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:09:55]:
As a kid 5 years old, they had me in the field. And we did every year. Were you paid? Yes. We got a a nickel for each sack of potatoes that we'd fill.

Bob Rivard [00:10:05]:
How much did that sack weigh?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:10:06]:
£50. And 5¢ for £50. Yes. Yes. Back then. And then, after the years went by, it was 10¢ and then 15¢ for each sack. But it it kept us from being idle and as they used to tell us back then, idle hands are the devil's work in us. So we we stayed out of trouble and our our parents were very big on us getting an education.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:10:34]:
We were never late coming back, even though the season extended beyond the start of the school year. We'd get back the week before school starts and we were supposed to go to school.

Bob Rivard [00:10:45]:
Were your family, your parents rooted in Del Rio or were they migrants who came across from Mexico? What's the history of, of the Garcias in this instance?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:10:53]:
My my dad was born in, you know, in Texas and, he's he was part of the family, worked in a ranch outside of Coolidge, Texas. Where is that? It's east of Waco. Okay. And a lot of his relatives are from Waco. There's my grandfather's brothers and sister were actually raised in Waco and there's family still there in Waco. But my dad went back went to Del Rio and would go back and forth to Acuna. My mother was from, the other side, Acuna. And when when they got married, we lived for a brief time with my grandparents in Acuna.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:11:33]:
And then when I was, I think, 3 years old, my dad moved us to Del Rio where we were raised.

Bob Rivard [00:11:40]:
And just to fast forward through your your own life and development a little bit, that emphasis your family put on education must have paid off because I, if memory serves, you went to the University of Texas.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:11:52]:
I did.

Bob Rivard [00:11:52]:
And is that also where you attended law school? Yes. And and that must have been quite an achievement, within your family for someone to not only go to college and successfully complete it, but go on to

Humberto G. Garcia [00:12:03]:
law school and successfully complete it. They were very pleasantly surprised. And and they're and to their till the end, my both my parents were very proud. Not not just to me, but my my siblings also were educated.

Bob Rivard [00:12:18]:
Tell tell us about your siblings. How many were there in the family and

Humberto G. Garcia [00:12:21]:
There were there were 4 boys and 1 girl. Mhmm. We all went to school. Unfortunately, we lost our youngest about 11 years ago, I think, around this time, you know, to leukemia. I'm sorry to hear that. Thank you. But, he was very popular in high school. He was a football player, did very well, and the rest of them have an education.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:12:42]:
They did well. I'm I'm the only one that became an attorney, but I do have a niece and nephew that became attorneys. My sister's son and daughter are are attorneys.

Bob Rivard [00:12:52]:
So tell us about the epic year of 1957 for the San Felipe boys. They obviously went from scavenging a club here and there and fetching balls out of the pond to and teaching themselves on this one whole course. They obviously progressed in a sport that's notoriously difficult to learn, even whether you are self taught or you have lessons from a professional. But I just can't imagine back in 19 fifties how they actually came to become good at this game. Although, it's a sport like many other sports where the earlier you start, usually the better the outcome.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:13:29]:
They were fortunate to encounter first an individual by the name of Iran Valdez. He was a civil service worker and and during some time in San Antonio, he would see people on the driving range, and he looked into what is it that they were doing. And, of course, he learned that they were practicing golf swing and then said, what is golf? And so he found out what golf was. So he took up the game and, when he was, he was in civil service and working in in Del Rio, his buddy, JB Pena, who became school superintendent, talked about the idea of the game. And he then learned that kids in other cities were actually on a golf team in high school. And so he's felt like San Felipe should have a golf team. And this is what gave the boys the chance to really get into the game. Because now, they could actually play someplace and play a full round and compete.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:14:34]:
And they But where could

Bob Rivard [00:14:35]:
they play if they weren't allowed on the town's only golf course?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:14:39]:
They they weren't played there initially. They weren't allowed to play there initially. But, they got into some tournaments in some other parts of Texas that would take them.

Bob Rivard [00:14:48]:
They had to leave their own hometown to play golf on a golf course.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:14:51]:
They did. They did. And and, the parents weren't terribly encouraging, but so long as they spent some time canning and earning some earning some money, then it's fine for them and it kept them out of trouble. So, they they allowed them to do that and and of course the kids loved it so they wouldn't wanna stand in the way of that.

Bob Rivard [00:15:14]:
And then probably as they started to play tournament golf around and and match themselves up to other high schools including the White High School in Del Rio, they enjoyed some surprisingly positive results.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:15:27]:
As a as a matter of fact, they they actually learned the game well enough that they could compete with the kids that grew up in the country club and had everything, had the the best of clubs, they had instruction, they had all those opportunity to play.

Bob Rivard [00:15:44]:
Nice clothes and nice golf shoes.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:15:45]:
Yes. Yes. And and these guys played in blue jeans and t shirts, but they let the game do the talking. And they were able to match the white schools all across the state.

Bob Rivard [00:15:57]:
And as they became increasingly successful and went from district play, which is typical in any Texas high school, public school sport, they made it into the playoffs, the the series of state playoffs that start with a regional tournament and and move up. And that's what happened in 1957, and I think they kept surprising everyone except themselves. They had they had a lot of heart and soul. They would go to these predominantly white communities and and golf teams. They would be called every racist word in the book out in the golf course, which, by the way, the adults that supervised the teams did not interject themselves and stop that kind of reprehensible behavior. They had to endure that those racist taunts even as they played.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:16:44]:
Yes. They actually almost got there in 1956 because that was 56 was, the first year they actually were organized and started participating and they came up short, unstate. So that made them more determined to work at it and come back next year. And and in 57, they were able to get through district regionals and then get invited to to state, actually qualified for state because they weren't gonna be participating state, unless they qualify. So now in most small communities in Texas, if your hometown team won

Bob Rivard [00:17:21]:
a state championship, there'd be everything including a a parade and a proclamation to welcome them home and the whole town would celebrate. How did Del Rio react?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:17:31]:
The San Felipe side did throw them a parade. JB's friends did arrange for a parade through the main street of San Felipe, Garza Street. And, they had a little banquet for them. There's a picture in the back of the of the book where they're standing when the table yeah. That one with the table and the trophy. And that was part of the little banquet that they threw for them, and they had a a parade down Garza Street where they showed everybody the the trophy and everybody showed up on Long Garza Street and congratulated them. And once the parade was over, that was the end of it. It wasn't publicized anymore.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:18:13]:
It wasn't a a citywide event. Certainly, the city of Del Rio powers that be did not do anything to, emphasize their accomplishment or recognize that what they have done. And it soon was forgotten. And, it's kind of interesting and ironic that when I returned to Del Rio to practice in 1979. As an attorney? As an attorney. There was a standing golf game on Thursday afternoons. And among those that participated was were j c JB Pena, the coach, and Iram Valdez, the guy that helped them. And, not once did they ever mention anything about the 1957 team that won the state championship.

Bob Rivard [00:18:58]:
Were you not aware of that growing up? Was it not part of the legend of being a a Mexican American in Del Rio that, hey, in 57, we won the state?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:19:05]:
Never heard anything about it. Nobody mentioned it. Even golfers and some flippant didn't mention it. It's just something that nobody talked about. And it it wasn't until 2,008 that I found out about it, even though I went to the same school.

Bob Rivard [00:19:22]:
I'm amazed by that and and, you know, we're we're superficially touching on what those boys went through from the time they first caddied until the time they won the state championship. It's just one of the greatest endurance stories of overcoming obstacles that I've ever read as 50 years as a journalist, and I wondered myself as somebody who started my career on the border and has lived in South Texas and worked here for so long, why I had never heard about this story until you and I met by happenstance on a golf course in San Antonio.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:19:52]:
It it's to me, it's amazing that it wasn't talked about even in the city where it happened. And, that is what prompted me when when I learned about it in 2008. And because I I had studied and experienced my own history of, Mexican Americans in Texas and and how they experience discrimination and suppression, oppression. And then I understood the golf, the game of golf. I learned the the game of golf when I was in law school, and I learned how difficult a game it is. You cannot master it. Even Tiger Woods can tell you. He he can't master it, even though he's very good.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:20:34]:
So when you combine the 2 subjects, knowing how difficult the game is, knowing how difficult Mexican Americans experience life in the fifties sixties, You realize that their accomplishment overcame forces that many of us would not be able to overcome. And it is at that moment that I learned about it that I said, this is the story that needs to get out to the world.

Bob Rivard [00:21:00]:
So 2,008, you decide this is a story that must be told. Everybody wants to write a book, Humberto, but wanting to write a book and actually taking that blank page and turning it into a a narrative story that is worth reading as a different proposition. So how did you proceed?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:21:17]:
And you're right. It is it is a difficult thing to get into and and I had attempted before 2,008 to get something published. I had written a few things. One of them actually a complete novel and I had gotten the rejection slips from

Bob Rivard [00:21:31]:
Oh, so we had a secret writer here under the, under the skin of an attorney.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:21:35]:
Yeah. I and ever since I I was in high school and, I wanted to write something. And and then in college, I took the the creative writing English classes. And, I got good response from the professors and stuff, so I felt comfortable that I could actually write something. And when I wrote the first one and got rejected, I kind of just set it aside and said, just continue practicing and doing something else, playing golf as well, until 2008. And and when I when I realized what a marvelous story this this was, and I approached them that same day in the evening at at the big function. There was a reunion of San Felipexis, and I asked them, says, would you mind if I talk to you about what you went through? I'd I'd like to write your story. And and I got a kind of a skeptical gaze coming back at me from the guys, and I was a little puzzled.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:22:33]:
And one of them, Gene Vasquez, the youngest one, said, are you sure you would write it? And I was taken aback by that question because, I felt that an insult. I said, yes. Of course. This this I would do it. Why? Why why you ask? And he said, well, it's because some lady said that she wanna write the story and then she talked to us and then never did it. I said, well, thank her for me because I will. And, I said, I will arrange for a meeting with you all, all of you, and we'll get together and talk. So I I scheduled a videographer and we met at 1 of Gene's house and we're all sitting there and I'm having the video for just tapes from the morning to to late in the evening.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:23:24]:
And we're just talking about their experiences. It's initially difficult for them to open up, but they finally start getting the idea that, hey, this is something we can tell him. And, they start correcting each other. So no. No. It happened this way. No. No.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:23:41]:
It happened this way. You know, this wasn't involved. And it was it was fascinating to get them to open up. These are they were in their seventies now.

Bob Rivard [00:23:49]:
This was a half a century after they lifted the trophy.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:23:52]:
Yes. Yes. And, I learned all about what they went through and and why it was that nobody had said anything about it, and it's essentially because they were all humble. They thought, okay. Once we got the trophy and we everybody, we had to pray, and everybody said congratulations, and that's it. That's about as significant as our story is to the people, and that's fine with us. And when I was telling them, this is you realize what you accomplished considering the times, considering the difficulty in the game. And then they begin to realize, okay.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:24:30]:
Yeah. We can tell them this. We can tell them that. And it was very difficult for them initially to speak about the psychological trauma of the discrimination and the taunting and the racist comments and stuff, But but they finally were able to feel comfortable enough with me to to dig dig deep inside of

Bob Rivard [00:24:50]:
the memory banks and just give me those details. Your your book is self published Humberto. Did mainstream publishers in Texas or outside the state turn you down after you finished the manuscript?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:25:02]:
Because of my experience with the first one, I said, no, I'm doing this because I wanted to get it out quickly. I recognize they were older gentlemen now and I didn't wanna go through the process of finding a literary agent, having him make the inquiries into the the publishing company because I figured, that's gonna take 6 months to a year. I don't wanna take that time. And, at the time, I, you know, I I could afford to just do it. So I I contacted AuthorHouse, and I told them that I was interested in in getting this published.

Bob Rivard [00:25:34]:
This is a publisher, I think, in the Rio Grande Valley or No. No. No.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:25:37]:
This is a publisher up in in, Indiana.

Bob Rivard [00:25:39]:
Indiana. Okay.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:25:40]:
Yeah. And the first edition of the book was completely financed by me. And we we got it out, and I wanted to get it out into the community, and it started rolling. And it and people the more people started reading, the story started getting out and getting out to people like state representative Pete Gallego. Together he with, representative Castro from San Antonio decided to recognize the team in the state state legislature. They passed resolutions recognizing them. And and one of the thing that bothered them was the fact that when they won the state championship, they weren't recognized at the ceremony of all the teams that will get together as they as they do today. And they were on the medal, the up stay end of stage and stuff.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:26:25]:
Now in this situation, the the guy running the tournament says, hey, coach. Here's your medals. Here's your trophy. Goodbye. So they're they're starting to get recognition. We started doing radio interviews. I started doing doing some TV interviews and and promoting the story about it. And then the Latino International Sports Hall of Fame came calling and they said, we read the story and we wanna induct the team into the the hall of fame.

Bob Rivard [00:26:53]:
Oh, that's a wonderful turn of events.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:26:55]:
Yes. It's it's starting to pick up. And then when I went to Hollywood to do what participate in what is called pitch fest, It's a gathering of a lot of production companies, and you're given 2 minutes to approach each representative with the idea. Here's my story, with the idea of them picking it up to do a movie project. And, when we got a bite and the publisher contacted me and said, hey. We've got somebody that is interested in in doing the movie or story. It is at that point that the the main guy at the publishing company says, we wanna redo the book. I said, we'll do it.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:27:37]:
So the second edition, which is the one you have with you, is done by the the publishing company. I didn't have to finance that. But initially, the first person that expressed an interest in doing the movie project was George Lopez's production company.

Bob Rivard [00:27:53]:
And why don't you mention who George Lopez is if there's someone listening on this planet that has never heard of

Humberto G. Garcia [00:27:59]:
George Lopez, the the comedian avid golfer, actor, and, he was very interested in the project. And I met with the president of his production company in Hollywood, and she was very excited about it. And she said, we're gonna do it as soon as we're done with the project that we're working now, and then we get rolling. When they finished the project, it bombed. It didn't do very well at all. Lions Gate was part of the group that was making that movie, and they decided that they weren't gonna do another project involving Mexican Americans and the story about them and the success. Regardless of how fascinating this story was, they they weren't gonna do it. So then I got a call from Leslie, the president of Travieso Productions and said, I'm sorry.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:28:46]:
We're not gonna be able to do it. So they didn't pick up their option to renew the contract.

Bob Rivard [00:28:50]:
That's a familiar story for writers Yes. To venture into Hollywood, Ubayetel. Yes.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:29:01]:
Doing the movie, convinced me to go ahead and give him the option and we executed an option agreement. He had it for, believe, 18 months with an option for another year. And he couldn't get it off the ground. I don't know what obstacles he faced. But lo and behold, in 2,000 17, an individual who had clerked at our law firm in 2002 contacted me. And he said, but I I, this is Javier Chapa. Do you remember me? He said, of course, I remember you Javier. And, he said, well, I'm now part of a production company, and I got wind of your story.

Bob Rivard [00:29:41]:
So this is somebody that interned as an attorney or an attorney to be, but he's now in a production company in Hollywood.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:29:48]:
He he clerked with for us for a year when he was a a 3rd year law student at Saint Mary's. And we were so impressed with him, I convinced my partners to extend an offer to him to become an associate of the firm. And they agreed. And I sat down with Javier. I said, hey, Javier. We really like your work. I think you'd be a great fit. We wanna offer you a position.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:30:11]:
And he says, thank you very much, Roberto, but I'm not gonna practice law. And I was astonished. I said, but do you just spend 3 years in law school, graduate it? And he said, hey. I know I did that for my parents primarily. His his father was a lawyer, and his brother was a lawyer. And he said, but I'm not gonna practice law. I'm not even gonna take the bar. I said, golly, Javier, but why? And he said, well, my love is Hollywood.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:30:39]:
I'm gonna go to Hollywood. I said, alright. Well, good luck. And when I was when I heard from him in January 2017, now this is 15 years later, and he's telling me he says, yeah. I'm part of this production company called Mucho Mas Media. And we saw the the the story. Somebody pointed out to us. I got the book.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:31:01]:
I read it. It's a fascinating story. It's it's one that we would like to to do. And he said, well, right now, it's under an option agreement with this other guy. And he said, well, when does it expire? I said, as a matter of fact, at the end of June of this year, 2017, the first term expires. He's got an option to renew, but I don't know if he will because he hasn't done anything. He said, well, tell you what. I'll call you in July.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:31:25]:
He called me in July. And he said, Humberto, did the guy renew? I said, he did not. So Mustang Miracle is available? I said, yes. And he said, well, let's talk. So we talked, negotiated an agreement. And by the December of 2019, he called me and said, look. We've got everything lined up. We've got investors.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:31:45]:
We're getting ready to roll. We'll get it we'd get it done. 2020, you know what happened. COVID 19. COVID. All the investors get cold feet and say, why are we gonna make a movie if people can't get to the theaters to see it? And so they said, well, just put it on hold. So we're on hold. Then they did a movie, Mucho Mas Media with with the investors, did a movie called Blue Miracle that was sold directly to Netflix, and it did so well.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:32:16]:
And the investors say, hey, wait a minute. Remember that story about the golfers? Why don't we do that one? Since Blue Miracle did did so well. And so they started rolling up again when he calls me. And he said, we've got it. We got a deal done. We've got everybody lined up. We're gonna start filming in May or June of 2022. And that's when I reminded him that I had negotiated a little part for me for myself in the movie.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:32:43]:
I said, oh, no. I haven't forgotten. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I ended up with a small part in the movie.

Bob Rivard [00:32:49]:
Where where was the movie filmed? Was it in a Texas public golf course somewhere down in South Texas?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:32:55]:
No. No. It was actually filmed in Colombia in just outside of, Bogota. Why? Well, the the government has a very, very attractive incentive program for movie production in their country. And, it's it's I can understand it's very lucrative financially and, it was filmed in its buildings there for the that, it was used as a high school. And Were

Bob Rivard [00:33:23]:
Colombianos, recruited as seconds and actors?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:33:26]:
There were yeah. Not not actors, but extras. And then most, if not all, of the cosmetic people, the hairstylist and makeup and all the other workers that are part of a film project, and there's many, many. There were Colombianos. And half of it was filmed in, around Bogota, Colombia, and then half of it was built, was filmed just outside of, Smithville. And what's your part? I play police chief Reyes. Okay.

Bob Rivard [00:34:01]:
And this is coming out in April? April 12th is the scheduled release date across the country. That's terrific. I wanna introduce Nicholas Frank who is the arts and culture reporter for the San Antonio report. They often sit in on our sessions and ask a question, and since we've now moved from golf to high art, both writing and, and cinema, I want to invite Nicholas into the conversation. Hello, Nicholas.

Nicholas Frank [00:34:27]:
Hello, Bob. Thanks for having me here. And, Humberto, I'm so curious. Golf has a very well deserved reputation as an elitist exclusive sport. But I'm from Milwaukee where golf to me is a working class sport. We had socialist mayors in the 19 twenties, thirties, and forties that created a thriving public park system, each park containing a golf course. So I could golf at Lincoln in my neighborhood for think it was about $14 for 9 holes, and the same system includes the Brown Deer golf course where Tiger Woods made his professional debut in 1996. I think he said hello world.

Bob Rivard [00:35:09]:
That's right.

Nicholas Frank [00:35:09]:
If I'm not mistaken. That cost a little bit more to golf at Brown Deer. But I'm interested in that legacy persists through today. So if you go golf at Lincoln, you're gonna see a pretty good reflection of Milwaukee's population on any given day. And I'm curious if you think the release of your book and the subsequent film might reflect back on Del Rio and San Felipe to have them take more pride in the story of these golfers from 1957 and maybe introduce or or reconnect with that legacy.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:35:48]:
I can tell you that following the the publication or the publishing of the first edition, the city began to learn about the story and there was a lot of pride, especially from the people that had ties to San Felipe. And the more that the story get out and talk about the movie generated, more and more people started expressing their feelings about the boys and their accomplishment, there is a frenzy in the city now. Most everybody that's that lives in Del Rio knows about the story. They've kept up with what has, developed into the movie. I've kept them informed as best as I can and there was a lot of excitement in the city, with the expectation of seeing the movie. And because because they're they're very proud of the fact that these these boys at a time when it was almost impossible for anyone to do that and to accomplish something that now is seen as almost miraculous. It it may not have seemed like that at the time, but the more the younger generation that sees the world differently now and understands the game and knows how difficult it is and how popular it's getting, and for them to do that, they that has gotten very excited about the movie, the story. And and there's many who are related to 1 or or more the other players, so that there's a feeling of pride in seeing their uncle, their cousin, their grandfather, be featured in the film.

Bob Rivard [00:37:39]:
You would hope, Humberto that the city of Del Rio would use this as a moment to reckon with their own past and reconcile the 2 very distinct, parts of the population there with an acknowledgement that, the past includes some really, unfortunate and regrettable behavior on the part of the the white ruling class and that this story, this book, this movie gives everyone an accomplishments of people that despite all the obstacles that were put in their way, they not only endured, but they thrived.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:38:16]:
I think the city is reconciled. I think consolidation of the 2 school districts initially seemed to be something that people from San Felipe didn't want, people from Del Rio didn't want, but now people see the wisdom in William Wayne Justice's decision to do that, to consolidate the school district.

Bob Rivard [00:38:42]:
That was a federal judge. Just

Humberto G. Garcia [00:38:44]:
federal judge ruling. Eastern district of Texas. Yes. And that in essence united the town. It is it is pretty much now a city that is together, that, you know, recognizes the history of how they got to that point. But mayor, councilman, commissioners, they're all primarily Mexican American. They recognize and for the most part, I was there during the parade last, October, and I saw the unity among the people of Del Rio. I I didn't see a split or division between groups of people.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:39:28]:
They were all there participating in their festivities and recognizing, how much fun it is and how good it is for them to live in the city of Del Rio.

Bob Rivard [00:39:39]:
Well, hats off to mister Chapa and to Mucho Mas Media for taking your story and actually seeing it through to production. It's gonna be very exciting to actually attend the film in April. I know that they have an initiative underway, Humberto, to raise funds through a non profit so that people all along the border, young kids all along the border might be able to go see the film, with, you know, tickets purchased on their behalf. So how how is that gonna work? And if listeners want to, make a contribution to help more people attend the film, what can they do to join in?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:40:17]:
They can they can donate funds to a 501c3 organization that is being created by the production company for the benefit of raising money to cover that cost of the tickets to send school kids all along the border to to see the movie. And in San Antonio, the Mexican American Bar Association is working I'm working with them on a special screening schedule so that they can use the viewing of the film as a fundraising project for the scholarship fund and also to help raise funds to cover the cost of tickets. So I'm hoping that we can come to fruition on that project and have a special screening, sometime in March before the general release. And I I don't know the name of the 501c3 at organization at this time because it's being set up. It probably won't be activated until next week, but I can publicize that and and people can look at the my Facebook page and maybe this program's Facebook page and to learn specifically who they can send funds to if they would like to participate.

Bob Rivard [00:41:27]:
Well, we'll be happy to facilitate any, donations that listeners wanna make, in the ensuing weeks before the film comes out, as that nonprofit gets established and or if people have difficulty figuring out how to give funds to the Mexican American Bar Association here in Bexar County, we can easily facilitate that transaction. What about the the book itself now? Is is it in its 2nd edition, Humberto? Can people access the book either through local bookstores or Amazon or or the publisher?

Humberto G. Garcia [00:41:58]:
It's actually in its 3rd edition. Alright. Congratulations. The publisher, as soon as they found out about the movie, and they've been they've been trying to stay up up to date on on the movie project, and they're gonna publicize the movie in conjunction with the book. And they've they've done they redone the cover. One of the comments that, one of the people in the PGA, got a convention in in Florida this last year, mentioned about the book is that when you see it, it says Mustang Miracle, and you see guys in high school jackets. You see one golf club, but it's it's hard to tell what the story is about, that it's a golf story. And so he made the suggestion, and this is one guy with Muchumaz Media.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:42:47]:
Said, look, why don't you have them redo the cover so that immediately people know Mustang Miracle is about a golf story? And so the there's a new cover, and, I I asked the publisher, are you willing to do this? Oh, absolutely. We'll do that. And he said, why don't you see if you can get, some artist to to draw it? And I said, I know the perfect guy. I have a cousin who's a very talented artist. I said, hey, Alfonso. I want you to draw for me, paint the picture. And I told him, gave him an idea what I wanted. And it's it's, if you see the cover, it is one guy.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:43:24]:
It's about it's he's in full swing, getting ready to hit the ball, and the ball is teed up on ground because that that symbolizes El Yanito, their their own golf course, and there's 2 guys waiting behind that to hit, and there's cactus. And that illustration was drawn by Alfonso Garcia, my cousin. And and I said, I told the publisher, look, this is what I want. This is I'll do it. So now that the book has a new cover, people can can order it through Amazon. I I don't think that any of the booksellers here in San Antonio carry it, but you can easily order on Amazon and get it right away.

Bob Rivard [00:44:02]:
Well, we'd love to see a local bookshop, adopt this and become part of a most worthy project. So San Antonio attorney, Humberto g Garcia. He's the author of Mustang Miracle, which has been adapted for the big screen. The film titled The Long Game will be released on April 12th. Thanks for joining us on Big City Small Town, Humberto.

Humberto G. Garcia [00:44:23]:
You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

Bob Rivard [00:44:30]:
Welcome to The Last Word, my weekly commentary on life and work in San Antonio and Texas. Now that Super Bowl 50 8 is in the books, I have a suggested way to make this coming weekend a special one, if a bit less entertaining. Let's join the growing army of volunteers turning out Saturday morning, February 17th for a half day of cleaning up the masses of litter in the city's creeks and the San Antonio River. We can't promise a Taylor Swift sighting, but you'll make some new friends, feel really good about yourself when the job is done and contribute significantly to making San Antonio a cleaner, more environmentally friendly city. Who knows, perhaps the city's many serial litterers will notice the night and day difference and reconsider their bad habits. This coming Saturday, as regular listeners to Big City Small Town know, is the 29th annual Basura Bash, the annual all volunteer litter cleanup. Each year, as many as several thousand people of all ages show up to remove multiple tons of litter from the watershed and surrounding wildscape. If you are new to San Antonio or otherwise unfamiliar with Bas Surabash, go to our website, big city small town dot com, and find episode 42 in the archive.

Bob Rivard [00:45:46]:
A conversation with Charles Blanc, the founder of River Aid, the local nonprofit serving as the Basouda BASH host this year. San Antonio boasts more than 100 miles of protected creekway trails throughout the city, as well as 13 and a half miles of the San Antonio River from the headwaters at the University of Incarnate Word down through the Mission Reach. Many other cities would kill for our urban nature landscape. Yet San Antonio also is one of the worst US cities for litter, which is bad year around, but gets even worse during and after Fiesta or one of the city's many other festivals. Changing the culture of San Antonio, that is getting people to stop littering, is no easier than getting irresponsible dog owners to treat their pets with care and respect and prevent them from getting loose and becoming dangerous to passing innocent people. That doesn't mean we shouldn't police the environment. Local authorities will tell you that eliminating graffiti discourages taggers from coming back, only to see their handiwork erased again. I believe the cleaner we keep the city, the better chance we have to reduce the volume of litter that follows.

Bob Rivard [00:46:58]:
Go to basudabash.org and register. There are nearly 2 dozen distinct cleanup sites where crew captains will marshal volunteers. So pick a spot where volunteers are still needed and sign up. Bring your water bottle, work gloves, and shoes that you don't mind getting a bit muddy. The forecast calls for a chance of rain and cool morning temperatures, so layer up and wear a hat. We'll see you out there for Basuda Bash, number 29. That's my last word for the week. Thank you for listening.

Bob Rivard [00:47:27]:
Please tell friends about Big City Small Town and share a link to this episode. We will see you next week. That concludes this week's episode of Big City Small Town. Thank you to our presenting sponsors, Westin Urban and Geekdom, and to the empty stomach group, including hands down here in the Rand building, Barbaro and Extra Fine in Monte Vista, Paper Tiger, Rumble, and Midnight Swim on North Saint Mary Street, Hot Joy in South Town, and Hands Down in Lavaca. A special thanks to Ashley Bird of Blooming with Bertie, our producer, and our audio engineer, Alfie de la Garza of Sound Crane Audio. And thanks to Velocity Texas for hosting our podcast while the Rand studio undergoes improvements.