
Born and raised in East San Jose, Daniel is a graduate of Santa Clara University with a B.A. in Communication. The mission of “East Side Hero” and our projects is to serve as a tool to relate to the lives of low-income at-risk youth in underserved schools and neighborhoods. Our goal is to inspire our targeted youth to have more positive decision-making and resolutions to challenging life situations. Our Mission is to empower low-income at-risk youth in urban communities especially those who attend underserved schools, disrupt the generational cycle of violence between Latino communities in Northern California, show youths that it is possible to break free from the limitations being imposed on their identity from the time they are born.
Tell us about your experience at the Hip Hop Film Festival? My experience at the Hip Hop Film festival was dope and very refreshing. For our Q & A, we simply were instructed to “talk our ish” and did that loosen things up! My crew and I were then able to just be ourselves and communicate openly with no judgments on our video submission, on our upcoming projects, but most importantly who we are and the purpose of what we do. Because in the end, that’s what Hip Hop is, a true expression of oneself. And for the Festival to encourage that, it just solidifies that this event is truly for and about the culture.
Why are stories from the culture important? They are important because it’s the voice from the culture that is real and uncensored. Directly from the source with no BS, as it’s important to keep Hip Hop alive in its truest form. Yes, everything evolves, but Hip Hop is a tool to inspire people, and the festival does a fantastic job at doing just that.
What projects are you working on now? Our main artist Legacy has a short film about to be released titled “In Broad Daylight '' which is based on Dirty Cops and the killing of innocent youth as an initiation rite happening in East LA. We are also working on the SBC’s debut album which will feature “Nobody” and “We Don't Play” (HHFFNY 2020 official festival selection video) amongst other tracks. Lastly, I am working on writing my chapter “East Side Hero '' in a Lowriding collaboration (title of book TBD) as an introduction to the feature film “East Side Hero” and why I am pursuing to create that full-length feature project for the culture.
Why do you think the Harlem Film House and Hip Hop Film Festival are important? The festival keeps the roots of the culture alive. I grew up on Hip Hop and was a young teen during the “golden era” and it inspires me to this day to keep striving as the messages come from the hood, the slums, the ghetto but it was real. Festivals like these are real in that sense because they come from the heart and the voice reflects our voice, no matter where you come from, real Hip Hop will live forever.
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