Martín Alberto Gonzalez, "Mi Comunidad, Mi Cultura" Redefining Oxnard Through Storytelling

Dear Martín, we are so excited to have you here, Tell us a little bit about you and your background.

My name is Martín Alberto Gonzalez and I am first-generation Xicano who grew up in Oxnard, CA. I am an educator and storyteller who likes to tell stories that shed light on social injustices and challenge stereotypes. Growing up, I saw and experienced a lot of injustices and I didn’t know how to make sense of them. I noticed that it wasn’t just me and my family who were impacted by these social injustices, but others who looked like us, too. Eventually, I realized that the city I grew up is readily misunderstood. There is lots of beauty in Oxnard, but some folks like to focus on the negativity, and then some people internalize it. So, now I am doing my best to unlearn all the negativity that I had internalized about myself, mi familia, mi comunidad, y mi cultura. I hope that my work instills or sustains self-worthiness in everyone in my community.

Boxnard could have been told in many ways: books, live action, or lectures. Why did you

decide on animation for this story?

I am really committed to the idea that stories can come in all shapes and forms. Traditionally, when we think of storytelling, we automatically think of telling a story verbally or in a written format. Both can possibly engaging, however, growing up I was really entertained by visual storytelling via cartoons. I wanted to create a project that was accessible because it is visually attractive and entertaining, and that’s why I created a short film animation.

What unique challenges or opportunities did you encounter when adapting the story

of Boxnard into animation?

Adapting Boxnard from a book format into an animation pushed me to be more creative and elaborative. For the book format, it was simple: I needed to think of one still image that best described my text. Yet, for the animation short film I had to think of movement and what comes next after the initial image. I was prompted to think thoroughly about the sequence of scenes and whether they flowed with the storyline. I felt like a lot of the challenges I faced where when I first wrote the book. The animation allowed me to build on the foundation and then add sequences accordingly.

How does the animated style enhance the film’s message about counterstories and

empowerment?

I was really thinking about accessibility and my intended audience. Personally, I believe that

animation helps make stories more palatable and enjoyable. One thing that I have struggled with is how animations about social issues and social injustices constantly sugarcoat topics or beat around the bush to make everyone feel included. Messages like “we are all beautiful” or even using animals or fictional characters to depict real like experiences with discrimination or racism. I wanted to create an animation that keeps it real. An animation that unapologetically calls attention to the social issues at hand. Like for example, in my animation, I talk about how people are discriminated because of their dark skin, because they are undocumented, or because they can’t speak English. I believe audiences, regardless of age, need to hear these topics as is.

We have to be intentional about saying Brown and Black is Beautiful instead of saying “all colors are beautiful” because the reality is that not all colors are seen equally and kids grow up hating certain aspects of their identities because of it. Whenever I screen “Boxnard” at schools, the kids enjoy and engage with the message, and feel empowered to tell their own stories of positivity.

How are you connected with this story and what made you decide to work on it?

I grew up in Oxnard and basically my whole life I was judged for how I looked, dressed, spoke, talked, walked, dressed, etc. I think about others who are judged based on one side of the story, which is probably filled with stereotypes, prejudices, and misconceptions. I wanted folks to know that for every negative story that is told about them, there is always a positive. The idea of “counterstorytelling” really changed my life and worldview, and it made me realize that we are quick to think of, and in some cases be fixated on, the negative stories that are told about us, but it’s also important to shed light on positivity. Counterpunches in the boxing sport serves as an important metaphor for all of us to know that we can “counter” negativity with positivity. Since Oxnard aka Boxnard is known for the rich boxing culture, I felt it was perfect for me to speak on

this connection.

Oxnard has both pride and stigma attached to it. How does Boxnard address those

perceptions?

I love my city so much because people are proud to be from Oxnard for different reasons. Still, whether people want to admit it or not, the negative stigma that is attached to Oxnard is because of its Brown people, specifically those who are poor. The stereotype is that if you are Brown, and dressed a certain, then you must be up to no good. This is the dominant narrative I heard growing up in Oxnard. However, Boxnard “knocks out” that narrative by urging audience members to disrupt assumptions and stereotypes by throwing our own “counterpunches” of positivity. In order to grow personally, we must be able to acknowledge the negativity that doesn’t allow us to see ourselves as worthy or human, and “Boxnard” sheds light on both the negativity and positivity, with an aim to help folks challenge negativity with positivity.

You’ve also written books and given talks on these themes. What makes Boxnard stand out among your other works?

This is my first ever animation and I am really proud of how it came out. Visually, it gets my

message across and I am confident my community enjoys watching it. It stands out because it blends verbal and visual storytelling. I narrated the film and carefully crafted the visuals to supplement my verbal storytelling to compliment the story overall.

What do you hope children take away after watching Boxnard?

I want children to know that we all have our own unique stories of empowerment and that we are all storytellers. We can use our various talents to tell stories in a variety of formats whether it is murals, stickers, posters, theater, music, or whatever. Specifically, it is very important that we tell stories that challenge negativity, especially as it pertains misconceptions and stereotypes about our identities and communities. I chose to write and direct the film "Boxnard" because this is a valuable lesson that kids should learn early on. We can fight negativity with positivity. While watching this film, I want the viewer to realize how important it is for everyone to tell their own story of empowerment, using their own talent and format.

Looking ahead, do you see yourself continuing with animation as part of your storytelling

toolkit?

Absolutely. I want to continue to tell stories in all mediums and formats to increase accessibility. I want to convert more of my written stories into animations.

As both an educator and storyteller, how do you see your role in bridging the gap between

academic work and community empowerment?

Honestly, it’s sad to say that a lot of traditional “academic work” does not make it into

communities outside of academia. Even if it does, that academic work can be inaccessible due to academic jargon, format, structure, or literal paywalls (paying to download). My “academic work” has always been for my community outside of academia, which is why I believe my “academic work” gets very little awards or recognition in academic settings and by academic organizations. It reads, looks, and feels differently than traditional academic work. To make matters more complicated, I do a lot of my projects independently without a big academic press behind my work, and because of this decision, my academic work is quickly dismissed as not credible or rigorous. It’s really sad but not surprising. I’ve had personal experiences with academic “peers” and “colleagues” who have discredited my work or straight out rejected any requests to support my work. It’s all good. As long as my community and loved ones value and appreciate my work, I don’t need any other validation. I am grateful for everyone who continues to value and share my work.

You also have a TEDx talk titled, “Boxnard,” tell us about that experience as well.

I am so proud of this talk because it was the first year ever that TEDx was approved to be hosted in Oxnard, and I was asked to be a part of such a monumental experience. Counterstories as counterpunches was an idea I had already presented on, so it was nice to share it again via a TEDx talk. It was definitely a core memory, and the best part is that is available on YouTube, so anyone could watch it as many times as they want. I’ve been told by my educators that they have used my “Boxnard” TEDx talk in their classes, and that makes me very happy and proud.

Anything else coming up in the future?

I currently have two potential book projects I want to pursue in the near future. I’ve been

documenting all of my mom’s dichos (sayings) and I want to write about them using poetry.

Specifically, I want to provide social justice interpretations of some of the many the dichos my mom has shared with me. The second project is another children’s book. Not sure what the topic is going to be, but I definitely would like to write another children’s book. I love presenting my stories to kids, and I want to continue telling stories that will make them feel proud of who they are and where they come from.

Do you want to add anything else for our readers?

I want to circle back to the question about academic work. I really hope to inspire folks to do “academic work” that will make it into communities outside of academia. By this, I mean

produce research and academic work that is accessible to our Gente, across all aspects. Writing is only one form of knowledge production, but there are so many other ways we can produce knowledge via storytelling. Film via an animation short is one of many other ways to tell a story.

I hope my work inspires others to explore other methods of storytelling, so we can have different mediums to learn from. Communities outside of academia also deserve the right to have access to knowledge and information that could potentially propel them to fulfill their potentials, and we must do right by them and produce work that is accessible to them. Thank you so much for this itnerview.

Boxnard Trailer: