In the year 2000, years ahead of the streaming frenzy, Showtime itself had not only one or two but three shows which opened doors for diversity content on cable networks.
The first one, “Queer as Folk”, was the American version of a successful British TV Series which became a phenomenon in the late 90s where most of its characters were gay; the second one, “Soul Food”, was the TV version of a sleeper movie hit from the mid 90s based on stories surrounded by African American families and the third one, “Resurrection Boulevard”, was the only the original story of the three but not too far from their purpose of its focus on another ethnic group: Latinos leading a story of an East L.A. boxing patriarch (Tony Plana) whose machismo made way for the women around him take control of their family dynamics and also a gay Latino character.
This story combo was a creation from experienced producer at the time, Dennis Leoni, who referred to the trailblazing television series as “ …the defining moment of my lifelong career in the television business” on the eve of the upcoming “A Day with Resurrection Boulevard – The 25th Anniversary” which will take place at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre of his hometown in Arizona on October 19, 2025, where attendees will enjoy a special screening of the pilot episode; behind the scenes insights and a live panel discussion with cast and crew members sharing exclusive stories from the making of this historic series.
“Resurrection Boulevard” tells the story of the Santiago family, where its patriarch Roberto struggles to keep his boxing business alive involving most of his sons especially “Golden boy” Alex (Nicholas Gonzalez), who has all the credentials to become a doctor but seems to be the best bet for the Santiago family to hit gold on this sport, but just like Alex the rest of the family members have dreams, and their own differences instead of separating them end up uniting them, just like happens with Tommy Corrales (Douglas Spain), gay son of Paco and Bibi Corrales, played by Esai Morales and Elizabeth Peña who also played a couple in the classic “La Bamba”.
And although Peña and Spain won´t be present on this upcoming event (Peña unfortunately died in 2014 due to a liver cirrhosis at age 55) the reunion of Plana, Gonzalez and Morales will make room also for another important cast members like actor and also director of some episodes Michael DeLorenzo; Mexican born actress Ruth Livier; Mauricio Mendoza; “La Bamba” protagonist Lou Diamond Phillips; Daniel Zacapa and Glynn Turman in a panel discussion moderated by acclaimed producer and performer Dan Guerrero.
This event promises to be a vibrant celebration of community, culture and storytelling because the door that “Resurrection Boulevard” opened with the 53 episodes airing during its two years in Sundance pave the way in the next two decades to uplifting Latino stories from TV (“Ugly Betty”; “Jane the Virgin”) to streaming (“Gentefied”; “Vida”) and also sports centered films like “The Long Game”, among others, and even when most of those shows are either cancelled or gone, airing also during a shocking time for America in the middle of 9/11, “Resurrection Boulevard” proved the human spirit of Latinos can resurrect all over again.
Alfredo Galindo lives and writes from Saltillo, Mexico. He is a Content creator/Filmmaker/Storyteller/Mexican Film History Podcaster.