This Los Angeles mural by Hector Ponce portrays Jaime Escalante, right, and Edward James Olmos, left, who played the math teacher in "Stand and Deliver." Photo from www.publicartinla.com

By Louis Medina

It’s the only time I’ve cried while watching a movie on a plane. I let the tears cascade freely down my cheeks, pride overriding any feeling of shame I could have felt had anyone around me noticed.

It was the late 1980s and the first time that, watching art imitating life, I could see myself reflected fairly in a major motion picture.

Like my tears, a stream of Hispanic names and passing test scores kept flowing in voiceover as image after image of young Latinos – just like me! – smiled from the screen.

“Escobar, Guadalupe, 5 … Ana Delgado, 4 … Garcia, Francisco, 3 … Javier Perales, 5 … Quintana, Armando, 4 … Angel Guzman, 5.”

Actor Lou Diamond Phillips folded his arms defiantly as the name and Advanced Placement Calculus test score of Angel, the young man he was portraying, were read in the unforgettable final sequence.

Even if it had been a fictional film, “Stand and Deliver” would have been inspirational. The fact that it was based on the real-life experiences of Garfield High teacher Jaime Escalante, who turned a motley crew of barrio kids into math geniuses, made it socially important. Indispensable, even.

I realized just how much of an impact this movie had – even across the ethnic and racial divide – when, at a week-long company retreat a few months later, my manager, who was white, chose it as the one motivational film to show his employees, most of whom were Japanese and needed to watch a subtitled version. Nothing about the film’s empowering message was lost in the translation.

It’s the kind of film, and the kind of true story, anyone anywhere in the world can walk away from with a renewed feeling that anything is possible.

If I were still in school and one of my teachers had died, I couldn’t have been sadder than when I learned this week of the death of Escalante, 79, who inspired and continues to inspire so many high school youths and others to succeed – including Edward James Olmos, who immortalized Escalante in his stunning, Academy Award-nominated portrayal in the movie. Escalante gave everyone hope.

I remember that as soon as I saw “Stand and Deliver” 20 years ago, I thought, “Finally, they’re going to start making more films about us!” It didn’t happen. Fairness and positive change are doled out slowly to people of color in America. Realizing that, it’s up to every one of us to “stand and deliver” like Escalante did: If someone questions your abilities, prove to them again that “Yes, you can.” Be willing to take life’s test again, if it comes to that, because, as Escalante and his students’ experiences proved, it will likely come to that sometimes. But it will be alright. He showed us what to do.

Just two weeks ago, I was talking to a job development supervisor at the Bakersfield Homeless Center who helps homeless adults train for the high school equivalency (or GED) exam. Like my manager in an auto industry job in Japan two decades ago, this social service agency worker also motivates those in her charge by showing them “Stand and Deliver.” From seeing her students’ reactions, I can attest to the fact that a barely literate homeless person’s response to the film is the same as that of a well-educated Japanese business executive: “If those kids could achieve, I can achieve.”

The type of obstacles to be overcome might be the variable in each person’s life equation, but when Escalante’s story is presented as a constant, the end result is invariably hope and the “ganas” (desire) to succeed.

Escalante was, like many other Americans who have left a lasting imprint, an immigrant. Born in Bolivia, he came to America seeking a better life for himself and his family. By the end of his career, he had made things better not just for Americans, but for people all over the world who know and are inspired by his story.

Gracias, Mr. Escalante. Rest in peace. We won’t forget you.

Louis Medina is a grant writer for the Bakersfield Homeless Center and on the board of directors for Bakersfield Express.