Two Languages, One Community

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Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad (Two Languages, One Community) is a one hour documentary film by Blanca Bonilla and Veronica Wells that tells the story of the racial political challenges of bilingual education and the role that Margarita Muniz played with the dual bilingual language program in the state of Mass, as told by Boston’s political leaders, activists, and educators who knew her well.

The film begins by shedding light on the fight for better bilingual education programs during the Boston Public Schools’ desegregation case of the 1970’s and introduces Margarita as an advocate for the children who depended on it to succeed. Boston’s Rafael Hernandez School plays a key role in this film as a base from which Margarita, principal of the school, continued her fight to make sure the children she served were not shortchange.

Margarita’s early years as a Cuban refugee, highlights this portrait of a woman who was all too familiar with the struggles of immigrant children in the US. You will witness her determination, leaving her family in Cuba, her strength to begin her life in an orphanage in Louisiana, and her persistence to fight to become a leader in education. She concluded her life by bringing into existence the first dual language high school in the state of Massachusetts, Margarita Muñiz Academy.

Watch the trailer HERE.

Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad (Two Languages, One Community) will be screened at the Museum of Fine Arts on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 3 PM. Ticket Required