Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad: The Story Behind Bilingual Education

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Bilingual education can open the doors to endless possibilities for the future. Margarita Muniz was an educator in the Greater Boston Area who, like many before her, continued the fight to bring bilingual education to the Boston Public Schools. As the principal of the Rafael Hernandez School, she was able to keep the two-way bilingual program when the state of Massachusetts voted for only English back in 2002. Muniz played a vital role in the dual language bilingual program in Massachusetts, so much so that the Margarita Muniz Academy later opened in her honor.

Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad (Two Languages, One Community) is a documentary that sheds light on Margarita Muniz’s story and shows how she played a part in the big picture that includes the racial and political challenges of educating bilingual children in Massachusetts, beginning with the desegregation case of the 1970s.

Filmmakers Blanca Bonilla and Veronica Wells along with their producer, Linda Nathan, wanted to tell this story because it was near and dear to them. Nathan was a friend of Margarita Muniz and promised to share it with others. They realized that it was an important tale about social change that needed to be shared with the masses.

Muniz’s story is an imperative part of Boston’s history and Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad is a film created by Latinas, about a very inspiring Latina.

Since its production, Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad has been shown at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Harvard University; Boston University; the Boston Public Schools Department; and even in Cuba.

On Wednesday, August 30^th, there will be a screening of Dos Idiomas, Una Comunidad at the Boston Public Library in Jamaica Plain at 7:00 p.m.