Premiering in theaters across the country is brand new film, The Long Game, released April 12th and directed by Julio Quintana starring Jay Hernandez, Cheech Marin, and Dennis Quaid. The film is based on the book, Mustang Miracle, by author and attorney Humberto Garcia. The story is inspired by true life events regarding the San Felipe Mustang Golf Team, comprised of Mexican-American youths determined to succeed despite obstacles of poverty and discrimination during the 1950s. Author and Attorney Humberto Garcia had attended San Felipe High School in Del Rio, Texas which switched into the San Felipe-Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District (SFDR-CISD) in 1971.
Speaking of the film, Garcia is excited for the official release nationwide, “It’s been 16 years in the process,” he said. Despite attending the same school, Garcia had no prior knowledge of the story which he eventually wrote about after conducting much research and interviews, “Nobody had ever mentioned anything about it, even when I started practicing law in 1979 in Del Rio I used to play golf regularly with Jimmy Pena, who was the coach of the team and superintendent and he never once mentioned anything about it.” It wasn’t until Garcia attended a tournament put on by the San Felipe Ex-Students Association that he learned of the inspirational story, “They introduced members of the team and I immediately felt that it was a story that needed to be told. And I recognized the significance of the accomplishment the team did in 1957 considering the lives of Mexican Americans back then along with the difficulty of the game of golf,” Garcia explained.
After speaking with members of the team, Garcia began further research and began to write his book around 2009 which he eventually published. “Immediately from the very beginning the idea was to try to get this story on film,” he said. The adaptation depicts five caddies (Golfer’s assistants) who work at a local country club but were forbidden to golf there, “It was whites only,” Garcia said. “Even if you were brown or black and had the money, you couldn’t be a member and since the boys were Mexican-American surely they couldn’t and even stepping into the clubhouse was off limits,” he added.
The young men are eventually inspired to learn the game of golf and start practicing on their own. They find themselves in uncertain predicaments leading to competitions and even a state championship despite their inferior quality of equipment and money at hand. “It was tough for them to compete because a lot of times they wouldn’t let them into tournaments,” Garcia said. Unfortunately, Joe Trevino passed away in 2014 and Gene Trevino passed away last year, but Garcia tells us Gene was able to screen the film at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin before his passing and also arranged for him to meet the actor Gregory Diaz IV who portrays him in the film. A true story of perseverance and motivation, the film serves as a great reminder of purposefulness and determination. “The movie should evoke all kinds of emotions from anger to happiness and laughter and hopefully a big sense of pride. It’s emotional, and mostly everybody that’s seen it has said that it really touched them and I’m hoping that’s the case for everybody,” Garcia adds. The film was showcased last year at the SXSW festival in Austin and will debut in local theaters around the U.S. You can also find Garcia in the film in the bit part of Police Chief Reyes.
Check your local listings and showtimes near you.
“Mustang Miracle” is currently available on Amazon here.
The Long Game is currently streaming on Netflix.
My brother Joe Treviño passed away August 2014. This is a good article. Thank you
Thank you for the correction. Condolences as well. The story is amazing and will inspire hope in others.