TV
Ten-year-old from Albuquerque’s South Valley represents New Mexico in ‘America’s Awesome Kids’
Watch her story featuring Día de los Muertos, lowrider culture, and life along the Rio Grande.
Dorothea Gillim knows the importance of culture.
It’s why she wanted to produce the series, “America’s Awesome Kids.”
“We were looking for ways to kind of celebrate America’s 250th experience or birthday,” Gillim says. “We were thinking about how to do it in a way that would really connect and resonate with kids. We wanted to approach it from a kid’s perspective. We had done a series of shorts for ‘Molly of Denali’ called ‘Awesome Alaskan Kids’ shorts, where we basically profiled kids and we thought, ‘Hey, we could really build on the success of that.’”
According to PBS, “America’s Awesome Kids” is a series of 25 live-action shorts. Produced in coordination with 23 PBS stations across the country, the series of mini-docs showcases kids from coast-to-coast, revealing what is special about where they live, their hobbies and passions, and how they are making a positive impact in their communities.
Viewers can stream “America’s Awesome Kids” for free on the PBS KIDS Video App, the PBS KIDS website, and the “America’s Awesome Kids” YouTube channel.
New Mexico is represented by 10-year-old Faith, who lives in the South Valley.
Faith gives viewers a glimpse into what she loves about Albuquerque. In the segment, she showcases Día de los Muertos activities in Old Town, as well as the burning of El Kookooee in the South Valley.
Her hobbies include riding bikes, drawing and sketching and listening to music.
“I like to play my guitar,” Faith says. “I’m a big foodie and I love to bake and cook. I also like going to the Rio Grande.”
Faith is also a part of the lowrider culture. She and her brother have their own lowrider bicycles. Hers is named “Cielito Lindo.” Faith’s parents, Pablo and Cristol, admit that they can’t keep up with Faith’s interests and activities, but encourage her to keep reaching for the stars.
Her parents say filming for the segment took about a week and they filmed across Albuquerque including at an acequia and at her elementary school.
“It was very exciting,” Faith says of the production. “It is my dream to be on TV. I was nominated by my teachers for this and they helped make this happen. I admit, it was very nerve wracking and very exciting to be in front of the camera.”
Pablo says it was a new experience for Faith to be with a professional crew.
“We take family videos and stuff but this was big time,” Pablo says. “Hopefully, Faith’s story will help spread the word about how great it is to live in Albuquerque.”
Cristol hopes the audience notices that although each child comes from a different background, they are very similar.
“It’s interesting to see how everyone lives,” Cristol says. “Maybe someone will see the piece on Faith and come visit New Mexico and learn about a different culture. We have so many cultures here that it’s unique.”
Gillim says it was important to showcase how amazing the children are.
“That was our goal, you know the old adage, mirrors and windows,” Gillim says. “We wanted for children to be able to see themselves reflected on screen, particularly those who are underrepresented. It also gives other kids a window into different experiences, different customs, cultures and hopefully gain sort of a new appreciation and understanding of the world.”
Adrian Gomez is a freelance writer for the ϼ. He works for the New Mexico Film Office, focusing on industry research.