Left to right: Marco Rodriguez, Rose Portillo, Severo Perez, Steve Davis (Literary Curator at the Wittliff Collections)
One year ago, the Wittliff Collection at Texas State University celebrated the publication of Filmmaker’s Journey, a memoir of my creative life, and the road to making the feature film based on Tomas Rivera’s celebrated novel, …and the earth did not swallow him.
These are Rose Portillo’s comments on the day:
Last night. San Marcos, TX. The Wittliff Collection, TX State University. A packed house. A sharing – heartfelt truth about process and craft, collaboration, art and business. And family. Students, community members, the family of Tomas Rivera who wrote the ground-breaking work that Severo Perez adapted into the international award winning film, “… and the earth did not swallow him”. 3 friends/art-makers in conversation (Severo, Marco Rodriguez, myself). It’s what elders are supposed to do. Sometimes, you know in the moment when you are heard and seen. Last night, that was true for all of us in that room. I left walking on air and so very very grateful and hopeful.
Award-winning filmmaker, playwright, and writer, Severo Perez grew up in Westside San Antonio and graduated from the University of Texas, Austin. For over forty years, he produced films for PBS, network and cable television, corporate sponsors, and the educational market. His feature film adaptation of the novel …and the earth did not swallow him (1994) by Tomas Rivera won eleven international awards, including one for Best Director and five for Best Picture. His first novel, Willa Brown & the Challengers, is historical fiction based on the real-life African American aviation pioneer, Willa Beatrice Brown. Odd Birds is his second novel. His third book, Filmmaker's Journey, was published in 2024.