Sold-out Latino screenplay made in Northeast Philadelphia to debut at the Kimmel Center
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at CBS Philadelphia. And on Thursday night, a sold-out Latino screenplay, made in Northeast Philadelphia, will be making its debut at the Kimmel Center.
"It was 1985 when I first came to the city as a young lawyer," Alba Martinez said.
Martinez is the song and screenwriter of the short film "Laguaga Cuarenta y Siete" or "Bus 47."
"One day I got a phone book in the mail, and I was looking in the back pages to see if I could find any sign of Hispanic life," Martinez said.
Martinez came across a number to a cultural center in the Fairhill section of North Philadelphia. She called. They answered.
She said during the call, the cultural center told her to come up to 5th and Lehigh Streets.
"It was a Saturday, so a ton of people walking around and I had a Puerto Rican lunch and my life changed," Martinez said.
Bus 47 was a magical portal that carried her to a vibrant, colorful community that became home. The experience was so great, Martinez created a song.
"I discovered new roads, I traveled miles of color," she said.
The song launched what ultimately became an artistic film or what Martinez calls a community project that includes more than 250 people like Ms. Rosa Benitez
"The film is essentially a love letter to the Latino community," Martinez said.
If you're looking for more Hispanic Heritage Month content at CBS Philadelphia, click here.