Delving into the issues: 'Latino Vote 2024' examines the priorities of a politically diverse community

Bernardo Ruiz has worked on a number of film and TV projects over the course of his career.

He’s been at the helm of documentaries such as the James Beard-nominated “Harvest Season,” as well as “Reportero,” which followed Mexican reporters covering organized crimes and political corruption in Tijuana, Mexico, as well as “Kingdom of Shadows,” which is about the United States-Mexico drug war.

Delving into the issues: 'Latino Vote 2024' examines the priorities of a politically diverse community

Ruiz’s latest project is under the “Voces” umbrella. It is called “Latino Vote 2024.” The documentary will broadcast at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It will also be available to stream on the PBS app.

The documentary and collection of digital shorts examines the priorities of the politically diverse Latino electorate in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.

Ruiz directed, while it is produced by Andres Cediel along with Marcia Robiou.

Ruiz said the film focuses on the key issues that will drive Latino voter turnout in some of the most hotly contested battleground states, including Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The film also delves into the efforts both political parties are making to reach the Latino electorate in California and Florida, two states with large Latino populations.

“I am very pleased to be partnering with PBS SoCal and Latino Public Broadcasting in order to bring together a team of journalists and filmmakers for ‘Voces: Latino Vote 2024,’” Ruiz said. “As we saw with our 2020 film, there is a large and growing audience for this story.”

The documentary was filmed in large cities and small across the country, and was on the ground at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

Ruiz said the film follows the ever-evolving story of the campaign, including the fallout from the debates and how the sudden candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris is changing the political calculation of the race.

Also featured are several evangelical Latino clergy, including Pastor Gabriel Salguero of Orlando, Florida, and Pastor Samuel Rodriguez of Sacramento, California, who often align with Republicans’ social conservativism but often struggle with the campaign’s negative depictions of immigrants. This increasingly hostile rhetoric has coincided with a rise in hate crimes against Latinos nationwide.

The film features the insights of many of the most prominent Latino political operatives, including longtime Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha; María Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino; former HUD Secretary Julián Castro; Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA; Daniel Garza, president of the LIBRE Initiative; and Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino.

“Our goal is that through ‘Voces: Latino Vote 2024’ our viewers will gain a deeper understanding of the impact of the changing demographics of America and the issues and concerns of Latino voters,” said Tamara Gould, PBS SoCal chief content officer. “With the documentary’s immersive approach and the short films, we delve into the issues Latino voters in key battleground states care about the most and hear from the next generation who is voting for the first time.”