Yo Cuento: Entre Ríos y Desiertos

Latino Outdoors has always been a community first and an organization second. Our model is based on gathering people in person to connect with each other and nature by hosting free outdoor outings led by our dedicated volunteer leaders. We strive to celebrate Latino cultures outdoors and create spaces where everyone can enjoy the beauty, healing and joy found in nature. Yearly, we connect more than 10,000 Latinos and allies to the outdoors through birding, day hikes, bike rides, campouts etc. We support the leadership development of a network of over 200 volunteers and tell countless stories highlighting our communities’ connection to the outdoors.   

Our goals are simple - diversify outdoors recreation, outdoor leadership and outdoor narratives. Nature teaches us that diversity in ecosystems is vital to survival; diversity in people systems is equally as important. If we want to continue to have strong voices for conservation and stewardship of public lands, more diverse groups of people must be invited into the outdoor recreation and conservation movement. Our message; the outdoors is for you. Come connect with nature. Bring your whole intersectional identity with you. Join us, in community, around the campfire. 

“We all have a connection to nature. We all are a part of nature and we all deserve to have access [to nature].” - Araceli LO Los Angeles 

Our stories are powerful. In 2023 a group of Latino Outdoors' leaders from across the country went to Big Bend National Park to collect and share stories about nature, about ourselves, about our ancestors, and about the importance of public lands. Yo Cuento: Entre Ríos y Desiertos documents that week of shared exploration.  

“I think it was important to go to Big Bend for a variety of reasons. When I look specifically at the opportunity to be able to go in community - that is the core of what Latino Outdoors is and means. What does it look like, what does it feel like, what does it sound like, to go with others like you? And it is also important because Big Bend is a representation of many things. It is a national park and yet it is a border park. It is a park that borders between the US and Mexico, so you can’t ignore the political realities that that encompasses. What does it mean to hold that? Not just in the standard border narrative that you might have in other places,... [but this narrative]  that also accounts for the land. ”   - José González LO founder 

This film is the story of visiting a place that is painful for so many immigrants and families of immigrants and shifting the narrative to include more. This is the story of connecting with the desert, claiming our space and inserting amor y comunidad in a space that doesn’t always feel like it belongs to us. This film explores what it can look like visiting a national park with others like you.  

“On one side of [Santa Elena] canyon you have Mexico and the other side you have Texas. But, we are surrounded by the vast Chihuahuan Desert. It goes on for hundreds of miles. You can see how high the canyon walls are and … this [the Rio Grande] is really the only source of water.” -Joedy  LO San Antonio 

“I grew up along the border in Brownsville, Texas. For me [crossing the border] was always extremely transactional going from the US to Mexico. Visiting the border in this kind of capacity was amazing because it helped me reimagine how I visit and see the border now. Instead of something that divided it is something that brings life.” - Albert  LO  DC/Maryland/Virgina 

Yo Cuento: Entre Ríos y Desiertos was filmed on the historic and unceded lands of the Jumanos, Coahuiltecan, Mescalero Apache, Chiso, and Pescado people. They are the original stewards to what today is called Big Bend National Park.  

Photo Credit: Latino Outdoors