Keeper of the Fire

Brown, D. L. & Dematteis, L. (Directors). Telles, R. (Executive Producer). (2025). Keeper of the Fire. Video Project. 28 mins. As an undergraduate, I studied Romantic poetry. Percy Bysshe Shelley deemed poets “unacknowledged legislators of the world” in his A Defense of Poetry. I found myself wondering about the role of the poet and the social impact of poetry while watching the documentary short, Keeper of the Fire, about the Chicano poet Alejandro Murguia (1949-). The film’s opening lines, uttered by a variety of voices, ask: "Why poetry? What good is poetry? Poetry is one of the ways that you can carry on an attack on unjust conditions." In the opening montage of the film those questions are accompanied by images of Murguia writing, speaking, fighting, as well as a pan across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. The film establishes its setting and scope within the first minute. In my own studies, I read Neruda, and was familiar with Ginsberg and Lorca, but the film introduced me to Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal (1925-2020) who speaks in Spanish with English subtitles. He met Murguia while Murguia was director of the Mission Cultural Center. It also introduced me to a circle of Beat-inspired Chicano poets, including Nina Serrano (1934- ), a San Francisco Mission Poet, who recalls Murguia’s fighting with the Sandinistas alongside his friend and fellow poet Roberto Vargas (1941- ); she noted, “I was not surprised that he headed off for Nicaragua with Roberto because he and Roberto were always together, did everything together.” Former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera (1948- ) also comments; it is Herrera who provides the title of the film: "To be a keeper of the fire in a sense is to be the keeper of the songs, the caster of good words for the nourishment of our communities. That's what I see in Alejandro. And words, of course, are the fire: the fire of hope, the fire of the spirit, the fire of peace, and the fire of creativity." In addition to keeping the fire, Cardenal teaches that “Poetry is an important factor for change. With poetry, we begin to speak about human values.” When poets describe human values (such as when criticizing unjust leaders or the displacement of the poor), they bring issues to consciousness; this, in turn, inspires people to demand change. The film serves as a case study in how a poet can move hearts through words, public speaking, education, and community action; the poet keeps the heart of the community beating and its fire burning with words. By examining the life of the poet Murguia, we learn about poetry’s potential effects; we are given an answer to the question: Why poetry? The film includes numerous poems that evoke the vibe of the community and its persistence through change. The biopic provides a background portrait of Murguia, how he lost his mother at a young age, his fighting with the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, how he was inspired by the California Beat poets, and how he continued to be involved by using his voice to fight the negative effects of gentrification in San Francisco. His activism grew out of his search for—and understanding of—his own identity. He says in one scene, “I think all poets, all writers try to figure out in every work that they write, who am I? What’s my past? Who are my parents? What is my country? Where do I belong?” He explains how he was born in California but raised in Mexico and how, after returning to California, he didn’t know English; he tells of his epiphany about being Chicano when he was eighteen. He arrived in San Francisco in 1971 when he was in his early twenties. The editing by David Telles is well done (Telles also wrote and produced the short). As Murguia reads a poem, numerous background images expertly illustrate the words. Clips from San Francisco in the 1970s, and from the Beat movement, provide the documentary with a sense of place. There is a perfect mixture of commentary and poetry. One small suggestion for improvement would be to provide the name of the poem being read in a title card. The videography and sound brought the images to life and set the tone perfectly. Due to its length, the documentary does not cover in depth The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Murguia’s connection to it and how he rallied the community to keep it open due to financial pressures. It includes an emotional clip from San Francisco City Hall of him rallying a crowd to save The Mission. Professor and cultural historian Cary Cordova, who wrote a book called The Heart of the Mission: Latino Art and Politics in San Francisco, places Murguia in the context of other Latin American poets such as Neruda, Lorca, and Roque Dalton. She also speaks to the displacement of low-income people in San Francisco (Murguia calls it “Silicon City” in one of the poems he reads). Her comments are brief. While the film will resonate especially strongly with viewers in California and the Bay Area, its themes of cultural identity, community activism, and artistic responsibility have broader relevance. Funding was by the California Humanities, Latino Public Broadcasting, the Berkeley Film Foundation, and Foundation 4 Systematic Change. It may presume that the viewer was already aware of the role of the Mission Cultural Center in its community. Viewers unfamiliar with San Francisco's history may benefit from additional background on the Mission District and its cultural significance. To quickly understand its various cultural tensions (The Ohlone natives and Spanish Colonization, population shifts, and currently gentrification, from the tech industry), I found the California Migration Museum’s overview “The Mission District” helpful. Teachers could provide additional context by having students read about the Beat Poets of San Francisco, learn about Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookstore, and listen to jazz or Latin Rock from that period. They can show a map of San Francisco districts and point out Mission District (I learned it is not a governmental district but a cultural one that is in District 9). Of course, students should read some of the poems, but especially “16th & Valencia” which is a vibrant painting of the Mission District vibe that underpins the documentary. The poem – and the film – ends perfectly with Murguia emphatically beating: "El corazón del corazón de La Misión / El Camino Real ends here." He expresses the heart of the mission and the community’s devotion to it. In Murguia's poem, 16th and Valencia become the symbolic culmination of El Camino Real, a place where history, culture, and community converge. Copies can be borrowed from libraries or purchased from City Lights. Readers will come to acknowledge this poet as a dynamic legislator who keeps the fire lit and the heart beating. Murguia’s life experience can inspire students to better know themselves and to use their artistic voices to participate in their own communities. This short film is highly recommended for classroom use for all ages, particularly in courses on English literature, sociology, politics, and Latin/Chicano studies. Award: Denver Independent Film Festival, Best Documentary Short