Never Surrender
Gerardo “Promise” Vargas—whose unusual nickname honors his late grandmother and her last words to him—helped facilitate a video workshop for teens this summer in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. A June 2003 graduate of Satellite Academy, the 19-year old currently pursues independent music and video projects and will join the youth TV crew this fall at the Educational Video Center (EVC), a nonprofit that trains city high school students in media literacy and documentary filmmaking. Promise spoke to WKCD by phone in August from his family’s home in the Bronx, New York.
After I left Evander Childs High School—one of the Bronx’s huge schools—I went to Satellite Academy, a small alternative school. The teachers there are really caring, and they help you find what you want to do. I was looking for an internship in multi-media—I own an independent music label—and the closest thing they could find was the documentary video workshop at EVC. So I went to EVC, and I kind of fell in love with it.
I’ve taken two workshops at EVC and made three videos. The first was called Education to Occupation: How Do We Make Schools that Help Us Work? It was really just scratching the surface—exposing the problems that exist in our big high schools, not really searching for any solutions. The next semester we had an arrangement with PBS—they were doing an educational documentary, so we did a small piece of that larger video on Satellite Academy and small schools. But a lot of it turned out to be about me! The PBS people thought my story was interesting.
The third video (Fighting to Learn: Organizing for Better Schools) was the icing on the cake. We talked to all these education experts and school principals about fiscal equity. We tracked a school funding case as it went through the courts. As a learning experience, it was amazing. Before, I was a strong believer in conspiracy theory, that the government has a lock on us, that the system keeps us down. But when our side won the fiscal equity court case, I learned that we are capable of making change—without getting killed or ostracized. It made me less lazy in a way. Now I know I need to fight for my people, fight for my urban society.
Making documentary videos and becoming socially aware changed my whole outlook and future goals. Three years ago, my big dream was to be this super rapper—and that was it. No back-up, no alternative. And though I still have my dream, now I’m a lot more realistic. I have a back-up plan—that’s doing the video editing. I know problems exist, and finding solutions means learning to make socially conscious choices. So I’m active now. I write letters to the newspapers, I write to politicians, when before I didn’t even know who my elected officials were.
Satellite Academy helped spark it, too—they talk a lot there about things like educational inequity and environmental racism. Before when I heard about things like that I just got agitated, I got angry. Now my whole aspect is different. Even when I make my music, I don’t want to just entertain or make a lot of money. I have a message I want people to hear.
An Unwitting Role Model
When Steve [Goodman, EVC director] asked me if I wanted to help teach young people how to make video this summer, I jumped at the chance. For the workshop, we usually had about 10 kids aged 16 or 17 from Washington Heights. We met two or three afternoons a week, for about six weeks or so. They made a seven-minute documentary about George Washington High School. They finished it and screened it at EVC. It was very informative. It showed the flavor of the school’s hispanic background and Dominican culture—which I learned a lot about, being real close to my Puerto Rican background. The school supposedly has been split into three small schools, but the curriculum has stayed the same and the classes aren’t small, so it still has the format of a traditional school. The drop out rate is 50 percent, and it’s fast on its way to becoming a failing school. So the point of the film was to draw attention to these issues, to begin exploring the problems.
My own role model is my dad. He’s taught me that family is everything. He came from nothing—he started out shining shoes, then later found his way to the mail room and worked his way up to vice president in a financial firm. But family is always first; family is the strongest bond in the world. I’m proud of where my family is today.
Something from Nothing
I’m also kind of proud of my music label— Never Surrender Productions, Incorporated. It’s something I created from nothing. It’s mine, and I have a couple acts under me.
Later this year, after I get my tax refund back, I plan to launch an independent video label. It’s called AAW Productions—named after my nephew, Andre Austin Walker. Soon I’ll start writing the proposal and getting grants for my next venture. I hope to make a video of Bodega Dreams, by Ernesto Quinonez. That is my all-time favorite book. The story is so reminiscent of my life. The main character—he did negativity, he did drugs, but he also helped his people, like a modern day Robin Hood.
I never took drugs, but when I was 15 or 16 I sold them. I was just a follower then, trying to become a man, trying to be accepted. I quit because the consequences are too high. My cousin got arrested, and in one day he lost everything. It wasn’t worth it to me. Another reason I won’t go back into drugs is my nephew. He’s three, and he’s amazing. His mother had lupus, but somehow they both survived. He watches everything I do; he sees everything. So I have to be there for him. I have to be strong and good for him.
Finding a Back-up
I got real cool with the kids. I liked them, and I exchanged phone numbers and hang out with some of them. We made connections. I didn’t consider myself as a role model to them until they pointed out to me that they look up to me as a strong hispanic male. They notice that I can speak well, I don’t have an accent, I’m articulate. I lead the good life, I’m not taking drugs. I don’t look to be a role model—it’s not something I search out—but if others see things in me they want to try out for themselves, then I’m happy to provide that.