Robert Rodriguez, the king of guerilla film-making and founder of El Rey Network, is adding his voice to the election season and urging people to vote on 8 November with a Get Out The Vote PSA, as provided exclusively to the Guardian.
“As a Latino and as a citizen, I feel it’s imperative to speak up and to remind voters that this is one election where no one can afford to wait on the sidelines,” said Rodriguez. “It’s up to us to write the ending to this story. It’s time to stand up and let your voice be heard.”
From Antonio Banderas’s Mariachi to Salma Hayek’s Santanico Pandemonium in From Dusk Till Dawn, the Mexican American director has created some of the most iconic bad hombres and nasty women in film. Now, he is using this PSA to empower the Latino voice and break down the stigmas the Latino community faces.
This election has been particularly damaging towards the perception of Hispanics and Latinos in America, mainly due to pessimistic comments by Donald Trump. From calling Mexicans rapists to his absurd tweet on Taco bowls for Cinco De Mayo there hasn’t been a shortage of insults hurled at the Latino community. Hillary Clinton’s message of support to the Latino community is a stark contrast. “You are not intruders. You are our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, our families. You make our nation stronger, smarter more creative,” Clinton said at the League of United Latin American Citizens conference earlier this year.
This is not Rodriguez’s first call of action during the elections. In 2012 he also shot a PSA called We Are All Americans: Protect Your Voice, Prepare To Vote. He joins a number of A-list celebrities who have been galvanizing people to vote. From Joss Whedon and the Avengers cast’s Save The Day videos, featuring Robert Downey Jr offering a naked Mark Ruffalo to encourage voting, to Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus visiting college dorm rooms, the entertainment industry has been promoting the importance of this year’s election.
