A concentration of Latino owned restaurants open for business just a few years apart in a neighborhood dominated by multiple modern banks and unused parking lots. What seemed to be a promising new beginning for a mostly hidden minority population along Central Avenue, the events of a single day force these restaurateurs with an unexpected and uncertain decision; to give up on their dreams, or to stay and persevere. Avenida Central (Central Avenue in Spanish) is a story of how people from completely different Latin American roots find themselves in the small city of Staunton, VA, open up shop in the same neighborhood, and how a community rallied behind them in the midst a global pandemic and a local natural disaster.
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FOLLOW UP PROJECT ABOUT CENTRAL AVENUE IN STAUNTON VA
Avenida Central is where we, the filmmaker and production company, is starting as far as formal release of any film stands. The foundation of the story about Central Avenue in Staunton VA is a far more complex and compelling story worth telling.
At its root, this programs origins stemmed from the once thriving Black community that built and sustained the North August Street, North Central Avenue, and the predominantly Black community surrounding it known as Sunnyside for decades before they were displaced under the veil of progress in one of countless federally supported Urban Renewal projects during the mid 20th century.
The stories of our Black, African American brothers and sisters in Staunton is why we are compelled to dive into the history and present day lived experience of this neighborhood to begin with. While we work to complete Avenida Central and follow the these hardworking Latino community members, we'll continue to gather records, photos, meet with elders, and do everything we can to prepare ourselves to make that companion film that will focus more exclusively on the thriving black neighborhood that was intentionally bulldozed and built over.
This companion film should complement the hard work countless individuals and organization in Staunton are doing to surface, and bring forward the black history of this city so it is preserved for future generations to come.
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