Mr. Esparza spoke to 300 participants at the 13th Annual Cinco De Mayo College Bowl in Highland Park Illinois. Moctezuma Esparza was a participant in the 1960s-era movement for the civil rights and equality of Mexican-Americans as he participated in the Chicano Movement. He was one of the organizers of the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, a series of youth-led protests inspired by educator Sal Castro in which Mexican-Americans demanded equal educational opportunities. His role in the walkouts was "liaison to the press which led to his interest in the media. The movement is memorialized in his 2006 HBO film Walkout. Mr. Esparza is an American film producer and the CEO of Maya Cinemas, a theater chain catering to the United States Latino audience. Moctesuma Esparza is a strong promoter of Latino films and many of his films focus on Chicano themes. He has produced over fifty films, several of them for television, and has won over 100 awards. Mr. Esparza's earliest work in film was in service to the Chicano Movement. He filmed a speech given by Reies Lopez Tijerina at UCLA, as well as the 1970 Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War. The Moratorium footage became his first documentary, Requiem 29. He also helped organize Chicano student conferences and the Media Urban Crisis Committee, which analyzed the effects of media on minority communities and recommended that members of those communities attend film school. Mr. Esparza spoke to 300 participants at the 13th Annual Cinco De Mayo College Bowl in Highland Park Illinois.

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