Image

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

Join WJCT Public Media and the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens for a special screening of The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez in celebration of the museum’s current exhibition, Knowing the West.

“Still the best film I’ve ever been a part of in my life.”
– Edward James Olmos

“Beautifully shot and directed with great understatement, the result is a film of considerable poignancy and compassion.”
 Time Out

“One of the greatest and most criminally overlooked Westerns in the history of cinema.”
– Jim Hemphill, Filmmaker Magazine

This powerful 1982 film, starring Edward James Olmos, tells the true story of Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican-American farmer in early 20th-century Texas who becomes a folk hero after a tragic misunderstanding leads to a deadly confrontation and a dramatic manhunt.

A landmark of Chicano cinema, the film explores themes of language, identity, justice, and myth-making in the American West, resonating deeply with the exhibition’s exploration of how the West has been depicted and reimagined over time.

  • 6:30 PM – Doors Open
  • 7:00 – Film Starts

Tickets $5

Run time: 1 hour 46 minutes
PG-13

Get Tickets

When

Wednesday, July 16, 2025
7:00 pm - 8:50 pm

Where

WJCT Studios
100 Festival Park Avenue
Jacksonville, Florida 32202

Learn how you can sponsor WJCT Public Media.