Oscar and his prize pupil Jose reunite to give an update on their lives since East of Salinas
Where Are They Now?

A Letter from Jose Ansaldo and an Update from Oscar Ramos [UPDATED]

December 26, 2015 by Craig Phillips in Where Are They Now?

UPDATE (3/26/21):

We heard great news about East of Salinas star José Ansaldo that we just had to share. José got accepted to U.C. Berkeley!

UPDATE (2/7/17):

News courtesy of East of Salinas filmmaker Laura Pacheco, teacher Oscar Ramos was just awarded the Cesar Chavez Human Rights Award! Our hearty congrats to Mr. Ramos on the well-deserved honor.


Last month, East of Salinas filmmakers Laura Pacheco and Jackie Mow returned to the Salinas Valley to catch up with the subjects of her film: Jose Ansaldo, the bright student and son of migrant workers, and Oscar Ramos, Jose’s teacher, mentor, and friend. First of all, here’s Oscar talking about his lasting relationship with Jose.

And after you watch East of Salinas, you will no doubt be a bit worried about and want to hear more from young Jose himself. Well, Jose was kind enough to not only write us a letter updating us on how he’s doing, but also let the filmmakers put together a video that goes with his letter.  Read and watch:

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Craig Phillips

Craig Phillips

Craig is the digital content producer for Independent Lens, based in San Francisco. He is a film nerd, cartoonist, classic film poster collector, wannabe screenwriter, and owner of/owned by cats.