Source: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty
Last year, actor Wilmer Valderrama made headlines when he got the film and TV rights to WWII book, Patriots from the Barrio. Now it’s been revealed that WV Entertainment is aiming for a television adaptation of this pivotal story in history.
Dave Gutiérrez’s book entails the well-researched story of the Mexican-American men who fought in the 36th Division, 141st Regiment, Second Battalion, Company E during WWII; many of them hailing from El Paso. He started his research when he found out about the history of his father’s cousin, Ramón Gutiérrez, who was taken prisoner and escaped twice from the Germans. He received a Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, and an Order of the Great Patriotic War from the Soviet Union.
“It shouldn’t have taken us 70 years to tell this story,” Gutiérrez said to an audience at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas in May. “It’s up to Latinos to record and document our own history.”
While there’s no other info on when the Venezuelan-Colombian actor will begin production, we’re excited to see what he does with the project. This could potentially start a new wave of inclusion of Latinx and African American storylines into televised U.S. war stories —something we definitely don’t see enough.
“I’m honored as a proud Latin American to amplify the courage and contribution of these incredible men,” he said last year when he was asked about the project.
