“And wherever you’ve gone,
And wherever we might go,
It don’t seem fair,
For days to disappear,
Your light’s reflected now,
Reflected from afar,
We were but Stones,
YOUR LIGHT made us stars”
Light Years from Pearl Jam
Dreams. Everybody has
dreams. Dreams of becoming an Athlete, A Rapper, A Scientist, and so on. My
dream was about becoming a storyteller, or more exactly a filmmaker. My mom
always preached to us to follow our dreams no matter how tough things get.
And following my dream is
what I did. I earned my BA in Film and Electronic Arts at Cal State University,
Long Beach, and my MFA in Film Production at
Chapman University.
Making movies is a tough
business. But what’s even tougher is life.
Through hustle and hard
work, Sal Rojas and I began work on a documentary called “Pass the Mic”.
Everything seemed to be going fine. I went to gather footage for “Pass the Mic”
with the Digital Aztlan crew in Tuscon, Arizona. We went up with ILL-FAME,
and the show was dope. A lot was accomplished. The crew was heading out the
next day, Monday morning. I woke up that morning feeling sick. Like something
wasn’t right. I woke up just before nine o’clock. We gathered our gear and
headed home.
The news hit me like a
rock. My older brother George Anthony Montes Dead at the young age of 27. “This
can’t be right.” Died in a car accident. “Not now.” 8: 48 am. “We made a pact.
A Promise.” Monday Morning. “Remember our dreams.”
My brother was the hardest
working person I knew. He would only call in sick when he was real sick. And he
worked, sometimes 6 days a week to help my mom and dad with the bills and to
help me with college. He was always encouraging me with my work, asking when I
was going to make my first feature.
My brother would work
early mornings. He died on the way to a store on his route. He died on the job.
The last conversation we
had was about me going to Tuscon. He had tickets to a Dodger game that weekend.
Two. One for me, one for him. I told him about the trip. He said to forget the
game and go to Tuscon.
My brother served as an
Executive Producer for “Pass The Mic”. He made it possible, without him there is no Pass The Mic!
He also bought most of the video and sound
equipment, because he believed so much in me. Just days before his passing, we
talked about our dreams.
Now I’m living his dream.
There are times when I want to quit and give up. But I would be letting him
down. And I can’t let that happen.
Thanks For Being My Best Friend, Inspiration, and most importantly my Brother,
Richard Montes
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This Movie is dedicated to the
Memory of