Boca Chica, Corazón Grande - Incite at Columbia University

Once known as la playa de la gente (the peoples’ beach), Boca Chica Beach in South Texas is experiencing fallout from rocket debris, displacement, and threats to wildlife and the sacred lands of the Carrizo-Comecrudo tribe.

Despite the area’s cultural and geographic significance, life around Boca Chica Beach is poorly documented in archives and museums. In response, ENTRE launched Boca Chica, Corazón Grande, a community archival project that documents the history and geography of Boca Chica Beach in South Texas through the eyes and memories of its community members—namely through preservation of oral histories, home movies, and photographs.

This project empowered individuals through the act of archiving, placing power back in the hands of the people whose lives make up the collection. In 2024, C. Dìaz secured an additional National Endowment for the Humanities grant to extend and grow this work.

About ENTRE

Founded in 2021, ENTRE is a community film center and regional archive located in the Rio Grande Valley that provides access, support, and skills in the realm of non-traditional and community-made cinema. Founder C. Díaz is an artist and radical archivist whose work explores the relationship between cerebral landscapes and the natural environment through the weaving of social practice, experimental cinematic techniques, and the reimagining of archives.