Severo Perez was born in San Antonio in 1941. In 1972 he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of becoming a filmmaker in the motion picture industry.
In those years, the technology was not what it is today. For that and many other reasons, his journey as a filmmaker has been a circuitous path.
The film adaptation of Tomás Rivera’s novella “... and the earth did not swallow him” remains what Perez calls his “Everest” —a mountain he scaled for some 20 years before realizing his goal.
The film follows the lives of a family of migrant workers from South Texas in the 1950s.
It is a remarkable bildungsroman or coming of age story—and Perez matches the poignancy and power of Rivera’s book in this film.
Severo Perez’s Filmmaker’s Journey recounts Perez’s story from his humble beginnings on San Antonio’s West Side to 2024–and a celebration of his film, “...and the Earth did not Swallow Him,” being nominated to the National Film Registry by Congressman Joaquín Castro.
Severo Perez is a playwright, novelist, and director of films and television programming, including his award-winning “...and the Earth Did Not Swallow Him,” adapted from a 1971 novel by Tomás Rivera. A native of San Antonio, Texas, he has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 1972.
He is the author of the memoir, Filmmaker's Journey, published in the Wittliff Book Series by Texas A&M University Press.
Read more about Severo Perez at the website of The Wittliff Collections from Texas State University. Learn more about the Wittliff Collections’ celebration honoring Severo Perez at Texas State University here.
