Introducing The Real Life Inspirations from McFarland USA
*Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles for the coverage of several press events for Disney. All opinions are 100% my own.
As the four walked into the room they were greeted with applause because back in 1987 they were in fact hero’s but didn’t see themselves that way at all. But their coach Jim White really played a bigger role in their life than he knew at the time. They definitely are pro family and proud of the way the movie portrayed their culture and family. They were raised in the field their whole lives and started picking, hoeing, raking and doing everything you could possibly think of from the age of seven. For them it was a way of life, which is how it all began.
Even after the Diaz brothers graduated college, the day after he graduated from the university with the diploma, he was in the fields working, because that was, in our family, what was expected until he got hired and got his job.
Diaz Mother
In the movie the Diaz mother was a real scene steal and was amazing, when we asked if that is how their mother was the answer we received was a little surprising. Jim White fielded this question for them with this quote from Mrs. Diaz herself:
“I love the film, but they didn’t make me strict enough.”
All three of the Diaz brothers are proud of the way that Hollywood and Niki (director) depicted their mother, but not making it look bad in the way in which it was done. They admit that they lived in a very strict environment, but that they still continue to do so today.
Father Figures
Mr. Paul Diaz encouraged (ordered) the boys to play sports because it taught you discipline and gave you character as well as teaching to you accept winning or loosing. But he also pushed education really hard, he told Jim White, “I want them to get their education, so I will go back and get my education.” He went back to school and received his GED in 1990 and always stood behind his boys and was an amazing dad!
Mr. White was a very inspirational part of their life and was a person that they could rely on. He even has spent time with them in the fields picking grapes, oranges, cotton, and almonds. But admitted that he didn’t enjoy it very much, but done what was necessary to help the boys. The boys now own their own almonds now and Mr. White still helps them in the evening with their work and they gave all the credit to God.
Their father never could ever go watch them race, but Mr. White stepped in and would buy them shoes, feed them, counsel them, console them and so on. But they fondly refer to Mr. White as their second Father, because he did lots of things for them that their dad couldn’t do because it wasn’t financially available.
Their Story
Having your story and life out for everyone to see has to be an nerve racking experience, but the men featured in this movie, have embraced it more than words could ever express. At first the story was signed to a company, and then another, and then another, but when Disney got a hold of it Jim White and his wife were elated with it because they knew it wouldn’t contain sex, cussing and cigarettes in it. The first script that was written was actually thrown out and Disney hired a better script writer and the rest is history.
Mr. White had a very important role in this movie because he had a lot more influence on how it was written. The Diaz brother were interviewed for hours upon hours to get their side of the story. But Danny Diaz did say, that they changed him a lot in the movie and made him chubby, and slow. But that is ok, because he was excited to just be included into the movie.
But he did set the record straight that the third team mate Jose, just took off to fast and just couldn’t keep up with the pace throughout the whole race. But because Danny was seventh man, he just had to make up a little bit of time. As he heard the news of Jose being out, for the first time in his life, he could be in the top 5. The top 5 are the ones that scored, so even though he wasn’t as chubby as he was portrayed in the movie, he was a great sport about it! It was his first time experiencing the pressure that went with running and getting more points. But they felt lucky that they were able to pull it off. Danny Diaz really did win the race for McFarland back in 1987!
The Last Race
As the movie leaves off with them winning their first race back in 1987, we asked them if it changed the way they ran future races. The following season they were ranked number one for the entire season. But, Mr. White took off and went to Stockton to be with his family and the boys were supposed to train on their own. The trained, just not the correct way and spent their “training” time on a basketball court instead of running. So instead of coming in first, they came in fifth but it was a lesson they all had to learn.
Changes in McFarland
Since the movie crews have came and gone McFarland has grown in the two or three years, but it still remains a poor community. If it wasn’t for sports our kids would be lost, because it’s either, education and sports or the streets. The entire community is embracing the changes and they are all grateful for the notoriety and of course what Mr. White has done for the program at the school as well as the community.
Jim White added that there have been definite changes in McFarland. For example, they are no longer the heartbeat of America, but they are the “Heartbeat of Agriculture.” As well as the logo having runner running through the field, a silhouette of a runner if you will. Then underneath that is Tradition, Unity, and Excellence. —-I couldn’t agree more with those 3 words, just being with those men for less than an hour, they showed me all three of those and are proud to be from McFarland.
The brothers no longer train, but they do run together still. David Diaz still races competitively as well as coaches. Danny and Damacio run three to five miles a day just to stay in shape. They even have kids that all compete but admitted that the hills in the movie didn’t do the hills they actually trained on justice. The hills they trained on were very steep allowing them to endure the long races and prepare mentally for their races.
Inspirational
Meeting the real life inspirations behind the film McFarland USA was absolutely amazing to sum it all up, but never in a million years did I imagine that I would actually cry during an interview. I know I wear my heart on my sleeve, but when the Diaz brothers were telling us about their story, I cried a couple times during the interview. They are truly the most humble, honest, hardworking, God-fearing, inspirational and motivational people I have ever met.
*Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles for the coverage of several press events for Disney. All opinions are 100% my own.
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