Palomar College explores queer intersectionality with award-winning film “Mosquita y Mari” and a Q&A with director Aurora Guerrero.
“Mosquita y Mari” is a queer coming-of-age story about two Mexican teenage girls — Yolanda and Mari — who live in Los Angeles and bond over their family struggles and complicated feelings for each other. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and has received critical acclaim in the decade since its release. Director Aurora Guerrero said she wrote and directed the film to capture a story of queer love that felt authentic.
“It is about my own coming-of-age love story that I hadn’t shared with pretty much anybody,” Guerrero said. “I really wanted to be true to what I experienced, because what I was seeing in cinema, particularly around young queer love, wasn’t really my truth.”
“Mosquita y Mari” won the Outstanding First U.S. Dramatic Feature Film award at the 2012 Outfest and the Queer Award at the 27th Torino GLBT Film Festival. Lead actress Fenessa Pineda, who played Yolanda, also won the Outstanding Actress Award at Outfest.
The screening of “Mosquita y Mari” was part of Palomar’s Queer Film series, hosted by the Palomar Pride Center and organized by Professor Russell Sheaffer. It was the final screening of the 2024-25 school year. The series, which began in 2023, has featured films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “The Watermelon Woman,” “Wild Tigers I Have Known,” and “I Saw The TV Glow.”
Each screening is followed by a Q&A, where audience members can ask questions to the directors or actors of the film about the creative process and experiences.
The Pride Center has hosted Tallie Medel, who played Becky in “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and Abby Harri, casting director for “I Saw The TV Glow.” Directors like Dante Alencastre of “Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo’s Story” and Ondine Rarey, co-director of “SALLY!,” have also been invited to the events.
During the Q&A session for “Mosquita y Mari” with Aurora Guerrero, she shared insights into her writing and directing style and gave attendees a special look into the film’s finer details.
“There’s so much that is not spoken in this film,” Guerrero said. “The music, the soundtrack, the score, is really meant to bring some of that conversation to the surface in a subtle way. I always tell people to listen to the soundtrack, because you’ll understand some of what’s not being spoken.”
Students interested in films that explore the queer community can enroll in Palomar’s Cinema 123: Queer Cinema course. Taught by Professor Russell Sheaffer, the class covers topics like queer representation in cinema, the history of queer films, and how to find creative communities.
“I strongly believe that movies are a central part of how we understand ourselves and each other,” Russell Sheaffer said. “They can bring us together, build empathy, and celebrate our differences.”
Cine 123 was established at Palomar in 2013. Its curriculum ranges from studying 1920s queer actresses like Marlene Dietrich to modern films like “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”
“The class is being taught in-person this fall — I truly cannot wait to be back in that classroom,” Sheaffer said.
