An Interview with Haldun Morgan

AUFF: Why don’t you introduce yourself?

HM: My name is Haldun [Morgan] and I am a co-founder of RESET, which is comprised of myself, Rogelio Garza, Mitch Smith, and Adriana Garcia. [makers of the film Clogged Caps 3]

AUFF: First of all, did you make it out to Ruta Maya last night for the screening of your documentary?

HM: No, unfortunately I did not. I was in LA this weekend and didn’t get to go. I think Mitch was the only one from RESET that may have been present. Currently two of us have relocated to California, Rogelio and myself, to continue working on projects both in film and theatre. Mitch and Adriana are still in San Antonio doing work as well. Overall we have been pleased with the reception Clogged Caps has received as we have screened in Houston, Austin, San Francisco, San Jose, Chicago, and a few more places between here and there.

AUFF: What initially prompted you make a film on San Antonio graffiti artists?

HM: Well, RESET began as a video-magazine that we would distribute freely at underground events in San Antonio. By taking the ‘zine idea and putting it in a video format, we could have short ADD segments that revolved around art, music, politics, and culture of South Texas. We had three episodes that we cranked out in 2003-2004 before we began to take on production of Clogged Caps. Since this was a labor of love, we produced this video magazine by ourselves and looked to the San Antonio underground hip hop scene to help us with distribution. The Prhymemates, a local hip hop crew, were instrumental in helping us purchase VHS tapes to give out our ‘zine since we were not looking for monetary compensation. Our interest was to document the vibrant art, cultural, and political scene in San Antonio, and this led us to take on the momentous project of documenting the only graffiti festival in South Texas. We were surrounded by many talented artists, musicians, actors, personalities and ideas on how to make this vision a reality, which I believe we did quite well. Our interest in making a graffiti film had a lot too with the criminalization of art, particularly graffiti. We went into the project with a simple goal; people have been writing on walls since the beginning of human kind, it is some of the earliest evidence of our existence as rational being, yet you throw in private and public property laws and an instinct that is as old as throwing an arrow to get some food now becomes a criminalized activity. We are artists, and we are down to see art, wherever it may be, especially in the confines of the concrete jungles that most urban areas do represent today.

AUFF: Are you planning on covering this year’s upcoming event as well?

HM: Unfortunately, no. Since we have done Clogged Caps, RESET has aimed to grow and expand in the topics and subjects we want to cover. We do continue to maintain a relationship with the people that helped us make this movie, and grafitti is something that we can never stop looking at (IT’S EVERYWHERE!), yet as filmmakers we are looking to diversify what projects we take on. We have nothing but love for our people and made the documentary to help them publicize this event to whoever we can get to see the film so that it can keep growing as the years go on, and so that we can start to share our experiences growing up in South Texas with other artists and writers across the country.

AUFF: What other projects are in the works?

HM: Rogelio is working in Southern California in the Coachella Valley working on a long term project that is focusing on immigrant youth in the poorest counties in California. He is teaching multi-media classes at high schools down there while maintaining an active presence with the videos that the youth produce and that he facilitates. Roegilio and myself worked with youth in the area to do a short segment on HR 4437 and the effects it would have on their community if the bill would have passed. The youth are also focusing on environmental racism, xicanos vs. paisanos, and the effects of the increasing anti-immigrant sentiments being exploited by the right.

Here in Northern California I have just received money to do a production of a RESET original play called What Are You Doing Tonight?, and we have received a grant to bring out San Antonio actors for performances in San Jose, San Francisco, and Berkeley. It is a play that focuses on interpersonal relationships and is a multi-media production. Adriana and Mitch are both involved on this project and we utilize a lot of video mixed in with live performances. We have staged this play twice in San Antonio and are looking to make this our first feature narrative film to be shot in LA, SF, SA, Austin, and few more locations in the Southwest. In the staging of this story we are working on establishing our characters some more before we actually go into production of the film.

Also we do take on work for small businesses, community organizations and cultural centers. We also work with youth when given the opportunity (Rogelio will be working with these youth for a few years).

AUFF: Is there a place where our readers can (legally) view the work of your artists?

HM: www.Prhymemates.com This would be the best site to get some information or post a question on their message board to see if some of the folks might help you find more photos. This is a very active message board so someone should be able to help you. Also, big up to Prhymemates, LAWS crew, and Aerosal Warfare who organized the event and made the documentary a reality. They were the one who gave us the palette that we needed to make this endeavor a reality.

-conducted by Andy Gately on 7/23/06