Directed by Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana & Alan Domínguez.

In The Ground I Stand On, filmmakers Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana and Alan Domínguez create a lyrical and meditative exploration of the work and creative process of Alejandro Jimenez, Mexico’s 2021 Slam Poetry champion. See how his life experience as a U.S. immigrant farm worker shapes his unique vision of the power of poetry and its connection to a collective past.

Alejandro Jimenez is a formerly-undocumented immigrant, poet, writer, educator, and avid distance runner from Colima, Mexico, living in New Mexico. He is the 2021 Mexican National Poetry Slam Champion, he is a two-time National Poetry Slam Semi-Finalist (US), multiple time TEDx Speaker/Performer, and Emmy-nominated poet, whose work centers around cultural identity, immigrant narratives, masculinity, memory, and the intersections of them all. He is a TIN HOUSE Writers Workshop participant. His work has appeared in The Acentos Review, The Latino Book Review, Yellowscene, As/Us Journal, Rethinking Schools, and other publications. He has also been featured in Radar2021|Telemundo|NBCUniversal and Tracksmith​​. His self-published book, Moreno. Prieto. Brown. (2017), has sold over 2,000 copies and has been incorporated in curricula across various school districts and Universities.

‍

Original production funding for In the Making is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts.

American Masters series production funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, AARP, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Judith and Burton Resnick, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Seton J. Melvin, Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Vital Projects Fund, The Marc Haas Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Ambrose Monell Foundation, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation and public television viewers.

For the digital series, Michael Kantor is the Executive Producer for American Masters. Stanley Nelson, Marcia Smith and Monika Navarro are the Executive Producers for Firelight Media. Major support for the In the Making digital series is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Anderson Family Charitable Fund, The Marc Haas Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation and Edgar Wachenheim III.