umbigada! is a documentary film tracing the navel orange’s journey from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, to Riverside, California. It explores how this iconic fruit’s rise enriched California’s landowners, while the Bahian people —central to its cultivation—remain largely uncredited and unaware of its impact. The film highlights the overlooked roles of Native Americans, immigrants, migrant workers, and Afro-Brazilians, illuminating the complex ties that bind California and Bahia and celebrating the powerful resilience and creativity of these communities in the face of oppression.

While this film was originally inspired by my incredible grandmother (featured in the short video below), I also feel a deep responsibility to tell a truthful, balanced story of the navel orange—particularly of the people who cultivated these remarkable fruits in Riverside, the broader Inland Empire, and in Salvador, Brazil. Over the past thirteen years, I’ve divided my life between California and Northeastern Brazil, primarily Salvador—just fifteen minutes from the neighborhood where the original grafts were boxed and sent to the States!

WHY MAKE THIS FILM NOW?

The navel orange, known in Portuguese as laranja de umbigo or laranja baiana, was first propagated on U.S. soil using tree specimens from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, in 1873. This sparked what became known as “the second California gold rush,” bringing immense prosperity to the state—especially to Riverside, which by 1895 had become the richest city on the West Coast.

Today, São Paulo, Brazil, is the world’s leading producer of oranges, with over 99% of production destined for export. California remains a major citrus producer, particularly in regions like the Central Valley, where navel oranges are still widely grown. But Salvador’s and most of Bahia’s original orange groves have vanished.

This raises critical questions: Who were the true gatekeepers and laborers behind the citrus boom? Who reaped the rewards, and who was left behind? Who keeps the industry alive today?

Research for this film will highlight the agricultural, economic, and cultural contributions of the underrecognized communities integral to the citrus boom. These groups include: Native Americans (Cahuilla, Gabrielino-Tongva, Luiseño and Serrano), African Americans, immigrants from China, Japan, Mexico, and other parts of Central America, as well as Afro-Brazilians and indigenous people (Tupinambá) in Bahia. We want to know these unseen people, share their stories, and learn how their resilience keeps the citrus industry alive today.

VISUAL STRATEGY

umbigada! begins in an orange grove. The navel orange gets its name from the indentation on the fruit’s skin that looks like a human navel, which is actually a secondary fruit. The navel, or "umbigo" in Portuguese, is the point of connection between two people in a samba dance , known in Brazil as the "umbigada", signifying a “celebratory ancestral encounter”.

One dancer sambas, arms open, extending their navel toward another dancer. When their bellies meet, the two begin to dance together. As a dancer and choreographer, I’m passionate about using movement as a form of storytelling. umbigada! will feature both re-enactments and contemporary samba scenes, and the camera will dance with the audience through orange groves in both California and Brazil. The film’s narrator, Vera Passos, California-based legendary dancer and choreographer from Bahia, will transport the audience between groves in both places, introducing us to the storytellers and the questions that guide the film.

The heart of our film will be captured with raw footage, including interviews with the storytellers, citrus industry experts, and historians from both California and Brazil. Original compositions performed by percussionists and multi-instrumentalists from Bahia will be featured, as will traditional Cahuilla birdsong.

umbigada! will be a rich, immersive cinematic journey—blending dance, music, and vibrant visuals to guide viewers through the orange groves and into the colorful histories of those those integral to the orange industry in California and Bahia.

Here is where YOU come in!

We have been doing research for this film since late 2022 and have applied to numerous grants with no success yet - it’s a tough creative world out here! - so now we are aiming to raise $30,000 to fund additional research and produce a short version of the film. Donations (an investment in our project) will help us meet our crowdfunding campaign goal, and allow you to take part in a creative journey to reveal a rich, emotional, and deeply human story.

Please feel free to support our vision in other ways, too!

Donations can be made here directly or by sending a check to:

The Media & Policy Center

2932 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 203

Santa Monica, CA

90403

*make sure to note that the donation is for the umbigada! film project

Don't forget that your donation is tax-deductible!

Be sure to check out our Instagram page, too: @umbigadathefilm

WHO WE ARE