Fort Stockton Community Theatre’s Barrio Fest, A Celebration of the Hispanic Culture in Fort Stockton, will open 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Nelson Street Theatre, and will conclude Sunday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m. with a mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

After the opening ceremony on Sept. 15, Fort Stockton Film Society will show a Spanish language film, “Por Mi Pistolas,” from 7-9 p.m. The 1968 film, sponsored by Designer Carpets and Interiors, stars Cantinflas, who died in 1993, but is still considered to be a widely-accomplished Mexican comedian.

His humor lives on through his films. Admission is free. Plan to attend an evening of history when another Spanish language film, “The Lost Reels of Pancho Villa,” will be shown by the Film Society on Friday, Sept. 16, from 8-9:30 p.m. at the Nelson Street Theatre. Eternity Funeral Home will sponsor this documentary about a filmmaker’s search for a movie about the Battle of Ojinaga, led by Pancho Villa.

In 1914, Villa commissioned the American Mutual Film Company to have cameramen follow him into war. The footage includes some of the first battle scenes captured in moving pictures. Historian Kirby Warnock will lead a discussion about the relevance of Pancho Villa to Fort Stockton and Pecos County following the film.

A live performance of a bilingual play, “The Panza Monologues” by Teatro Audaz from San Antonio, will be performed from 7-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. The play, sponsored by Humanities Texas, is a compilation of women’s stories, featuring the words of Chicanas speaking with humor and candor about their panzas, those rolls of belly that women try to hide. The stories boldly place the panza front and center as a symbol that reveals the truths about women’s thoughts, lives, loves, abuses, and living conditions.

Panza explores the issues of diet, obesity, diabetes, income inequality, and abusive relationships. A discussion among the actors, the audience, and a panel made up of Dahlia Gomez, a dietician/nutritionist; local medical provider Dr. Rachelle Young; Augustin Velasquez, Director of Social Services at Pecos County Memorial Hospital; and Paul Casias, Director of Food Services for Fort Stockton ISD will follow the performance. The discussion, moderated by Rebecca Ureta, CFO of Pecos County Memorial Hospital, will discuss the topics put forth in the play such as what services are available to address these issues; what remains the same about these issues; and what we need to change.