“First We Bombed New Mexico” is a film that captures the nuclear related tragedies occurring within New Mexico communities, which alter the environment, overall health, wellbeing and environment of individuals who live in fallout areas such as those near the Trinity Test Site.
Lois Lipman, the director and producer of “First We Bombed New Mexico,” is an award-winning documentarian who has produced numerous social justice films globally. Lipman is regularly based in London, however, for nearly 10 years, she documented Tina Cordova’s experience in New Mexico and Cordova’s work in communities by the Los Alamos Trinity Test Site.
Cordova is the cofounder of Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, and she is the fourth of five generations in her family to be diagnosed with cancer since 1945, the year that the Trinity Site Test occurred.
Cordova is a conscientious advocate for a peaceful and healthier environment for New Mexico. She has dedicated her life to seek justice for her fellow New Mexicans and family members by campaigning for more health rights for New Mexico.
Cordova explains in an interview with Nuclear Threat Initiative that going to college and earning her “degree in the sciences” is where she learned about the severely harmful effects of the nuclear industry.
As a representative of TBDC, and a victim of nuclear fallout in New Mexico, Cordova has met with Congress on multiple occasions, calling for stricter nuclear regulations and laws to properly inform nearby residents and to efficiently manage fallout contamination.
Now, TBDC is fighting to pass a bill known as “The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.” This bill strives to increase the compensation given to victims of nuclear fallout and their families. Expanding funding will allow the opportunity to invest in providing accessible healthcare and improving the state of the environment.
The film “First We Bombed New Mexico,” is a representation of just a few experiences of the countless victims, known as “downwinders.” Anyone who is interested in learning about or supporting the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium may visit their website to learn more about how to help.
Lexis Lovato is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @lovatolexis
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