This quarterly feature spotlights the dedicated community members behind the transformative organizations based at UC San Diego Park & Market. These resident partners operate from physical office spaces in the Park & Market building, located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego. Our mission at Park & Market is to convene community organizations to spark conversations and enhance collective impact.
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Digital Gym Cinema is one of San Diego’s longest-standing independent film gems, and it sits in the heart of downtown, on the second level of UC San Diego Park & Market. The cinema is an initiative of Media Arts Center San Diego (MACSD), a nonprofit that bridges our community to Latino films from all over the world since it was founded in 1999. Beyond that, MACSD is a space that speaks culture and diversity, starting with staff members like Moisés Esparza, the Center’s Director of Development.
Esparza started with MACSD as an intern while the organization was still at its previous location in North Park. He quickly became its exhibitions director before eventually transitioning to his current role.
Born in San Luis Potosí, México, he and his family migrated like many families to the United States to pursue a better life. Esparza and his family lived in the States undocumented for nearly 29 years. He was able to work at MACSD through a work permit granted to him as a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order.
Esparza’s love for film is deeply rooted in his upbringing. Growing up in Pacific Beach, he consumed film content voraciously to learn English and because movies were a cost-efficient form of entertainment.
“I’ve always loved film; films have been a constant in my life. My family didn’t have a lot of money, but movies were a form of entertainment that was accessible and cost-effective. I remember going to the video store to rent movies and have always enjoyed that nostalgic feeling,” shared Esparza.
His love for film only grew, so when it was time to go to college, he pursued film at Columbia University in New York City. This has been the only time he’s left San Diego, the city he considers his native home.
San Diego has been home to a few independent film theaters but many have closed their doors in the past few years. Fortunately, MACSD’s Digital Gym Cinema has remained. Its mission is to promote the transformative power of film in creating social change in the exhibition and filmmaking. It functions as an independent arthouse movie theater, the last of its kind in San Diego, and the only movie theater downtown.
MACSD also produces the annual San Diego Latino Film Festival, the longest-running film festival in our region, which kicked off a successful 11-day festival in March. UC San Diego Park & Market was one of the venues where the festival showcased a few of its films and hosted some of the most renowned Latino celebrities this year through MACSD’s Digital Gym Cinema, housed on the second floor of Park & Market.
There’s a lot to do at MACSD and Digital Gym Cinema. During school breaks, you can be sure to see kids from as young as six years old to teens roaming Park & Market’s open space or on the top deck overlooking the Blue Line trolley tracks as they record short films during their summer, fall, and winter camps or their popular Teen Producers Project program.
This is part of what brings joy to Esparza and why he is so passionate about what he does. He hopes that through his story and the hard work that everyone puts into all that encompasses Media Arts Center San Diego, people will be inspired and that they can preserve the community aspect of going to the theater and also pursue their dreams just like he has.
“We exist as a space for those people who really cherish the art of going to the movies,” said Esparza. “We give a voice to a lot of unrecognized voices through cinema,” he added. “We are carrying on the torch of independent cinema proudly in San Diego.”
For more information, visit Digital Gym Cinema at UC San Diego Park & Market or online at www.digitalgym.org. You can also find information on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram.