Editing Robert Rodriguez (section)

==Early life==
Rodriguez was born in [[San Antonio]], Texas, the son of Mexican parents Rebecca (''née'' Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a salesman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/37/Robert-Rodriguez.html |title=Robert Rodriguez Biography (1969?-) |publisher=Filmreference.com |access-date=April 24, 2009}}</ref><ref name=ena>{{cite book|last=Marvis|first=Barbara J.|title=Robert Rodriguez|publisher=Mitchell Lane|year=1998|pages=5|isbn=1883845483}}</ref> He began his interest in film at age eleven, when his father bought one of the first [[VCR]]s, which came with a camera.<ref>[http://www.fridaymoviez.com/celebrity/biography/robert-rodriguez "Robert Rodriguez Biography"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107040651/http://www.fridaymoviez.com/celebrity/biography/robert-rodriguez |date=January 7, 2019 }} Friday Moviez Entertainment Guaranteed</ref>

[[File:Robert Rodriguez 1993 Atlanta Film Festival.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Robert Rodriguez (right) at the 1993 Atlanta Film Festival.]] 
While attending [[St. Anthony Catholic High School (San Antonio, Texas)|St. Anthony High School Seminary]] in San Antonio, Rodriguez was commissioned to videotape the school's football games. According to his sister, he was fired soon afterward as he had shot footage in a cinematic style, getting shots of parents' reactions and the ball traveling through the air instead of shooting the whole play. In high school, he met [[Carlos Gallardo (actor)|Carlos Gallardo]]; they both shot films on video throughout high school and college.

Rodriguez went to the [[University of Texas at Austin College of Communication|College of Communication]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]], where he also developed a love of cartooning. Not having grades high enough to be accepted into the school's film program, he created a daily comic strip entitled ''Los Hooligans.'' Many of the characters were based on his siblings – in particular, one of his sisters, Maricarmen. The comic ran for three years in the student newspaper ''[[The Daily Texan]]'', while Rodriguez continued to make short films.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 7, 2014|title=King of Dreams|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/king-of-dreams/|access-date=December 1, 2020|website=Texas Monthly|language=en}}</ref>

Rodriguez shot action and horror short films on video and edited on two VCRs. In late 1990, his entry in a local film contest earned him a spot in the university's film program. There he made the award-winning 16&nbsp;mm short ''[[Bedhead (film)|Bedhead]]'' (1991). The film chronicles the amusing misadventures of a young girl whose older brother sports an incredibly tangled mess of hair which she detests. Even at this early stage, Rodriguez's trademark style began to emerge: quick cuts, intense zooms, and fast camera movements deployed with a sense of humor.

''Bedhead'' was recognized for excellence in the Black Maria Film Festival. It was selected by Film/Video Curator Sally Berger for the Black Maria 20th-anniversary retrospective at [[MoMA]] in 2006.