When I was growing up in Puerto Rico during the 70′s and 80′s there was a show on Television called, “La Doble Tanda con Manolo Urquiza,” translated to The Double Feature with Manolo Urquiza. It was broadcast during the weekend and it was through the show I learned about Mexican cinema and saw everything from “Doña Barbara” with María Felix and Julián Soler to “El Barrendero” with Mario Moreno, Cantiflas. This program helped shape my notion of my place in the world because I learned about worlds beyond mine. In hindsight, these weekend interludes were also quality time spent with my grandmother who would fill-in the blanks about the great Mexican and Latin American stars of her time like Jorge Negrete, Pedro Almendáriz, and Libertad Lamaruqe to name a few.

I belong to the legion that believes that arts are the best portal to develop self-expression but also learn and assimilate the world around us.

For this reason is that I dedicate this post to Cinema Tropical. In my estimation, this organization is engaging in one of the most important cultural contributions to our nation on behalf of Latin American cinema.

Over ten years ago when Co-founders Carlos Gutierrez and Monika Wagenberg launched Cinema Tropical they thought they were starting a “movie club,” that would last at most five years. But, Cinema Tropical delivered something else and today they are the leading non-profit organization in the United States devoted exclusively to theatrical and non-theatrical distribution, programming, and publicity of Latin American film.

Through them I learned about films like Y Tu Mamá También, Cidade de Deus, Cocalero, and discovered Lucrecia Martel.

In my first post, We Deliver Limited Perspective of Ourselves, I brought in the notion of Alternative Latino Content as term to make sense of the material that is out here that doesn’t get to the chance to showcase itself in mainstream Latino media.

Without a doubt other organizations and Latino film festivals around the country are doing important and needed work on behalf of Latin American and Latino
Filmmakers; however, what sets Cinema Tropical apart is its “triple threat” work as distributor, programmer, and publicist.

This distinction is significant because as Carlos says,

“The advantage of the organization of Cinema Tropical is that in our role as publicist, distributor, and programmer we experience the expanse of the entire forest. If you work as a festival you have to focus on the productions of the year, just like a publicist who must focus on the films of the moment. The medium is so fragmented that the needs of each one become very specific and it’s harder to access the broader picture. In that sense I’m in a very unique position. My job converges with many professions, interests and things where I inevitably have to face and reconcile a panoramic perspective, and that is very particular.”

Last year Cinema Tropical celebrated its 10th Anniversary Season and launched The 10 Best Latin American Films of the Decade campaign. The “10 best” promo was the result of a survey responded by a selected group of critics, scholars and film professionals. They closed their anniversary with an awards ceremony where all ten films were presented. I don’t include the names of the films so you can visit Cinema Tropical’s Website.

Cinema Tropical has amassed an expansive catalog containing historical context while working from a three-tier perspective. The co-presenting opportunities that Cinema Tropical has cultivated and sealed are respectable and noteworthy. The films the organization has released have been praised by the bona-fide Anglo media film critics and the conversations you can have with Carlos are profound and deeply seeded in articulating the opportunities that we currently have amid the ruthless and inevitable changing media landscape.

The shape and tone of Cinema Tropical’s acquisition and programming is the realization of Carlos Gutierrez’s fierce commitment of giving voice to a mostly under covered Latin American art form.

I asked him why he did this?

“When I started it was a totally empirical project that I liked. But as time passed I realized this was one of the most important artistic moments that Latin America has had in its history. It’s an impressive artistic time, one that parallels that great Latin American literature of the 60s and it is curious that after all the films and all the directors that have come out, it still has not been articulated as such. Now I feel it is a moral, social and political responsibility to work towards giving it the artistic and cultural validity it deserves.”

In lieu of the real impact the Latino population presently and undoubtedly has in the United States, I believe Cinema Tropical’s offer is a poetic class on the artistry and cultural relevance of our Continent.

Our Latino population is complex because is simultaneously acculturated and burgeoning, monolingual and bilingual, educated and uneducated and therein rests an opportunity. A segment of our Latino nation unfortunately is homebound for economic and or political reasons and a television set, if available, is a door to the outside.

Cinema Tropical’s catalogue is another example of that Alternative Latino Content that I talk about that doesn’t need to remain “alternative.” It could “break out” and its offering could very well fit into a double feature format for a television show in one of our mainstream networks. The possibility of a family at home on a Saturday offered the chance to see some of these searignly poignant films could change a life or inform lives.

If anyone out there with influence is reading this do take this into consideration. Plenty of “alternative” material has taken different directions. If you don’t know of them and you come to New York you might coincide with an event. If you are in New York and you don’t know of them, check them out. If you do know of them, spread the word.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soldanela-rivera/latino-disconnect-la-dobl_b_1078533.html?ref=latino-voices

On Wednesday, September 28th I experienced a marvelous night of television with great Alternative Latino Content with HBO’s back-to-back broadcast of Texas Habla and The Latino List. It was marvelous to watch.

“The Latino List” has received considerable media attention, and rightly so, for its fierce behind-the-scenes team and its incredible roster of influential Latino personalities. I was especially moved by the ferocity of Marta Moreno Vega.

The “Habla” series, directed by Alberto Ferreras and produced by Trina Bardusco of Latino Media Works, has profiled every-day Latinos since 2003 with episodes from Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and two from New York.

In 2009 and 2010, almost concurrently with the first episodes of The Black List, they created two installments of Celebrity Habla and booked interviews with: Soledad O’brien, Narciso Rodriguez, Lisa Quiroz, Lin Manuel Miranda, Franklin Chang Díaz, Denise Quiñones, Esai Morales, Dolores Huerta, Lupe Ontiveros, Cesar Millán, Willie Colón, Maria Hinojosa, Jose Antonio Tijerino, Charo, Rodrigo García, Rosie Pérez, Rita Moreno, Luis Guzman, Lorena & Lorna Feijoo, Bernie Williams, Paquito D’Rivera, Sonia Manzano, Roselyn Sanchez, Moctesuma Esparza, Wilmer Valderrama, Daisy Fuentes, Devendra Banhart, Isabel & Ruben Toledo, Ana de la Reguera, Judy Reyes, Ruben Blades, Maria Teresa Kumar, Walter Mercado, and Jimmy Smits.

Last night’s “Habla” series added another city, Texas. They presented a gamut of everyday people sharing what it was for them to be Latino in this nation. A highlight anecdote from that series for me was the man who reiterated the beauty of the real significance of “The Day of The Dead,” to honor the dead by keeping them alive with a day of honor.

Watching both these shows back-to-back was powerful. Seeing all these faces, colors, professions, accomplishments and the passage of time was tender, painful, inspiring. I kept thinking about this Alternative Latino Content, that is clearly out there, as a real forceful possibility that could tremendously shift so many pre-conceived notions, could up-set others even more, but ultimately could really make us, “La Quinta Raza,” feel proud and inspire up-and-coming generations to see and understand that some things are worth standing up for.

Here in one night, two teams of brilliant people at the top of their game, some with more media clout than others, but nonetheless demonstrating that we are and have substance.

I’ve introduced a new term here with “La Quinta Raza,” which as far as I know was the previous name of Bernardo Ruiz’s (another classy Latino television and film director) production company. It is now Quiet Pictures and he changed the name because it was hard for some people to pronounce, which I can totally understand. Still, the name to me has always meant poetry. The idea behind it is that we’re “the fifth race.” Because we literally are the mixed race, a consequence of the “Conquest” or the “Discovery,” you take your pick.

In both “Texas Habla” and “The Latino List” this notion came up. In my memory this stood out in “Texas Habla” with the young man from the Border who talked about how we can absorb and understand so many types of music. In “The Latino List” the great John Leguizamo talked about our mix race heritage.

There are tremendously talented and gifted people out there creating the type of programming we had last Wednesday.

Side-by-side, two different crews, similar formats and one bottom-line.

Let more of us with power and influence to make things happen, support more of what we had last Wednesday in more platforms and in more spaces. Thank you HBO.

But perhaps nothing shook me to the core more than Marta Moreno Vega’s closing words in “The Latino List.” I paraphrase, but basically she said…

“Don’t you ever, ever not recognize yourself in someone else.”

I got that.

Let’s recognize ourselves! I hope others that watched did as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soldanela-rivera/latino-disconnect-la-quinta-raza_b_988542.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soldanela-rivera/latino-disconnect-expandi_b_950410.html

Latino Disconnect: We Deliver a Limited Perspective of Ourselves

Monsanto is now in Puerto Rico- !Que Horror!

http://www.elnuevodia.com/monsantoestablecelaboratorioenlaisla-1004131.html

http://www.elnuevodia.com/vigenteladudaconlostransgenicos-1012153.html

http://sol-soldanela.blogspot.com/

Thursday, July 16, 2009

FOOD

I love to cook for people. The culinary bent comes to me via my grandmother (Doña Luisa), who is a Queen in the kitchen. She’s wonderful at tastes but prolific when cooking for many people. I take to this as well. Cooking tons of food even if it’s just me eating (not so good).
I’ve participated of fabulous dinners or food oriented festivities and events through out my life and want to acknowledge some of the great people-cooks that have inspired me to become better at preparation, learn more recipes, broader types of cuisines and approach cooking without fear: Maureen Justiniano, Gabriel Suau, Alvan Colón-Lespier, Alfredo Ayala (a real bonafide Chef), Ani Schaeffer, Dena Perez García-Lorca, Tatita, Wilo Benet (a real bonafide Chef), Luz Esther Benitez, Paloma Suau, Blanca Lasalle, Javier’s family in Spain and the list does go on… but why the acknowledgment? The praise stems from a dark whole of thoughts that came to me the other day when I received a video with not so good news about food and I just went into this spiral… to me it all connects, so I hope you get.
I think we’ve all been hearing all sorts of news and warnings about the food industry, no secret really. But why did this particular video disturb me and how is it related to the people I just mentioned? I still don’t know really, maybe a bit of nostalgia but I did go into a dark hole of thoughts that began with a deep contemplation about the repercussions of genetically engineered seeds, pesticides and the agro-chemical industry. In this thought all of a sudden I pictured a really nice brunch, lunch, dinner with any of the aforementioned hosts and we, the guests, begin to eat and hair starts growing profusely, or maybe scabs appear around our mouth, or we bleed through our ears, or maybe some of the other guests are already walking around without one eye or a limb but it’s all very normal for everyone so we just keep eating…stuff like that, and it was indeed a bleak imagining. It’s obviously an exaggerated fantasy but some of the news regarding these facts is disturbing and since it doesn’t feel imminent, any of these things could very well happen soon enough, we are living in a “Big Brother” world of sorts…A few weeks back I posted on my Facebook page a NYT OP-Ed column by Nicolas D. Kristof titled, When Our Brains Short-Circuit (published July 1, 09) that sums up as follows, “Evidence is accumulating that the human brain systematically misjudges certain kinds of risks. In effect, evolution has programmed us to be alert for snakes and enemies with clubs, but we aren’t well prepared to respond to dangers that require forethought.” I thought about this when I received news about Codex (codex Alimentarius) during the 4th of July weekend from my friend Mayu. I didn’ t know how to respond, and its taken me this long to figure how to share, but I’ve been thinking about this because it is out right freaky. But since none of it seems imminent then there is no real cause to worry. But I urge you my friends to read on…for this is all very real.
The video was of a conference with Rima E. Laibow, M.D. from Health Freedom USA.org. She has extensive information about Codex and the website explains why Codex Alimentarius threatens “Americans’ health and freedom by restricting natural health care.” Codex Alimentarius (.net) also has a website. There’s a video you can google or find in You Tube where Dr. Rima E. Laibow speaks at length about all this and she mentions Monsanto. Now call me ignorant but I first learned of Monsanto, last year, from an article by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steel (both Pulitzer Prize winners) titled, MONSANTO’S HARVEST OF FEAR and one of it’s section intros sums it up like this: “For Centuries-millennia-farmers have saved seeds from season to season: they planted in the spring, harvested in the fall, then reclaimed and cleaned the seeds over the winter for re-planting the next spring. Monsanto has turned this ancient practice on its head (Vanity Fair May 2008 issue- Madonna on Cover & VF 3rd Green Issue).”
Another incredible speaker is Vandana Shiva (Dena introduced me to her just 2 weeks before I got the Rima E. Laibow, M.D. video about Codex) plenty of information about her on the web and a link to one of her many conferences:
The Future of Food and Seed is here for your viewing: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3833110324043445440

I thought of the various documentaries about the food industry and if you’ve been reading around, then I not need mention them. But all this talk about food, food control, international trade, money, and poisons is all very sad to me and it seems to put a weird dent into all these fabulous appetite oriented festivities I’ve had the chance to experience. I don’t know where it is all going but I’ve written my government and will keep an eye on this, as food is our sustenance.

La Cocinita Iluminada is really La Cocinita Latina,  located on 145th Street between Convent Avenue and St. Nicholas in upper Manhattan.

The Latino restaurant is the cleanest of the cleanest restaurants I’ve ever seen anywhere and plus in New York City. It’s small and clean and the food is really good. You can order pernil a lá Latino (roasted pork) and fresh carrot juice all in the same seating.

One of the things I like the most is that the morning weekday shift has a biblical bent to it because the name of the main “waitress” is Iluminada, the other waitress is Joanna and the cook is Abraham…and they’re sweet and real, especially Iluminada who posses a proud disposition, a warm heart and always greets you with a smile. She carries her namesake like few people I’ve seen in the restaurant industry. And because I’ve been in her shoes I really appreciate her presence there.

I go to La Cocinita in the early mornings but also in the afternoons sometimes. I took my friend Marlena there once and I think she now orders take-out from them cause she lives right around the corner. You can’t go wrong with them I’m telling you.

You can have a lunch of champions for $5.00 and you’re guaranteed a clean meal.

They have a well deserved grade “A” rating from the Dept. of Health.

So when I go in the mornings I sometimes have ham and eggs or just coffee or just toast and freshly squeezed OJ and it’s never a hit and miss. If I go for lunch, salads are clean, lettuce is fresh, carne guisada nice, black beans the best, and relleno de yuca mmmm….

When I decided to acknowledge them with this here humble write up I asked Iluminda for a shot and she said, “Claro, en mi lugar de trabajo.” (Of course, in my place of work.) How cool is that?! No comments about how she wasn’t prepared for a picture or anything, just proud of where she worked. Que linda….

Here pictures. La Cocinita Latina….La Cocinita Iluminada.

La Cocinita Latina

Ilumindada_La Cocinita Latina

Abraham, The Cook, La Cocinita Iluminada

Joanna, La Cocinita Latina

La Cocinita Iluminada

Paloma was so way ahead of her time with this video man…Maria. Cool as can be and super fun to work. Her concept was to have three worlds. And we did have them only I can’t find pictures of World One. If I do I will share and I’ve searched for the video but cannot find it. The cast was great and Rafi Mercado (H.O.M.E.), Gladyris Silva and Paloma Suau were an amazing creative team.

World three

Maria makeup room

Debutantes

Maria from World One to World Two in action

I use to be a dancer. A serious one for about 25-years. I don’t dance anymore unless I’m at a party dance floor and I’ll only dance if the music hits me right. I’ll always understand dance and today I woke up with it, thinking about it. Something about the sunrise this morning transported me back to…

Sarah Lawrence Dance days and I’m thinking about Ani, Gretchen (Pick and Gnaedinger), Eli Mahaffey, Juliet, Rosanne, Rachel, Shiu-Chin, Tina, Noel, Darcy, Bridgette, Tagan, Hillary, Nikita, Adele, Viola, Karen, Emy, William…Peter the Tarzan – a lot of fierce dancing went on back then…

The McCracken Dance studio was so amazing with the big windows that overlooked the campus. I remember warm up sequences when Margorie would play Bach and it would be snowing outside, or raining or sunny and the trees would be there and the sound of the live piano and the women in the room. All of us there paying attention or cracking up because Margorie would start in one tempo and end up three times faster and it was so funny… It was beautiful.

Or the time Viola stopped the class because I couldn’t do this one turn and she yelled at me, “turn you’re not an idiot!” And I turned. And she was like, “WELL!” I can still see Roseanne Clermont’s face holding back laughter. She made fun of me for months on account of this and I’m cracking up.

Ben Fine told me people at school use to call us “the tree huggers.” Every spring our teachers would do improve class outside and well, I guess we did hug trees…Emmy and Karen were such hippies but they were amazing and beautiful and sexy like hell at 50.

Here’s to Viola Farber, Emmy Divine, Karen Levy, Roseanne Thom, Margorie, Tom Pile and William Adair and of course to you women scattered around but I hold you all in my heart. I’m thinking of you today. I woke up with you today.

Blessings.

photo by Vicky Lavergne

Shiu-Chin's dance concert (circa 1994)

Shiu-Chin's dance concert

dance crowed before concert, Viola Faber in picture

Photo by Sol Rivera - Eli & Juliet - Juliet's piece (I think)

Televisió de Catalunya