S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we are talking about the San Diego Latino Film Festival. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The 32nd annual San Diego Latino Film Festival kicks off today , featuring films from more than 20 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The theme for this year's festival is Cinema Without Borders , but the festival showcases more than just films. Events this year also highlight Latin food and music among its offerings. Joining me now to tell us more about some of what's happening at this year's festival. I am joined by the artistic director of the festival , Maria Paola Lauria.
S2: Thanks for having me here.
S1: Thank you so much for being here. Also joining me is Tijuana based filmmaker Rodrigo Alvarez Flores. His film Broken Borders is showing as a part of the frontiers filmmaker showcase. Rodrigo. Welcome to you. Hi.
S3: Hi. Thank you for having me here.
S1: Glad to have you here. And lastly , Chris Springer joins me. He is a Latin music expert here in town with the local nonprofit , the House of music. He is part of the festival this year with a film called La Salsa Vive. Chris , welcome.
S4: Thank you for having me.
S1: All right. It's so great to have you all with us. So , Maria , let's let's start with this year's theme for the festival , which is Cinema Without Borders. Tell us about why you chose that for this year's theme.
S2: Well , we chose that because we are in a political context , and we wanted to focus that a film doesn't have borders and that we will have a very diverse representation of Latino cinema. Also , our focus this year it's the Frontera filmmakers , the filmmakers that make films in Tijuana and in San Diego. So you will have more than 20 films from local filmmakers. And we wanted to make a focus on that.
S1: All right.
S2: We will be having the opening films , Mexican films of the opening night , Meza and the Mr. Contigo. We invited them , the actors , to be on the films. We invited also the directors. It's a celebration of Latino cinema and they are one of them is a comedy and the other one is a drama , a love story at the border. So we wanted to focus also the opening films on that matter.
S1: And , you know , I'm curious if you if you're noticing any new trends in Latino film from this year's festival.
S2: Well , we are seeing more hybrid cinema. We are seeing that filmmakers are not only going into fiction , but also documentary animation , experimental film. So throughout the whole program you will see different styles of film in different countries. We also noticed a lot of films from the Caribbean. We we are having an animation that it's called Olivia and the clouds. This is an animation from Dominican Republic , for example. We have a also Bionicle Bachata that is a film also from Dominican Republic that it's a hybrid film between human drama , documentary and fiction.
S1: So Maria , on top of the films that will start showing today , you are also throwing an opening night party. Tell us about that.
S2: Yes , we will have an opening night that will be with local bands in laughter. That's a bar in San Diego. And we will also have other event that it's the closing party that is on Saturday and we will have Las Rosas , that is a really big salsa brand from San Diego. And so we during the festival , we don't only have films , but also we have art culture , we have also food. And so we really invite you to explore not only the films , but all the events we have in our catalog. Our catalog will be on the website that our website is the Latino film.com.
S1: Wow , so many things happening. Tell us about some of the showcases at this year's festival.
S2: Yes , we have eight different showcases from ten filmmakers. You already mentioned that one , but we also have one that is called Viva mujeres that in a certain way it shows the films directed by women throughout all Latin America. We also have some celebrity who I plus that it's the queer showcase that focus on LGBT films. Also we have the ICRA showcase. It's a comedy showcase. We have one extra show that is the horror fantasy science fiction showcase. And of course , the films in competition that are the best films of the year that have been in festivals from all around the world in Berlin , Ali Khan , San Sebastian. So you get the chance to see the best films of Latin America.
S1: That's excellent. And Rodrigo , your film Broken Borders is among the films featured in the Frontiers Filmmakers Showcase. I want to , I want us to hear a clip from the trailer and just a note this is in Spanish. We.
S3: We.
S5: Simply cannot hear this. Okay , come on , my papa. Little can I just one more. Siempre mismo. Come here you are. Nosotros.
S1: Intents there.
S6: Whose father ? You know , the father of this family , uh , went to the States and promised at a point that he would be back for them , and he never came back. So , uh , the story about a mother and her two children and how they are in kind of like this , uh , eternal waiting point and how their decisions , you know , to be happy to reach this , uh , certain , like , fulfilling , uh , emotion , um , has , uh , consequences. Uh , their decisions , uh , have consequences over other people. So it's kind of like a way of how the three are connected. It's like a it's a very puzzling story. I don't want to give it away in these spoilers.
S1: It's a complex story with layers and with texture to it.
S7:
S6: From a personal point of view , I mean , I grew up here in , in. I was born in , in , in Puebla , Mexico. But since I was a kid , I moved a lot from town to town because of my father's work. And I ended up living in Tijuana at a very young age. And the border always had , like , this influence , uh , in my , you know , in growing up. So , um , for me , it was like very , um , very important to write a story that kind of also reflected how I felt as , uh , Mexican growing in , in , like , this multicultural environment. And these characters are always talking about the absence of their father and how how they are kind of like holding on to a promise that never happened. And I think it's the result of , you know , the the effects on breaking up a family. Uh , I wrote this movie back in 2018 , and I am I'm very surprised how you know that the in the current political moment that we're leaving. Um , I think now now more than ever , it's kind of like , important to to to talk about how important is that family stayed together. Mhm. And um this is the for me it was important if I was going to talk about this subject not to talk about what happens to the people that go , but what happens to the relatives that stay. So in this case , it's the story of a family that stayed in Mexico. And they are facing with this emptiness of being incomplete. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And what motivated you to to tell this story.
S6: It comes from a personal part of my life. I was , you know , constantly moving from town to town and um , I think it was this feeling of loneliness , they kind of hold on to me and , uh , trying to search this place , where to call home or where to feel that , uh , I belonged. So I think I'm kind of , like , very interested and obsessed with telling stories about characters that feel a little bit lost and are searching that place or moment where they can say , here is where I belong. I feel I have a home and , um , I'm very , very interested in creating , you know , like personal human dramas with moral , complex characters. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , Maria , I mean , as we heard , you know , this trailer is really powerful.
S2: And we always talk about , from the perspective of mainstream representations , from the people that come to the US , but never about the families that stay. And I think that's really beautiful about , uh , the roles that Rodrigo created also , uh , And he has an amazing cast also in the film , and that caught the attention of all the programmers of the festival. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Rodrigo , talk to me about the visual style for the film. It's very intimate , but the colors play an important role for you as well , right ? Yes.
S7:
S6: For us it was very important to portray , uh , our city in a very realistic but at the same time. Colorful.
S7: Colorful.
S6: Way in , in a , in a way that , that it hasn't been done in like in other movies. We didn't want to go with , uh , you know , the , the , the , uh , stereotype of , of border towns and all , you know , um , so each character has a perspective and the movie is divided in three characters , three different stories that collide with each other. And it was important for us to have each character of particular very subtle color palette. So , um , there is a character that is , you know , trying to find who he is , what he wants. So , um , it was important for me to , to portray these beautiful purple skies that sometimes one has. And , uh , the colorful part of downtown , it was , uh , but at the same time , it's like it's a very raw story. So we have to find , like , a balance between these.
S1: Um , you mentioned , you know , the importance of not leaning on stereotypes.
S7:
S6: I cannot , I , I can say that I fell in love with cinema because of , uh , of living here in the border. Uh , my my , actually , my first job was a American production that came here to Tijuana. Uh , well , to Mexico , to the to the Baja studios. To to shoot. And , um , ever since then , the whole all the things that I've learned are , are consequences of this , you know , relationship and advantage that living next to the border has. So , um , I think that in a personal way is , you know , this whole thing , my , my , my personal journey with , you know , moving from town to town and , uh , how I , I discovered a lot of movies living here in , in B21 and San Diego and , um , and I don't think I would ever , you know , done what I've done if it wasn't for that. So I think I'm kind of like changed changed to that , um , to this region. I mean , I it's part of my whole Emotional DNA , I think.
S1: Yeah , yeah. Well , earlier Maria talked about the theme Cinema Without Borders.
S6: I mean , the movie is obviously in Spanish , but I've seen the in screenings that we have in other festivals around the world , how people are so curious about , you know , our way of life and how we are so correlated with between Mexico and the US in this part of the , of the country. And , um , there is kind of like a universal understanding and empathy to the movie that regardless of where we are , people are getting the message about , you know , these families and the importance of the of unity. We presented the movie in India last year , and I thought I was going to have like a very. I didn't know what to expect about the audience and uh , they were very like understanding and , and have a lot of empathy for the characters we are having , almost like the same reaction , you know , where no matter where we , we , we go. And to me , that's that's a translation of of there are no borders with cinema. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. You know Maria there , there's so much happening politically right now when it comes to the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. I mean , whether it's indiscriminate detainment and deportations or trade wars between the two nations.
S2: Ah , ah , the ah , the working class also ah , people of effort. Ah people that are making a films. So we want to show that through the different films that we are showing at the festival , not just having one type of cinema , but diverse representations of , of , of Latin American films.
S1: Coming up , one of the films featured in this year's Latino Film Festival is all about the history and culture of salsa.
S4: It's a rhythm. It's a bop , bop bop bop bop bop bop. And then the conga player will come in and the whole band surrounds the clave rhythms , and that's how they thrive.
S1: Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman on the show today. We are talking about the San Diego Latino Film Festival , which kicks off today with films , music and fun. I am joined by Maria Paola Lauria , filmmaker Rodrigo Alvarez Flores , along with the House of Music's Chris Springer. Okay , so , Chris , I got to bring you in here now so listeners may recognize your voice. You hosted a show on jazz 88 for more than two decades called Latin Grooves , which catapulted sort of catapulted you into into this space that you're in now where you're participating in this year's film festival ? Yes.
S4: Most definitely. Um. Uh , what ? What people. You know , I always ask this question. Where where did salsa come from ? You know , you tell people that and they think , oh , Puerto Rico , Cuba , Colombia , whatever. But it was actually created here in America , in New York City. And I believe this film will talk a lot about that.
S1: And this film on the history of salsa is playing later this week. It's called La Salsa Vive. Let's take a listen to a clip.
S8: On your album De la Salsa.
S1: Oh , wow. So okay , so tell us about this film and a little bit more about the origins of salsa.
S4: Okay , so in a nutshell , really quick. Um , it's it was created through the , uh , American art form of jazz. Um , there was a guy who came from , um , from Havana , Cuba , and his name was Mario Bauza. He came to the New York in the 1920s , late 20s , early 30s , and he joined the Cab Calloway Chick Webb Band. And these guys come classically trained , so they love jazz. But then his idea was to bring in the American art form of jazz , the drums from Africa and the rhythms from Cuba , Puerto Rico and out throughout the Caribbean , Caribbean. So putting that together , it was called Afro-Cuban music back in the 30s and 40s. And then , um , he , he he asked for his , his brother in law , his name was Machito , Frank Grillo. And he comes and there is now a movement , and he brings in Dizzy Gillespie , who was this young cat who couldn't get a gig anywhere. So he faked his illness to get Dizzy Gillespie in the band. And then they created this cute bebop and Afro-Cuban movement that went in the 30s and 40s. And then once the 50s hit in America , man , everybody wanted to mambo. You saw a Ricky Ricardo and Lucy , and at those times , think about a Cuban bandleader on primetime television. Yeah , it was a big deal. So that turned into as these immigrants came from Cuba and all over the world , they migrated to New York. So now they're having kids. Wow. So now we're in the 50s and 60s , and that's when the salsa craze just exploded in the streets of New York. Wow.
S1: Wow. I mean , okay. And from its origins , again , the film takes us on a journey from New York City , but to a city in Colombia.
S4: It's now in Los Angeles. But Cali is is always been a thriving place for salsa music. Even in the 70s when these artists would travel over there and do these concerts and thousands and thousands of people , they've just accepted the art form and just have run with it. It's an amazing place for for salsa music today and back then too. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. I mean , this film features a number of salsa legends.
S4: When I saw on the trailer Ruben Blades and Ruben was this 22 year old kid in the mailroom at Fania Records , where they got him and he just exploded on the scene. But there's one interesting guy that I saw also in the trailer , and his name is Willie Rosario. Willie is 101 years old today , and he still plays in Puerto Rico in the bands. He's still playing today and he's in it. Henry feel they're just talking about the movement. It was such an amazing movement in New York , but the Colombians have really just kept it alive. And it's go to Colombia and it is just like New York was back in the 70s. Yeah.
S1: I mean , tell me a bit about like the , the , the culture that was created around this music.
S4: Well , this music was made for the dancers. This was made for dancers. So in New York in the 40s and 50s , there was a place called the Palladium where you would have Sammy Davis Jr , Marlon Brando sitting in with these bands movie stars. But you'd have the African American culture , you'd have the Jewish culture , you have the Latinos all dancing together. And this movement was amazing. Wednesday and Saturday nights was the spot. But then you would have Miles Davis and Charlie Parker's all the jazz artists playing together. So it was a thriving , thriving. This music was made for dancers , and I believe because Columbia and the dancers have really taken taken it to another level. That's the people who are going to have to keep this alive is the dancers.
S1: Yeah , yeah , I love that. As a former dancer. Okay.
S4: Not so much in Colombia , but definitely in New York , in America. You know , dancing With the stars kind of hurt us a little bit , just to be honest , because everybody's show and the dancers here in America , they don't know the history of it. And if they would just learn , I always tell them learn the clave , which is a beat. If they can learn the clave and then the history of this music you're dancing will go to another level , because you'll know the breaks and the changes in the song. When to stop , when to go faster. So I believe the dancers , it's on you guys , you know , to really keep it thriving and keep it going. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Okay , so you mentioned the clave. It's an essential ingredient of salsa music. It's its heartbeat , right ? Yeah.
S4: It's a it's a clap. It's a rhythm. It's a bop bop bop bop bop bop bop. And then the Congo player will come in and the whole band surrounds the clave rhythms , and that's how they thrive. Wow.
S1: Wow. All right. Well , Maria , so la Salsa vive is the closing night film. But there also will be salsa at the closing night party too , right ? Yes.
S2: We will have La Rosa's band at the closing party. That's why we wanted to mix this together. We wanted to end the festival with joy , dancing , giving also our hope for the people in San Diego and all around the world. We need to keep unity. We want a also luminous films to come come forward to , to film festivals , and we want to celebrate. Celebrate that cinema exists , that we have no borders in cinema , no borders in real life , and just celebrate our , our , our art and our culture. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: That is the Latino film that come. We will have two screening venues , AMC Mission Valley and Digital Cinema in downtown San Diego.
S1: And so you both are participating in this year's festival.
S4: By the way , that is an all female orchestra of 13 to 14 young ladies , a full on orchestra. That's going to be great. But if you go to the festival , you're going to find something for everybody , whether it's a movie , whether it's the events at night because they put on great events at night. So , I mean , you can go watch a film and then go out and join one of these parties and it's just you're going to you're going to see so many people , from politicians to everyone , you know , just hanging out , having a good time , enjoying Latin culture. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S6: So I think it's going to be great that they finally come together in one festival. So I'll be watching movies the whole weekend. Wow.
S1: Wow. And , uh , you know , on top of all that we've been talking about here , there's also food too. Right Maria. Mhm. Yes.
S2: Yes. On the closing party we will have this event that it's called a taste of sour with different chefs from Baja California that will come to San Diego to show the best , bring their own , their best food from Baja California from Tijuana. And also we will have local chefs. And so we it will be a unique opportunity to dance , eat , watch films and dance with LA.
S1: Yeah , lots to celebrate , lots to enjoy and get into. Well , I want to thank all of you for being here. I've been speaking with Maria Paola Lauria. She is the artistic director of the San Diego Latino Film Festival. Maria , thank you so much.
S2: Thanks to you.
S1: Also , filmmaker Rodrigo Alvarez Flores , director of the film Broken Borders , playing at the festival. Rodrigo. Thank you. Thank you. And the House of Music's Chris Springer. Chris. Thanks so much.
S4: Thank you. Jade.
S1: All right. Again , the 32nd annual San Diego Latino Film Festival gets underway today and runs through Sunday at the AMC Mission Valley theaters and the Digital Gem Cinema downtown. For more information on events and film times , you can visit SD Latino film.com. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition.
