VOXXI: ‘Meñique’ is Cuba’s first 3D animated film

"‘Meñique’ is Cuba’s first 3D animated film"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
July 25, 2014
Originally published: http://voxxi.com/2014/07/25/menique-cuba-3d-film/

“Meñique” , Cuba’s first 3D animated film, was released in Cuban cinemas this month; the Cuban media has hyped the film, which is expected to be a hit with the Cuban population, particularly younger viewers.

Leaving aside potential earnings both domestically and abroad of “Meñique”, the fact that embargo-crippled Cuba is now producing 3D animated films is a milestone achievement.

A 3D movie

“Meñique”(“Pinkie”) is inspired by Edouard de Labouyale’s famous work “Tom Thumb,” which was also adapted by the famous Cuban writer José Martí for his children’s magazine La Edad de Oro (The Golden Age). The plot of this children’s movie is fairly simple: A young peasant wants to help his family emerge from poverty, and while attempting to do so, he falls in love with the king’s daughter.

The film debuted on July 20, Children’s Day in Cuba, in cinemas across the island.

“Meñique” was directed and written by the Cuban Ernesto Padrón (brother of Juan Padrón, who directed the Cuban animated film “Vampires in Havana” in 1985). The soundtrack was composed by the Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, who also wrote four original songs for the film.

Meñique is a co-production between the Cuban arts institute Estudios de Animación del Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos and the Galician company Ficción Producciones. The film reportedly required six years to complete, and over 200 artists and designers (including 34 from Spain) took part in the project. Other organizations involved in the film included the Cuban Universidad de Ciencias Informaticas and the Venezuelan Fundación Villa del Cine. The budget of “Meñique” was roughly four million dollars USD. As a point of comparison, the 2013 hit “Frozen” had a budget of $150 million USD.

Cuban Vice-President Miguel Díaz-Canel attended “the premiere of “Meñique” in Havana, declaring, “I am very proud that we have made this film.”

While this is a predictable compliment, it’s important to keep in mind that Díaz-Canel is viewed as the next president of Cuba, as Raul Castro has tipped him as his successor. If he does indeed come to power, the current vice-president may choose to further support Cuban cinema initiatives.

“Meñique” has already been showcased in international events, most notably at Animazine, a film festival in Malaga, Spain. It has also been commercialized in Spain, France, Germany and South Korea.

Latin America’s film industry

Plenty of lists are available online regarding the most famous Latin American films, so we will not delve into them (for examples, check out Forbes’15 Highest-Grossing Mexican films or a Top 25 list of Latin American movies).

Suffice to say, the region has had several internationally successful films over the decades. Among these are Brazil’s “City of God,” Mexico’s “Amores Perros,” Mexico’s “Y Tu Mamá También” and Brazil’s “Pixote”. In 2009, the Argentine film “El Secreto de Tus Ojos” won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, while the Peruvian film “The Sorrow Teat” was also nominated. Cuba also produced the 2011 hit film “Juan of the Dead,” a zombie terror-comedy.

While Latin American films can be successful, they have also received harsh reviews. Namely, some movies have been critiqued for having been made for mainstream mass audiences.

Case in point is the 2014 Peruvian comedy “A Los 40,” which has become the second highest grossing Peruvian film ever. After only eight days, it attracted around 750,000 viewers. Nevertheless, Ivan Thays (a Peruvian writer and TV host) argued that the film’s producer, Miguel Valladares, cannot say that “A Los 40” is a “patriotic film” simply because it was made in Peru and has been successful, as the final product was of low quality. Thays also stated that the film’s success was due to marketing and the casting of popular actors instead of the quality of the movie itself.

As for the recognition of Latin American films in the near future, sadly only one film, “Wild Tales,” will be showcased at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival 2014. The film is an Argentine-Spanish co-production, produced by the famous director Pedro Almodóvar. However, Latin Post highlights that the showcasing of “Wild Tales” in Toronto “is not a world premiere, as the film already screened at the Cannes Film Festival where it received rave reviews.” In other words, no other Latin American film will enjoy a Toronto “bump” to increase its popularity.

It is positive that Latin America’s film industry continues to produce hits that do well not only domestically but also internationally. The Cuban 3D animated film “Meñique” will hopefully be another example of this ongoing momentum.

Latin American films cannot compete with their American counterparts in terms of budget and special effects, but strong and appealing plots, good acting, captivating soundtracks and overall pleasing aesthetics often make these films memorable and financially successful.

VOXXI: Colombia: FARC Guerrillas Rap for Peace

"Colombia: FARC Guerrillas Rap for Peace"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
May 15, 2014
Originally published: http://voxxi.com/2014/05/15/colombia-farc-guerrillas-rap-for-peace/

The Colombian FARC guerrilla movement and the Cuban band “Cuentas Claras” have produced a rap video entitled “Pueblo Colombiano pa’ la mesa” (Colombian people, go to the negotiation table) featuring two well-known FARC fighters.

The song praises the FARC for seeking equality and peace in Colombia, while criticizing the government for endangering the ongoing peace talks in Havana, Cuba.

While the song will not win any Latin Grammys, it is a public diplomacy tool aimed at helping the Colombian narco-insurgents gain popularity.

FARC raps

“Pueblo Colombiano” includes not just the members of the Cuentas Claras group, but also Tanja Nijmeijer, a Dutch citizen who became a FARC fighter and is a member of the insurgent movement’s negotiation team at the talks in Cuba. In fact, she appears at the start of the video, calling Havana “the peace capital of the continent.”

Depicting himself as a joyful field worker, one of FARC’s founding fathers, Miguel Pascuas, also known as “Sargeant Pascuas,” also made a guest appearance. (The U.S. State Department offers a $2.5million reward for information leading to his arrest).

As for the lyrics and the video itself, it can be summarized as FARC propaganda. In general the lyrics praise the narco-insurgents; some verses state that the FARC came to Cuba to speak in favor of “shoeless kids” and “peasants who live under threat.”

On the other hand, “they,” meaning the Colombian government, are accused of protecting their “businesses,” “covering up the truth,” and keeping the people “ignorant.” One verse implies that the Colombian government unjustly accuses the FARC of hindering the ongoing peace negotiations. The video briefly shows images of police officers (arguably Colombian), beating up an unidentified person who is lying on a street.

Revolutionary music

The FARC-Cuentas Claras video is certainly not the first public relations stunt in which a revolutionary movement has resorted to music in order to improve their public image. Some songs have remained popular over the decades if they praise a popular hero.

Case in point is “Hasta Siempre” a song written by Carlos Puebla in 1965 which praises the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who had left Cuba in order to organize revolutionary movements in Latin America. Two years later Guevara was killed bythe Bolivian Army.

Additionally, in the 1990s Sub-comandante Marcos, the leader of the Zapatista movement, requested the Spanish artist Joaquin Sabina to write a song for the non-violent Mexican movement. Sabin’s song is entitled “Como un Dolor de Muelas” (Like a Toothache).

Nowadays, even the powerful Mexican drug cartels have their own music bands. They perform songs praising the drug lords who control criminal networks, while also harassing their opponents. These “narco-corridos” have become both popular and deadly as it is not surprising nowadays to hear of a narco-singer that was murdered by a rival cartel.

One of the worst massacres occurred in January 2013, when all 14 members of the band Kombo Kolombia were murdered. Their songs praised the Zetas cartel and it is believed that the Gulf Cartel may be behind their deaths.

A discussion       

Colombia is scheduled to have presidential elections this upcoming Sunday, May 25. President Juan Manuel Santos is running for a second term and, even though his popularity has suffered over the past year, it is expected that he will emerge victorious.

Nevertheless, this victory will not be easy, as it is expected that the Colombian leader will have to go to a second electoral round againstOscar Ivan Zuluaga, of the Centro Democratico.

Santos’ re-electoral strategy was to achieve a permanent peace agreement with the FARC. But with peace negotiations well into their second year (they started in late 2012), it becomes disheartening to see only an agreement on a few issues as the only signs of progress in restoring social tranquility. In other words, it is blindly optimistic to imagine a peace agreement being reached before the upcoming elections.

The FARC high command, the Secretariat, knows that President Santos hoped for a positive outcome of the peace negotiations to assure his re-election. To what extent the FARC purposely stalled the negotiations to hurt President Santos is debatable. Solving a six-decade long civil war, in addition to a plethora of complexities involved, is certainly not something that is resolved overnight.

As for “Pueblo Colombiano,” the lyrics reflect the FARC’s ideology and critiques of the Colombian government. The addition of renowned fighters like Nijmeijer and historical leaders such as Pascuas is a jab at both Bogota and Washington.

It is likely that the FARC will continue to produce music videos. Certainly, songs are a quick and easy way for any entity, revolutionary or not, to gain popularity. Nevertheless, as catchy as “Pueblo Colombiano” may be, hopefully it will not win a Latin Grammy.