Vaya, a drama from South Africa

Another really compelling drama that I saw at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles was Vaya (directed by Akin Omòtoso, a filmmaker from Nigeria who also helped produce it).  It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016 - a prestigious film festival, a worthy film.  Here's a TRAILER.

This movie wove together the story of three people from small towns in South Africa who came to Johannesburg by train to accomplish a task:  deliver a young child to her mother, find a job, bring the body of a dead father back to his home town for burial.  Each of these people encounters serious problems in Johannesburg, which obviously is a very, very tough city, especially for young and naive people from the countryside.

I didn't get to see more than 3/4s of this film because I had to leave to be present for the screening of my own work (Masters of Rhythm), and it is a tribute to the filmmaker that it was really, really hard to get up and walk out.  I still want to know how each story ends.

And it was obvious that each story would intersect.  This was skillfully done.

The characters were believable, the situations they got in were believable, it was well acted.

If you get the chance, go see it.  I certainly will - then I'll get to find out the ending!

(Next up:  Triangle:  Going to America)

Wúlu, a drama from Mali

I recently attended the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, where one of my documentaries was screening (Masters of Rhythm).  Among the great films that I saw there were dramas Wùlu (dir. Daouda Koulibaly), Vaya (dir. Akin Omotoso), and Triangle:  Going to America (dir. Sost Maezen).  The documentaries that stood out were AfroLatinos:   an Untold History (dir. Renzo Devia) and Yemanjá:  Wisdom from the African Heart of Brazil (dir. Donna Roberts).

And there were more (such as Chidren of the Mountains, etc.).

But first, let's look at Wùlu.  Directed by Daouda Coulibaly (who also wrote the script), it's a drama about the cocaine trade in Mali, which I believe is Coulibaly's home country.  It was released in the United States in October but I haven't seen it listed in any movie theaters;  that may be for the future.

This is a fast-paced crime drama based on the current situation in Mali.  In fact, a screen at the end of the movie says that the drug trade has ruined the country.  Not the first country to be ruined by it.

This is one of the few films in which I felt really sympathetic to a hero who is a drug runner.  He's a young man who fell into the drug trade and did quite well in it.  He doesn't end up so well, but I won't go there, in case you get a chance to see it.

It's well acted, and shot on location, obviously by someone who knows the location.  We are not talking about the curious and the exotic.  We are looking through the eyes of someone who has seen, and who knows.

I haven't been able to find any good trailers for this film.  There are a couple of clips on YouTube, but they really don't give much of an idea of the film.  One way or another,  if it comes to a theater near you, try to get to see it.  It's pretty powerful.

FYI:  the two clips can be viewed HERE (#1) and HERE (#2) [subtitles in this second one are hard to read], but as I noted above, neither one gives much of the flavor of the film.  However, something is better than nothing.

(Next up:  Vaya)

Filmmaker in Search of Her Subject - visit to northern coastal Peru #3

part #3

It was also important to Luis Rocca that I understand that Afro-Peruvian culture, including its performance arts, has been heavily influenced by the indigenous cultures.  This is because of the close connection between blacks and indigenous peoples that dates back to the time of slavery, when blacks who managed to escape would live in communities in the jungle where they were in frequent and friendly contact with indigenous peoples. 

part of a collection of masks in the museum

Two other things of note from my time in Zaña:  I took a short, side trip to Cayaltí (in a jitney) to film a young man who performed a decima he had composed;  and I was surprised by how little African heritage still showed in the people of Afro-Peruvian descent in Zaña, unlike the population of el Carmen.  No one looked black!

the kid who recited his decima is wearing the orange shirt

The decima:  I only learned after the fact that the decima is a greatly respected poetic form used to comment on current events.  The word "decima" refers to the number of syllables per line.  The decimas are mostly composed on the spot, improvised;  but I have no doubt that the young kid had thought his out beforehand and them memorized it.

Finally, in Zaña, Luis Rocca took me into the home of a townsperson who was playing a game of skill with his neighbors.  It somewhat resembled horseshoes, and involved drinking a large amount of beer;  if you tossed and lost, you had to drink.  Lots of laughter;  especially when they insisted I try my hand at it.  I was NOT very good.

my hotel, the Don Juanito - more modest than where I stayed in el Carmen!

After we left, Luis Rocca explained that I was the first woman to be invited to watch this game.

a jitney in Zaña;  jitneys are very photogenic

 

cute towns-kids;  you've got to have cute towns-kids, right?

And so, having filmed many interesting things and seen things, some of which I would only later come to understand better, I took the bus cama back to Lima, filmed the documentary Masters of Rhythm with addendum, and returned to California.  A good trip. 

_________________

Eve A. Ma, a former university professor, lawyer, and director of a non-profit cultural organization, is the producer-director of two documentaries about Afro-Peruvians:  A Zest for Life and Masters of Rhythm with addendum.  Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with her work and get a special video:  www.PalominoPro-signup.com

Filmmaker in Serach of Her Subject - visit to northern coastal Peru #2

part #2

But pushing on to Zaña:

From Chiclayo in Lambayeque, and the museum del Señor de Sipán, I continued on by taxi to Zaña where I was to meet with Luis Rocca of that town's Afro-Peruvian museum.  Luis Rocca has done incredible work with the museum, rescuing and recreating a large number of Afro-Peruvian musical instruments - especially drums made out of hollowed logs and a percussion instrument made from a gourd called a checo. 

Luis Rocca relaxing in a room in the museum

 I had met him in Lima, introduced by Nachi Bustamante, wife of percussionist Cotito. 

Zaña is a tiny town, on the scale of el Carmen.  The museum is also small, and seems to be run single-handedly by Luis Rocca.

a street in Zaña

He had a young man named Yim show me around;  he is from Zaña and is studying law in Germany but was home on vacation.  One of the things he showed me were a ruined convent and ruined churches...very large and impressive...which he explained had been ruined by "the flood."

Yim and his sister, who was one of the dancers of "Baila tierra."

I assumed "the flood" had happened a few years ago, but no, it had occurred in the 16th or 17th century, and the convent and churches have never been repaired.  It seems that Zaña was a major commercial center in the first part of the Spanish colonial period...but the flood put an end to that and the glorious buildings were never rebuilt.  Instead, a much smaller, more modest town was constructed higher up from the river and Chiclayo took over the commercial functions formerly enjoyed by Zaña.

part of the ruins of the convent

In the 3 or 4 days I spent in Zaña, Luis Rocca also had a young couple perform an old folk dance (which he encouraged me to film) called "Baila tierra."  It is reputedly the precursor of the immensely popular, current "national dance" of Peru, the Marinera.  This dance comes out of the Afro-Peruvian tradition.

City Hall rather dwarfs the buildings around it

_________________

Eve A. Ma, a former university professor, lawyer, and director of a non-profit cultural organization, is the producer-director of two documentaries about Afro-Peruvians:  A Zest for Life and Masters of Rhythm with addendum.  Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with her work and get a special video:  www.PalominoPro-signup.com

El flamenco - ¿está en peligro?

ENGLISH:  The series about my trip to Peru will continue on Saturday, Mar. 19.  ESPAÑOL:  La serie sobre mi viaje hasta el Perú va a continuar el sábado, 19 de marzo.

Estos meses, me dedicado a leer (muy despacito) un libro escrito por Juan Manuel Suarez Japón, que se llama Sinalo Calorró. Es una biografía de Manuel Morao y cuenta su vida en el flamenco basada en las conversaciones con él. Un aspecto muy interesante: en los años 1960 cuando todo el mundo pensaba que por fin el flamenco estaba floreciendo, Manuel Morao temió que iba a desaparecer. Yo pienso que Manuel Morao tenía razón. 

Manuel Morao

¿Pero quién es Manuel Morao?, ¿Por qué su opinión tiene tanto peso? y, ¿Por qué pensaba que el flamenco tradicional se encontraba en un momento de peligro?

 

Haz clic AQUÍ para escuchar a Manuel Morao que toca un solo de guitarra. Pero como tocar como solista no es tan normal en el flamenco, aquí el toca acompañando al cante de Antonio Mairena. AQUÍ 

Primero, quien es: desde los años 1960 hasta el principio de los 1990, fue uno de los guitarristas más emblemáticos del flamenco, y realizaba giras por toda Europa y América del Norte. Fue también el acompañante favorito de Antonio Mairena y Terremoto padre, al igual que de la Paquera, Chocolate, y muchos más. Además, ha influenciado mucho a su sobrino Moraito y su bis-sobrino, Diego del Morao.  

Manuel Morao con Antonio de la Malena

No solo eso, sino también ayudó a organizar y grabar antologías importantes del cante con Antonio Mairena y otros, en las que también fue guitarrista principal. Es uno de los guitarristas en la famosa serie de videos: Rito y Geografía del Cante.

En 1975, se retiró de muchas de las giras y las grabaciones (pero no de tocar) para volver a su ciudad natal, Jerez de la Frontera, dónde empezó a promocionar el flamenco. Organizaba y tocaba para una serie de eventos, los “Jueves Flamencos,” que dirigió por muchos años y a través de los cuales impulsaba las carreras de muchos de los profesionales de hoy en día (incluso Antonio de la Malena).

Pero eso no fue suficiente para Manuel Morao. En los años 1990, fundaba un negocio llamado “Gitanos de Jerez” que producía discos, videos, y espectáculos. De los espectáculos, uno de los más famosos fue “Gitanos: esa Forma de Vivir” en el que llevó a  22 artistas a un teatro en Broadway y a otros muchos alrededor del mundo. 

preparandonos para rodar una entrevista con Manuel Morao

 “Gitanos de Jerez” continuó con mucho éxito comercial hasta el principio de los años 2000.   Un poco antes empezó la mala suerte y Manuel Morao tuvo que parar de toca la guitarra, en parte, porqué empezó a tener un problema con los nervios de sus manos. 

¿Pero por qué ese hombre, desde los años 1960, pensaba que el flamenco estaba en una situación de peligro? Algo que trató de prevenir en toda su carrera profesional.  Según Manuel Morao, el flamenco en verdad no es nada menos que el cante de los gitanos, un cante que los no-gitanos también pueden realizar. Se puede llamar ese flamenco “el flamenco tradicional.”

preparando para grabar en otro sitio;  Manuel Morao está en el sofá

Centrándose en los gitanos, especialmente los gitanos de la baja Andalucía, Manuel Morao está totalmente convencido de que ese arte llega de los gitanos, la forma gitana de realizarlo es lo más puro, y es un arte integral a la herencia de la comunidad gitana. 

Para aprender más sobre el peligro que amenaza el flamenco tradicional os invito a mirar el documental que estamos creando “Flamenco: la tierra está viva”.  Consulta AQUÍ para ver su web.
 

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Eva Ma (Eve A. Ma), antiguamente catedrática en la universidad, abogada, y directora de una organización cultural sin ánimo de lucro. Actualmente es la productora y directora de diversas películas incluso documentales sobre la música y los bailes del mundo, tal como Maestros del Ritmo con addendum. Para aprender más sobre su trabajo y obtener un video clip de una de sus producciones, apúntate aquí: www,PalominoPro-noticias.com

Filmmaker in Search of Her Subject - visit to northern coastal Peru #1

part #1:

In addition to my two or so weeks in Lima, and my travels to the south, principally to the town of el Carmen, center of Afro-Peruvian culture, I went up north to visit the town of Zaña and the region around it.  This, like the rest of my time in Peru, was for the purpose of learning more about Afro-Peruvian culture, especially its music and dance, because Zaña is home to the important Afro-Peruvian museum.

Zaña is in the coastal region of Peru, near the small city of Lambayeque.  To get there, once again I took a bus-cama, leaving Lima in the late afternoon and arriving in Lambayeque in the morning of the following day.  From Lambayeque, I took a licensed cab to get to Zaña.

The museum is a re-creation in miniature of what archaeologists believe the pyramids looked like at the time the ruler was buried.  The "good stuff" is down in a deep basement, again representing the archaeological site.

On the way, however, I decided to make a stop at a place unrelated to my work:  the museum which houses most of the collection taken from the pyramid and tomb of el Señor de Sipan.

Who is this Señor de Sipan, you ask.

Glad you brought it up.  Peru, in addition to being the home of the Incas, was home to several other important civilizations.  One of these was the Sipán, or Moche, who actually pre-dated the Incas.  The civilization flourished from about 50-700AD, while the Inca rule only began in 1438, and ended less than 100 years later, in 1533.

The later rules of Sipán were mummified and buried in pyramids, and a few decades ago, in the later 1980s, a grouping of three of these pyramids were discovered and explored.

The pyramids now looks like a large, bare hills.  They were made of adobe bricks, and over the centuries, the rains have eaten away at it.  This is one of the reasons they were only recently discovered.

replica of one of the many adornments found on the mummy of the Señor de Sipán:  gold necklace and earrings with owl heads;  the owl represents the afterlife

Excavations of the second to largest of these pyramids revealed the elaborate tomb and mummy of what is presumed to have been a great ruler, now referred to as el Señor de Sipán (the Lord of Sipán).

The museum contains a replica of the mummy of the ruler, his wife, and someone important who was buried under him (possibly his father) while the actual remains have been left in the pyramid (which I didn't have time to visit).  The display in the museum shows what the burial chamber looks like, and has many of the fabulous gold, silver, turquoise, and other jewelry with which he and his wife were adorned.

Of course, a couple of guards, dogs, and other former beings were buried along with them, presumably to wait on them, keep them company in the afterlife, and so forth.

_________________

Eve A. Ma, a former university professor, lawyer, and director of a non-profit cultural organization, is the producer-director of two documentaries about Afro-Peruvians:  A Zest for Life and Masters of Rhythm with addendum.  Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with her work and get a special video:  www.PalominoPro-signup.com