Title: El Norte
Released: 1983
Director:: Gregory Nava

Plot Summary

There's a reason your teacher made you watch El Norte in your high school Spanish class: it's a good movie with a thoughtful message. The movie opens in a small village in Guatemala in the early 80s, a time of government oppression, disappearances and torture which started a civil war that wasn't resolved until the early 90s.

After a massacre in their village, siblings Rosa and Enrique decided to flee to the US, el norte, a place they imagine to be as incredible as tv programs and the stories they've heard growing up portray. Their trip is dangerous, and their new life in America isn't quite as they imagined.

Title: Pizza, birra, y faso (Pizza, Beer and Smokes)
Released: 1998
Director:: Adrián Caetano and Bruno Stagnaro

Plot Summary

Low-budget Argentine film Pizza, birra, y faso reminded me of Spanish film Tapas, in that it can most be appreciated by those who have spent a significant amount of time in Argentina (or Spain in the case of Tapas) or who are Argentines (or Spaniards) themselves. Even the movie's name pegs it as Argentine, using regional slang birra y faso rather than the more broadly used cerveza and cigarillos.

For those of you who have spent a lot of time in Argentina, you'll appreciate the street scenes, heavy use of local slang, and bringing in elements of everyday routine, like riding buses and taxis in Buenos Aires. The film provides an element of reality and daily life that recent mainstream Argentine films like Nueve Reinas lack.

Title: Camila
Released: 1984
Director: María Luisa Bemberg

Plot Summary

Based on a true story during the Juan Manuel de Rosas dictatorship of Argentina, Camila is a story of scandal, love and politics. The story takes place in 1848, when the young wealthy socialite Camila O'Gorman falls in love with Jesuit priest Father Gutiérrez.

After a secret affair, the couple changes their identities and moves to Corrientes, where they hope to start over and forget about the past. Meanwhile, their story has spread from Santiago to Montevideo and when the couple's true identity is discovered, they are at the mercy of the dictatorship.

de Eliana Arévalo

Cuidades que inspiran

Cada país tiene su poesía, su narrativa. Cada ciudad tiene algo que nos inspira de cierta manera. Sus parques y plazas, sus edificios, sus vecinos y todos quienes la recorren. Cada país tiene también, escritores a quienes conmueve lo que sucede en su lugar del mundo, en su ciudad, en su distrito, en su propia vida.

escrito por: Eliana Arévalo

Profeta en su tierra

Un refrán muy utilizado en los países de habla hispana reza que nadie es profeta en su tierra. Sin embargo para toda regla hay una excepción y este es el caso de Lisandro Aristimuño, un joven cantante que en los últimos años ha cosechado fama y adeptos en el ambiente musical de la Argentina desde el 2004 cuando grabó su primer CD con su propio sello discográfico, encargándose el mismo de la venta y distribución.

Mexico's Game of Chance

You may be surprised to know that the quintessential Mexican game Lotería has its origins in Europe and came to Mexico by way of Spain. Often referred to as "Mexican bingo", you may not have played it but will certainly recognize the game's colorful imagery, including an anatomically correct heart, el corazón, la calavera (the skull), el borracho (the drunk) and even la muerte (death).

How to Play Lotería

Each player receives a tabla with 16 images displayed 4 by 4. One person, el cantor calls out an image randomly selected from a deck of cards. Anyone who has the image called on his tabla marks it and works towards 4 images in a row. Once a player has 4 images in a row, he calls out "lotería".

Vocabulary and Culture

Title: Cocalero
Released: 2007

Plot Summary

Cocalero is a 2007 documentary about current president of Bolivia Evo Morales and his campaign leading up to the presidency. The first president of Bolivia with indigenous roots, Evo rose to power through his involvement with Cocaleros, or unions of farmers that grow and harvest coca leaves. The documentary follows Evo and staff working on his campaign as well as the lives of coca farmers.

While Federico Aubele's music evokes modern life in Buenos Aires, Lisandro Aristimuño's music recall the feeling of his native Patagonia. His music is nostalgic and sweet, his lyrics are often pensive and tranquilo, bringing to mind the extreme countryside, dark colors, and hearty way of life in Argentina's south. From "Tu Nombre y el Mio",

Campo de colores se cubre en tu luz
deja la lluvia caer,
riega los suelos del sur
moja la nueva cosecha que vendrá.

Countryside of colors are covered in your light
Let the rain fall,
water the lands of the south
wet the coming new harvest