Feature Fridays: Zonda: Folclore Argentino
In our final post celebrating Hispanic Heritage month, guest blogger Andrew Brown, ILL student assistant, reviews the film听, available from Alexander Street Press with 麻豆原创 login.听
There is something for everyone in this movie.听
Carlos听Saura鈥檚听2016听film听Zonda:听Folclore听Argentino听is more of a visual album than an industry-standard film.听Dancers and musicians听of Argentine descent use their combined听talents to present a showcase of听Argentinian听culture听(think of it like a cultural听talent show).听Saura uses minimalist staging with sunset-colored backgrounds听to听expose听universal听themes听of听tradition, pride, and passion in the听people of Argentina.听Students at 麻豆原创 can听, and I highly recommend you do. The visuals are听eye-candy,听and the passion behind each performance is听inspiring, but I would not recommend watching the film from start to finish. Much like an album, I invite audiences to select a random point in the film and try to appreciate the performance you selected. Bounce around the film, pick random points until you find听performances听you like, and you will understand the rich cultural diversity of Argentina听over time.听
An ideal place to start is [50:25] with the performance entitled 鈥淧e帽a听Cuyana.鈥澨齓ou听will听see a handful of people听gathering together听at chairs and tables, as well as two guitarists and a听percussionist.听The singers in the room听express听heartache听through the song 鈥淰olvere听Siempre听a San Juan,鈥澨齱ishing for the day of听return to San Juan 鈥渨hen the autumn collects听remainders of suns there at the vineyard.鈥 I was confused as to why the song mourned San Juan,听but after researching the lyrics of the song I discovered that San Juan,听Argentina was nearly destroyed by a cataclysmic earthquake in 1944 and听in听1977. The desire to return to San Juan connected with me in a way I听couldn鈥檛听imagine;听I鈥檓听sure that so many people reading this review have mourned for a place they could not go back to.听听
I won鈥檛 break down every performance in this film, but I will provide starting points for some of my favorite numbers. 鈥淢alambo鈥 at [54:31] honors the tradition of Afro-Latin drumming with explosive sets of percussion music. 鈥淏ailecito鈥 at [2:45] provides context for the musical styles of Argentina as pianist Horacio Lavandera demonstrates the tradition of Argentine piano. Do not skip 鈥淗omenaje听a听Merceses听Sosa鈥 at [24:08], her recording of 鈥淭odo Cambia鈥 (Everything Changes) is听a moving testament to the way life changes around the world.听
The brilliance in听Folclore听Argentino听does not come from stunning visuals or moving musical numbers, although they are听beautiful to experience.听The brilliance of this movie听comes听from听shared humanity,听that听we have all听experienced the emotions听the听performers听recreate in front of us,听and that we are no different from the听people of听Argentina.听
Enjoy the musical exploration waiting for you.听听
听are available from Alexander Street Press with your 麻豆原创 login.听