march 2010 13

suramericanaLONDON’S LATIN JOURNAL

the importance of being che

Plus...César Charlone

La Linea 2010 Hidden London

The literary genius behind one of the world’s most recognisable faces

‘Camden Town’ by Laia Sacares Bueno

In this month’s issue...4 In conversation with César Charlone We talk to the Uruguayan film director8 The importance of being Che A literary appreciation of the legend11 In pictures Sierra Maestra album launch12 Insider guide Cartagena de Indias14 Introducing: Takilo Up-and-coming Latin musical mavericks18 Hidden London The very best of New Cross and Peckham21 The Hotlist Our essential guide to the month ahead25 All the meats We pay a visit to famed Argentine restaurant Buen Ayre

Editor Ben Olsen (ben@suramericana.co.uk)Deputy Editor Isabella Salgado (isabella@suramericana.co.uk)Contributors Joel Chalmin, Kirsty McCluskey, Wilfrid Tuñon, Laia Sacares Bueno, Barbara Gil

suramericanaLONDON’S LATIN JOURNAL

Welcome to our April issue, where we’re embracing the end

of winter and preparing for a warmer days and a spring full of fun. As well as a host of great films, there’s the La Linea Latin music festival to get stuck into, with some of the world’s finest performers heading to London.

4 april 2010

suramericana

What was Uruguay like in your youth? The country was plagued by social inequality, with different possibilities for rich and poor. Young people all wanted to change this. Dictators were coming and going and young people became engaged in any kind of protest, be it social, armed or political. I dreamed of changing the world with my camera.

How was studying film seen back then? In the mainstream world it was seen as a ‘hippy’ thing to do, almost like a strange hobby. Uruguay didn’t have a major cinema scene because of the size of the country and production costs. Now it’s totally different – the country is producing three to five films a year.

Why did you study in Brazil?With Uruguay being so small, generations would swing between the two ‘big brothers’ Brazil and Argentina on either side. Mine was more sympathetic to Brazilian culture with its Cinema Nuovo and Tropicália.

In City of God, Rio de Janeiro plays a major role. What did you want to portray? The reality that we all have in the corner of our houses and lots of people do not know about. We felt that this had to be shown.

Did you succeed in that? Yes, City of God reached 3.38 million people. The press is now more conscious of social problems, even though it’s just one brick in building this new conscience.

In conversation with César Charlone

Involvement in blockbuster films such as City of God and A Constant Gardener are just two career highlights for cinematographer and director César Charlone. In 2007 his first feature film El Baño de Papa received warm reviews around the world. We met the man himself to talk about his films, his country and the future of Latin American cinema…

april 2010 5

In conversation with César Charlone

What are the main differences between the people of Brazil and Uruguay? There is quite a major difference. Brazil is a huge country made up of many different cultures and I think the fact that Portuguese colonisation happened very differently to the Spanish equivalent, which was more violent and radical. The Portuguese came to live in

Brazil rather than ‘invading’. They integrated in a different way and kept a very aristocratic society whereas in other countries there was a struggle. I always give the example of football – after scoring you’ll see Brazilians dancing while the Spanish speakers react with more of an angry passion. Hispanic South Americans seem to relate to >

suramericana

6 april 2010

drama more strongly than Brazilians who relate more to comedy. Brazilians are ‘happier’, while a Uruguayan can be happy but it is far more melodramatic.

How do you see the South American film industry developing? When I left Cuba and moved back to Uruguay in 1990 with the intention of being a part of the newborn film industry there I didn’t manage to make a single film, but I went back to Brazil and in the last eight years lots of films have been made. It’s something that had to happen and the industry has now grown a lot. Technology means people have access to producing, exhibiting and showing films and can also count on international solidarity with film festivals opening their doors to South American films. Many people want to tell stories with images and there are now many more film schools – Argentina has 19,000 new students a year, which is amazing.

Is it quite collaborative? Yes, especially within the Spanish-speaking countries. And much more than it was before. But we should work together more, like here in Europe. We’re addressing the same topics – the subject of a Colombian is very similar to that of a Brazilian or Ecuadorian.

Hugo Chavez has said he wants to establish his own Hollywood – is that possible? No, I don’t think so. Hollywood is Hollywood. What he can do is what Cuba did, which is to establish a strong supporting industry. He can do a lot but South America can never compete with Hollywood.

Do governments have much of an impact? New governments are much more conscious of supporting the film industry, but not as much as they should be. In Uruguay the government is promoting it more as they now realise just how important it is for a country to show its culture.

april 2010 7

A life in pictures:2002 - City Of God (cinematographer)

2002 - City of Men (episode “A Coroa do Imperador”, director and writer)

2005 - The Constant Gardener (cinematographer)

2007 - The Pope’s Toilet (director, writer and cinematographer)

2007 - Stranded (cinematographer) 2008 - Blindness (cinematographer)

Your first film, El Baño de Papa, is set in Uruguay – what did you want to show of your country?I wanted to be as faithful as possible to the reality, so I went to a little town and lived there for a few weeks and got to know the people and talked to the people because if you are real and faithful, it makes it far more coherent, meaning people will believe it better.

suramericana

8 march 2010

april 2010 9

The importance of being CheWhich other Latin American figure is as instantly recognisable or so globally exported as Che Guevara?

Guevara was, and is, an icon (even without those t-shirts and posters). He’s been the subject of film treatments and novels as well as biographies and monographs. His posthumous patronage has been claimed by a vast spectrum of political organisations. His face is painted on walls from Bolivia to Belfast and beyond.

Guevara’s face may be famous, but his voice is overlooked. I don’t mean that his writings have not been studied; generations of academics and activists have produced responses to his ideas. But what is rarely acknowledged is the power and the beauty of those texts, as texts. Guevara is an extraordinary stylist. Much has been made of The Motorcycle Diaries – to my knowledge, his only text to be marketed >

suramericana

10 april 2010

as an accessible literary read – but this early work is only the start. While the young Guevara is endearingly fond of romantic metaphor, the real literary meat is to be found in his later works. Guevara wrote a great deal during his relatively short life, from political and military treatises to agitational speeches to notes from the field. Common to all of them is a concision and clarity of prose, together with a vivid gift for expression, that ought to be valued in any writer.

Reading Che Guevara cannot be purely a literary, apolitical experience. Indeed, it should not. The opportunity to engage directly with his ideas is too valuable to pass up, whatever your political perspective. But the experience can be enhanced immeasurably by listening to his voice.

A good start is the Che Guevara Reader from Ocean Press, published in Spanish as Che Guevara Presente. This anthology offers a reasonably representative selection of Guevara’s work, and is a good start for anyone who wants to get to know Che.

Words: Kirsty McCluskey

april 2010 11

Sierra Maestra/March 15/Darbuka Considered by many to be the guardians of the Cuban son music tradition, Sierra Maestra started in Havana, Cuba, in 1976. The members of the band are originally from the mountain range on the east of the island, after which the band was named. The group is one of the best and most popular musical ensembles currently playing in the Spanish Caribbean. They play the old-style son line-up: trumpet, tres, guitar, bongo and vocals and have played at festivals and clubs around the world. On March the 15th, Sierra Maestra came to London to launch new CD, Sonando Ya. The event was celebrated with an intimate party at Darbuka, that included a live performance (myspace.com/sierramaestra).

Words and photography: Wil Tuñon

In pictures...

suramericana

12 april 2010

april 2010 13

Visitors to Cartagena de Indias have described the atmosphere of its ‘old city’ as a mixture of the romanticism of Havana and a touch of the ‘magic realism’ of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Cartagena is a colonial walled city on the northern coast of Colombia, with a population of just over a million. There is plenty to do and a host of places to visit, but for most, what makes Cartagena such a great place to visit is its welcoming people and traditional cuisine.

Don’t miss the opportunity for a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride around the walled city at night or visiting Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, a fortress with a maze of tunnels, viewed as the most imposing Spanish military work in the Americas. For the best food go to La Cocina de Socorro in the Getsemani area, where you could enjoy local dishes like coconut rice, crunchy patacones and the freshest seafood straight from the Caribbean.

Cartagena de IndiasWil Tuñon on the highlights of his Colombian hometown

suramericana

14 april 2010

Introducing...TakiloJoel Chalmin met up with Takilo, a band led by the leadership and initiative of Rosa Ruiz, currently playing a big part in London’s booming Latin music scene...

april 2010 15

The Latin-influenced music scene is growing rapidly in London, with more and more venues supporting up-and-coming artists. One band playing a big part in this movement is Takilo, a five-piece band under the leadership and initiative of Spanish-born Rosa Ruiz. Rosa, is a singer/songwriter who started performing more than 20 years ago when she was just a little girl in Ciudad Real, close to Madrid. Her Andalucian background led to an interest in Flamenco and she’s performed in many venues and countries as a solo artist. Six years ago, with no grasp of the English language, she came to London in the pursuit of new opportunities. After playing solo gigs singing in Spanish, three years ago she joined forces with Paco Alvarez (guitar), Carlos Badosa (guitar/percussion), Joaquin ‘Chimo’ Albero (drums), Damian Slade (percussion) and Favio (bass) to form Takilo. >

suramericana

16 april 2010

What are the origins of the band’s name?Rosa I was sat down once with a bottle of Tequila and started playing with the words and letters, and I came up with Takilo. My music is full of percussion and in the songs I like to play a lot with the tempo, so I thought apart from sounding good it was really appropriate.Who are your influences?Rosa Musically I am influenced by genres and styles such as Cuban, Funk, Latin, Jazz, Fusion, Flamenco and more. Also I love to play with sounds and the tempo of songs – experiment with the music.Carlo The individual musical influences that each of as have in the band are introduced as well into our arrangements and rhythms.What inspires your music?Rosa Everything inspires my music. Different situations, challenges that I have, love in general, my past, my present, future, everything! I use a lot of metaphors within my lyrics and

many times I find myself pushing the edge talking about social and political matters that mean a lot to me.How did the band start?Rosa I was doing gigs in London as a solo artist for years, but around 3 years ago I felt that it was the right time to take my music to another level and exploit the potential of the songs and my talent by combining it with other musicians.Where have you performed?Chimo In the UK we have performed in many London venues, including Cargo.Rosa We’ve also gigged as a band in Spain and I’ve played a great gig with Paco at the L’ Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.Has the audience’s reaction to your music in London different to elsewhere?Rosa Yes and no. They have both been absolutely brilliant. However, my experience outside Spain has taught me a lot. I found it incredibly inspiring that the response of the people has been so positive and

march 2010 13

engaging each time, despite the fact that the audience doesn’t always understand the lyrics in Spanish. They were connected to the music itself, which was enough for them to understand what I was trying to say. I can see how music is clearly the world’s official language.Chimo We now have songs in English within our repertoire too, and the response of the people has been equally good.

What do you want to achieve?Rosa More than being famous, we’d like to be remembered as great performers and innovators. I want to be remembered as a ‘sound collector’ who uses and transforms sounds as if they were mine, until they finally are.

Check out Takilo’s music, videos and live dates onmyspace.com/takilomusic

suramericana

18 april 2010

april 2010 19

hidden london: New Cross & Peckham

Now, this isn’t the prettiest part of London. Gritty and grimy perhaps, but there is plenty else on offer, and if it’s pretty

you’re after, head up to neighbouring Greenwich. Although it’s been dubbed the ‘new Shoreditch’ by lazy journalists for a while now, it hasn’t let that unfortunate tag hold it back and to be down there on market day in Deptford or on a night out in any of the huge collection of good pubs it’s possibly to witness a place with distinct character. As the area is pretty hard to get to/away from, especially later on, it’s always had quite a distinct and some might say insular scene, with Goldsmiths at its core. Blur, Bloc Party and Art Brut have all been associated with a ‘New Cross Scene’ and ever since the Eighties, music, art and comedy has flourished in and around the area. The ‘nu-rave’ scene as epitomised by local band the Klaxons was born and died here, and although that was short-lived, there is plenty more to be seen from the area.

Top three places to eat…

Cummin Up A Caribbean eatery with a fine line in pea soup.265e New Cross Rd, London (cumminup.co.uk)

Viva Zapata Bargain Mexican joint popular with students29-31 Lewisham Way (020 8692 6357)

Café Crema Vegan cafe with a secret garden and film nights. 306 New Cross Rd (cafecremaevents.co.uk) >

suramericana

20 april 2010

Get involved

Art Fuelled by students from nearby Goldsmiths, this area has loads of galleries and pop-up spaces. Art collective Temporary Contemporary, has an eclectic range of shows (tempcontemp.co.uk).

Music and nightlife The area is packed with great pubs and music venues. The New Cross Inn is a thriving pub with a reputation for great electro/indie nights (newcrossinn.co.uk). The Amersham Arms is perhaps New Cross’s most famous pub – you can find a well-chosen mix of music and DJs (amersham-arms.co.uk). Bar Story is another favourite, set in a railway arch (020 7635 6643).

Thrift and vintage The Saturday market on Deptford High Street is one of London’s liveliest markets, bringing together an eclectic mix of thrifty goods, vibrant smells, fresh foods, interesting people and general hustle and bustle. As well as the market make sure you check out quirky stores Rubbish and Nasty and Prangsta; the latter is great for statement dress-up and also does dressmaking and seamstressing courses (prangsta.co.uk).

Live football No longer home to the biggest hooligan base in Britain, Millwall provides an opportunity to see a bit of live football and is a hell of a lot cheaper than going to watch high-flying neighbours like Chelsea and Arsenal. If you’ve never seen a game before, it’ll be the true cockney experience – get a pie and mash at half time and cheer the lads on (millwallfc.co.uk).

april 2010 21

The April guide to London’s

best Latin art, cinema, music

and more >

suramericana

22 april 2010

suramericana

Music

April 8 Movimientos Colombia special with Khantara playing live Rich MixApril 11 Zeu Azevedo plus Forrodaki band playing live GuanabaraApril 13 DJ D.Vyzor and Rio Jazz Trio GuanabaraApril 16 Los Charly’s Orchestra Jazz CafeApril 22-30 La Linea 2010 Various locations, see below

With the line-up announced for April ’s Latin American music festival, we preview those acts we are truly excited about…

La Linea 2010

april 2010 23

Mariachi el Bronx The side project of rockers The Bronx, all the ingredients are here for a sound of distinct enjoyment: group harmonies, bursts of Spanish guitar, flowery violin arrangements snappily repeated over each bar, and dramatic brass-spun flourishes set against yearning lament and joyous celebration. Amparo Sanchez With a Latin, reggae and rock foundation, the music of Spanish singer-songwriter Amparo Sanchez manages to fuse an individual blend of elements into an atmospheric background for her powerful singing voice. Having collaborated with the likes of Manu Chao and Calexico, Amparo Sánchez has been labelled as the ‘queen’ of the internationalist genre. Kevin Johansen Argentine-American rock musician Kevin will be performing his blend of Latin modern pop, funk and rock yet the twist comes in the fact that he’ll be sharing the stage with quick-drawing cartoonist Liniers, who, with the aid of a projector, will be illustrating the playlist. An audio-visual treat!For the full line up visit comono.co.uk/lalinea10

Art

Until Apr 14 The Exquisite Corpse Video Project (vol 1) An ambitious international video collaboration project where 37 artists from 16 countries around the world have created 9 videos in a total running time of 82 minutes. The film has been created by group of individual and successful artists, many of who have not met previously, responding to an invitation by Kika Nicolela, an award-winning filmmaker from Sao Paulo, Brazil. 16mm Deli Café & Screening Room, Soho (16mm-soho.com; braziliality@gmail.com)

suramericana

24 april 2010

FilmApril 4, 7, 8 Sons of Cuba A hard-hitting documentary following three young boys at the Havana Boxing Academy as they endure eight months of training for Cubaís National Under-12s Boxing Championships. Winner of Best Documentary at the Rome Film Festival last year. Institute of Contemporary Arts (ica.org.uk)

April 9 Film Series: The Colombian Diaspora Cóndores no entierran todos los días This film is a milestone in Colombian cinema. Based on the novel of the same name by Gustavo Álvarez Gardeazábal, the film tells the story of the violence in Colombia during the 1950s with León María Lozano, El Cóndor, as its main character. Instituto Cervantes (londres.cervantes.es)

Peruvian film La Teta Asustada won myriad awards at the film festivals last year, charting the extreme violence the country suffered at the hands of Maoist group Shining Path. The film is based on the book Entre Prójimos by Kimberly Theidon, soon to be available in English under the title Intimate Enemies: Violence and Reconciliation in Peru from Stanford University Press.

april 2010 25

This small restaurant in the heart of London Fields has established

itself as one of the finest parrilladas in the country. At the heart of its menu is a wide range of steaks with a range of accompaniments including bowls of chimichurri and hand-cut chips. Or there are shared platters, which come complete with various cuts of beef plus chorizo and provolone cheese. Empanadas and Argentine sausages complete the picture.

Then there’s the wine. Argentina prides itself on his wine-making tradition and Buen Ayre has a vast range to choose from. Although vegetarians are catered for, with stuffed mushrooms and grilled halloumi on offer, both of which look amazing, the main event is the execptional meat. Yet carving such a niche in the market has its downside. Buen Ayre is incredibly popular and booking is the only way to guarantee a table.

With steak and malbec on the mind we checked out Broadway Market’s Buen Ayre and were not left disappointed...

All the meats

suramericanaLONDON’S LATIN JOURNAL