Latin American Videos

Alla lejos y hace tiempo

[See Far Away and Long Ago]

Alsino and the Condor PN1995.91.S6 A5 1986

Directed by Miguel Littin, 1983, 90 minutes. Set in present day Central America, this is the first fictional feature ever made in Nicaragua. It has been widely acclaimed for its honest depiction of the clash between Central American governments and Sandinista rebels. It is also the story of a boy's dream of flying above the madness of the world around him. It is about his fantasies, his courage, and, above all, it is about the human spirit soaring to freedom. Spanish dialogue, English subtitles.

Americas F1408 .A64 1993

Production of WGBH Boston and Central Television Enterprises for Channel 4, UK. This intimate look at contemporary Latin America examines issues confronting the entire region by focusing on individual communities.

. . . and the earth did not swallow him PN1995.9.D7 A685 1997

Kino on Video, 1997, 1 videocassette (99 minutes). A haunting and powerful film about a young Mexican-American boy's coming of age amid the poverty and adversity he and his family face as migrant farm workers in the 1950's.

Art and Revolution in Mexico N6555 .A67 1990

Films for the Humanities, 1990,1 videocassette (60 minutes). Shows how history and art have been brought together in Mexico by such painters as Rivera and Siqueiros. Demonstrates that plastic art is the shared possession of all social and educational levels in Mexico.

At the Brink JZ5665 .W27 1988 v.5

1989, 60 minutes, from the series War and Peace in the Nuclear Age. The Annenberg/CPB Collection. The Cuban Missile Crisis is explored, as well as the tensions, drama and fear that characterized the thirteen days from October 16 to October 28, 1962. Drawing on recently released information, this episode provides new insight into one of the most dangerous episodes of the nuclear age.

Los Aztecas F1219.73 .A97 1989

Video Emocion, 1989, 59 minutes, narrated in Spanish. This film traces the history of the Aztecs from the founding of Tenochtitlan in 1325. Their religion, architecture, art, and daily life are all examined.

Azucar amarga

[See Bitter Sugar]

Ballad of Gregorio Cortez PN1995.9.W4 B2 1988

Directed by Robert Young, 1982, 105 minutes. Young's powerful portrayal of the true story of Gregorio Cortez, a turn-of-the-century farmer who kills the sheriff because of a language misunderstanding. One of the most highly acclaimed independent American films of recent years. In English and Spanish, English subtitles.

The Battle of Chile F3100 .B27 1990

Film by Patricio Guzmán. An epic chronicle of Chile's open and peaceful socialist revolution under President Salvador Allende and the violent and bloody coup against it by General Augusto Pinochet's army on September 11, 1973.

Part I The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie (106 minutes) examines the escalation of rightist opposition following the left's victory in Congressional elections held in March, 1973.

Part II The Coup d'Etat (99 minutes) opens with the attempted military coup of June, 1973 which serves as a useful dry-run for the final showdown which is documented in the film's dramatic concluding sequence.

Part III The Power of the People (82 minutes), completed two years after the first two parts, deals with the creation by ordinary workers and peasants of thousands of local groups of "popular power" during the 1970-1973 period.

Bitter Sugar (Azucar amarga) PN1995.91 .S6 A98 1996

First Look Pictures/Overseas Film Group, 1996, 102 minutes. A love story set against the political and economic tensions of contemporary Havana.

Black God, White Devil (Deus e o diabo na terra do so) PN1995.91.P65 D4 1980

Directed by Glauber Rocha, 1964, 102 minutes. A quintessential film from Brazil's Cinema Novo, this film of immense power concerns the matador of cangacieros, a paid killer of rebels and bandits in the backlands. One of the most original films of the recent past, this worldwide success established the Brazilian Cinema Novo.

Black Orpheus PN1995.91.P65 B6 1988

Directed by Marcel Camus, 1988, 103 minutes. Based on the play Orfeu da Conceicao by Vinicius de Moraes. The story is based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice set against the colorful background of the carnival in Rio de Janiero. 1959 motion picture.

Brazil in the 16th and 17th centuries F2528 .B72 1991

New Jersey Films for the Humanities, 1991, 50 minutes. This program shows the early history of Brazil, the life of slaves on a sugar plantation, the Dutch conquest, and the Dutch loss of Brazil.

The Buck Stops in Brazil HG2884 .B8 1983

Learning Corporation of America ; Northbrook, Ill. : MTI Teleprograms [distributor], c1983, 1 videocassette (VHS) (29 min.). Eric Sevareid hosts this program which takes an inside look at the high-stakes world of international banking. Shows why the world's largest banks continue to invest in Brazil, a country which already owes $70 it can never hope to repay

Buena Vista Social Club ML3486 .C8 B8 1999

Artisan Home Entertainment, 1999, 105 minutes. In 1996, a group of legendary Cuban musicians were brought together by Ry Cooder to make a recording. This film documents some of the recording sessions, as well as concert footage from Amsterdam and New York City. Throughout the film, the musicians talk about their lives as musicians in Cuba.

The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World DP96 .F842 1991

1991, 59 minutes each. Smithsonian Institution. A series of five program written and presented by Carlos Fuentes, who sees the 500^th anniversary of Columbus' landfall in 1492 as a time to reflect on his world and celebrate its heritage. Inspired by mirrors found in the Totanac tombs in El Tajin, Mexico, the title "The Buried Mirror" is a metaphor for the enduring power and creativity of Hispanic peoples. Now an extraordinary "mirror" is being held up to the Old and New Worlds to reflect the diverse cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and peoples, together with the themes, institutions, beliefs and symbols that have endured or changed through time. See individual titles for descriptions.

v.1, The Virgin and the Bull Fuentes looks for his forebears in the mix of people who created Latin America: Spanish, Arab, Jewish, Indian, and African. He asks what is unique in their culture that is cause for celebration in the 500^th anniversary of Columbus. His quest takes him from the quayside at Vera Cruz, "where the Mediterranean comes to an end in the Caribbean," back to Spain, to the dark caves of Altamira, the harsh sunlight of the bullring, and the stamping feet of the flamenco dancer. Explore the diverse origins of the Spanish component of the Hispanic world and Spain's own multicultural society, some of its key events, and what they mean to Hispanics today.

v.2, Conflict of the Gods Conflict of the Gods In his lifetime, Carlos Fuentes has witnessed the rediscovery of the ancient Aztec temples beneath the central square of the modern Mexico City. "So we found out that what we thought was dead was really alive." He retraces the Indian world through their magnificent pyramids and sculptures, a world of precise astronomy and human sacrifice, serenity, and violence. The return to their blond, exiled god was forecast for the very year Cortés reached their shores. The savagery of the conquistador equaled that of the Indian, but he brought with him a new god, a god who sacrificed himself for men. Explore the livers of the peoples of America before 1492; the nature of and consequences of the first encounter between the Spanish and the indigenous peoples of America; and how the Spanish consolidated conquest in America, how the Native Americans endured in the early colonial period, and the ongoing legacy of that time.

v.3, The Age of Gold Explores the interaction between Spain and Latin America during the colonial era; the Golden Age of 16^th- and 17^th-century Spain, some of its outstanding achievements, and its heritage today; and how the stage was set for the age of revolutions.

v.4, The Price of Freedom Every year, a million Mexicans gather in the great central square of their capital to celebrate El Grito, the cry for independence. Following its progress, Carlos Fuentes crosses the Andes in the steps of Bolivar and San Martin. "Those who serve the revolution plow the seas," said the dying Bolivar. The liberators succeeded in throwing off the Spanish yoke, but they found it harder to establish a just society. For the gaucho there was the consolation of the open spaces, the mountains, and the plains. And for those crowding into the new cities like Buenos Aires, there was the tango, a sad thought that can be danced. Explore the causes and courses of the revolutions for independence in Latin America; some key figures of 19^th- and 20^th-century Latin America, how their world shaped them, and their individual impact on history; and the context for the first great revolution of the 20^th century, the Mexican Revolution.

v.5, Unfinished Business Spain, Latin America, the Hispanic communities in the United States: all have undergone enormous changes in this century. Explores three different regions of the Hispanic world in this century: Spain, Latin America, and the United States and the impact of their cultural legacies on the present and the future.

Carlos Fuentes F1418 .C28 1988

Alexandria, Va. : PBS Video, c1988, 1 videocassette (28 min.). Mexican author Carlos Fuentes and Bill Moyers discuss the relationship of the United States with Mexico and with Latin America generally. Fuentes addresses the selective intervention of the U.S. in the affairs of Latin American countries which he believes stifles development in Latin America and damages the international relationship.

Carlos Fuentes: Man of Two Worlds--PQ7297.F793 Z615 1988

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 198?, 35 minutes. Mexico City and Washington, D.C. are the backdrops for this portrait of Fuentes, a major figure on the contemporary Latin American and world literature scenes. Fuentes talks about the influence of Latin American writers on his writing, notably Sor Juana, Rubén Dario and Pablo Neruda, and of his experiences growing up in the United States and teaching here. He evaluates his own major works and their place in Latin American literary history.

Cartas de mama PN1995.91 .S6 C27 1980

Films for the Humanities, 1980, 60 minutes. The story is set in Paris. Luis and Laura are a young Spanish couple, who are tormented by feelings of guilt aroused by letters from Luis' mother. The letters speak of Luis' brother as if he were still alive. This brother had been engaged to Laura first; then Luis and Laura met, fell in love and married, and shortly thereafter Nico died. Now Luis' mother writes that Nico will soon come to Paris. Although they know this cannot be so, they are nevertheless tortured by doubts, by guilt, by fear, that it might after all be true.

Centinelas del Silencio F1219 .C35 1990

ALTI Publishing Co., 1990, 18 minutes. Filmed almost entirely from a helicopter, this film shows breathtaking views of the sever most important archaeological zones in Mexico. They are Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Mitla, Tulum, Palenque, Chichen-Itza and Uxmal. It is accompanied by a superb symphonic composition by Mariano Moreno. Narrated in Spanish by Ricardo Montalban.

Chicano!: History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement E184.M5 C43 1996

National Latino Communications Center : Distributed by NLCC Educational Media, c1996. 4 videocassettes (228 min.). Land, labor, educational reform, and political empowerment are the four themes of this documentary regarding the Mexican American civil rights movement from 1965 to 1975.

v.1. Quest for a Homeland

v. 2. The Struggle in the Fields.

v. 3. Taking back the Schools.

v. 4. Fighting for Political Power.

Chile: Obstinate Memory F3100 .C475 1997

58 minutes. Patricio Guzmán returns to Chile with a print of The Battle of Chile [see above], his landmark documentary about the Allende years and the bloody coup de'etat of September 11, 1973, and screens it for the first time in Chile. Chileans who experienced the coup first-hand reminisce as they watch the film; and young people react intensely with an unquenchable thirst for truth about the past.

Chulas Fronteras F395.M5 C48 1980

Brazos Films. Features the music and culture of Mexican-Americans living in southern Texas, showing food preparation, family life, dances, fieldwork, and other social activities.

The City and the Dogs PN1995.91.S6 C48 1985

Directed by Francisco J. Lomardi Pery, 1985, 135 minutes. A terrific film adaptation of the great South American novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, the film presents the powerful story of a young man's upbringing in the military academy, and eventual disillusionment with the military structures, the power they represent, and the system which they enforce. In Spanish, English subtitles.

La Ciudad y los Perros

[See The City and the Dogs above]

Coffee: the Gold of the Future HD9199.C7 C64 1985

Icarus Films, 1985, 52 minutes, largely Spanish dialogue with English subtitles, English narration. Discusses the coffee trade, primarily in Colombia.

Columbus and the Age of Discovery E111 .C7742 1991

Thomas Friedman for BBC, 1991. The series honors the 500^th anniversary of Columbus' arrival on the shores of the Western Hemisphere.

v.1. Columbus' World: An Idea Takes Shape. 120 minutes.

v.2. The Crossings: Worlds Found and Lost. 120 minutes. Full-scale, working replicas of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria follow the route of Columbus' first transatlantic crossing, while excerpts from his logs and journal evoke fifteenth-century shipboard life. Program begins with Columbus' landfall at San Salvadore.

v.3. The Sword and the Cross: the Columbian Exchange. 120 minutes. The Americas evolved from the new blend of peoples, motives, diseases and attitudes brought by Columbus and those who followed him. Here is a look into the motivations and actions of the Conquistadors and the church, and the effect on the indigenous population.

v.4. In Search of Columbus (60 minutes). Although he had helped define it, Columbus would never know the modern world. The program follows the path of the admiral's fourth and final voyage and explores perceptions of Columbus by different nations and cultures on the eve of the Quincentenary.

Columbus Didn't Discover Us E112 .C65 1992

Turning Tide Productions. Indians from North, Central, and South America speak of the impact the Columbus legacy has had on the lives of indigenous people.

The Comrade: The Life of Luis Carlos Prestes HX193.8.P7 C6 1997

Film by Toni Venturi about one of the most persecuted figures in 20^th Century Latin American history. Prestes was the leader of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) for over 35 years and the film covers seventy years of Brazil's chaotic contemporary history, of which Prestes was one of the principal protagonists.

Crossing Borders: The Journey of Carlos Fuentes PQ7297.F793 Z62 1990

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 199?, 58 minutes. This sly irreverent, affectionate portrait of Mexico's foremost novelist probes beneath the surreal surface of his work to expose the roots of his fiction and its place in the world of literature. Included are interviews with William Styron and other writer-friends and scenes from Fuentes Old Gringo with Jane Fonda and Gregory Peck.

Cuba Va The Challenge of the Next Generation F1788 .C8266 1993

Considers Cuba's future from the perspective of Cuban youth. Young people born after the 1959 Revolution discuss the challenge of Cuba's economic crisis in the nineties. Socialist and dissidents debate the merits of socialism vs. capitalism, the need for change, internal difficulties, and international politics. Documentary style interweaves interviews and spontaneous debateds with rarely seen views of Cuban youth culture.

Danzante: the Living Tradition AV 4027

Miguel Grunstein and Dale Kruzic. Three men and two women in norther New Mexico constitute the dance troupe Danza Azteca de Anahuac which preserves the ancient cultural traditions of Mexico. The dancers describe the meaning of the rituals and beliefs they depict in performance, share their feelings as artists, and talk about the influence of this cultural history on their daily lives.

De eso no se habla (I don't want to talk about it) PN1995.91.S6 D4 1995

Columbia TriStar Home Video, [1995] 1 videocassette (approx. 102 min.). A sophisticated world traveller (Mastroianni) retires to a small town and is drawn to a much younger woman (Podesta). The smartest, most talented woman in town, she is in many ways a perfect match for him. But, because she is a dwarf, she has been sheltered by her overprotective mother from the realities of life.

Decade of Destruction SD418.3.A53 D4 1990

Adrian Crowell, 1990, 55 minutes each. The saga of the Amazon rainforest.

v. 1 & v. 2. In the Ashes of the Forest The first film follows the saga of two settlers and a rarely seen and never previoiusly photographed Indian tribe, the Uru Eu Wau Wau.

v. 3 Killing for Land Killing for Land Almost half of Brazil's huge area of arable land is owned by one percent of the population. In the past two decades, nearly 24 million small farmers have lost their land. Millions have migrated to the Amazon as homesteaders, and moved into massive ranches carved out of the rain forest by large companies with the aid of tax exemptions and government loans given during the period of military government. Violence erupts when squatters, like Oiti, begin to work the land and the absentee landowners hire gunmen to frighten them off. The film documents the violence against ranchers, and the murders of settlers by hired gunmen. An interview with the region's most notorious gunman reputed to have killed 300 people shows there is precious little law and order on the frontier.

v. 4 Mountains of Gold Brazil has one of the world's largest untapped gold reserves which the government has licensed to huge companies. But, roughly 70 percent of its production is mined by freelance prospectors, or garimpeiros, who pan and dredge gold all over the forest.

v. 5 The Killing of Chico Mendes The series concludes with the story of Chico Mendes whose brutal murder on December 22, 1988, provoked international protest and brought worldwide attention to the problem of Amazonian deforestation. The film follows his rise to prominence as the leader of the rubbertappers, or seringueiros. The seringueiros have lived in the rainforest for over 100 years subsisting by tapping native rubber, collecting Brazil nuts, and other ecologically sustainable activities. Seeing their way of life threatened, Mendes led the seringueiros's union in the fight to halt the devastation of the rainforest and to create protected areas to be managed by local seringueiros communities. As a result of Chico's activism locally, nationally, and internationally, twelve extractive reserves totaling more than 5 million acres in five Amazonian states are being created in the most promising development to have come out of Amazonia during the 1980s.

Desde Venezuela a la Patagonia F2308 .D4 1985

Houghton Mifflin Company, 60 minutes, in Spanish.

1. Venezolanos
2. Commercials
3. Expedition to Patagonia

Deus e o diabo na terra do sol

[See Black God, White Devil]

El día que me quieras (The day you'll love me) F2849.22.G85 D4 1997

New York : First Run/Icarus Films, 1997, 1 videocassette (30 min.). Investigating death and the power of photography, this film is a meditation on the last picture taken of Che Guevara, as he lay dead on a table, surrounded by his captors. The photograph, taken by Freddy Alborta in 1967, has been compared to Mantegna's Dead Christ and Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Professor Tulp. The film, a montage of Alborta's memories of that day, his photographs and rare newsreel footage of the event, is an attempt to deconstruct the myth of Guevera.

Don Segundo Sombra PN1995.91.S6 D6 1987

Directed by Ricardo Guiraldes, 1969, 110 minutes, in Spanish, English subtitles, Argentina. Based on Guiraldes' novel of the same name, Don Segundo Sombra narrates the story of Fabio Cáceres as he grows into adulthood. Don Segundo Sombra, an old "gaucho," is his mentor and model. He teaches him moral and human values through is behavior, his stories, and his example. Considered the foremost example of "gaucho" literature in prose, Don Segundo Sombra is Guiraldes' (1926) major novel. In it, he creates an almost ideal and mythical portrait of the man from the "pampas," brilliantly depicting his anarchical sense of individuality and the charm of his errant life.

Doña Bárbara PN1995.91.S6 D63 1987

Directed by Romulo Gallegos, 1987, 138 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles, in black and white. Based on the novel by Gallegos (1929), Doña Bárbara reflects the conflict between civilization and barbarism. The novel has been translated into various languages and read throughout the world.

Doña Herlinda y su hijo (Doña Herlinda and her son) PN1995.91.S6 D64 1986

New York, N.Y. : Cinevista Video, c1986,1 videocassette (100 min.). Set in Guadalajara, Mexico, the story of a mother who organizes her gay son's life by arranging a marriage for him, then having the new wife, their new baby, and his gay lover all move into her home.

Epopeya de la Revolucion Mexicana F1234 .E65 1987

Videovisa, 1987, 60 minutes, narrated in Spanish, B&W/color. This tape uses original footage in showing a picture of the Mexican Revolution. It comes with a book and audio tape of 15 songs that capture the spirit of the revolution. The 40-page book takes the viewer on an event-by-event account of the years 1900-1923.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara: le journal de Bolivie F2849.22.G85 E7 1998

Richard Dindo, originally produced as a motion picture in 1994, in English dubbed from French. Documentary based on Guevara's diary of his futile 11-month attempt to spark a revolution in Bolivia in 1967.

Espejo de escritores PQ7081.3 .E86 1992

Hanover, NH : Ediciones del Norte, [1992?] Description: 11 videocassettes (660 min.), Spanish dialogue. Interviews.

v. 3 Julio Cortazar

v. 7 Manuel Puig

v. 10 Luisa Valenzuela

v. 11 Mario Vargas Llosa

Evita the Story of Eva Peron F2849.P37 E94 1996

Simitar Entertainment, 1996, 1 videocassette (ca. 57 min.). This life of Eva Peron is interwoven with interviews with Madonna, who portrays her in the musical film of Argentina's president and his wife.

Far Away and Long Ago (Alla Lejos y Hace Tiempo) PN1995.91.S6 A45 1988

Directed by Manuel Antin, 1974, 36 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. A poetic rendering of the autobiographical novel by Guillermo Hudson. Images of the mystery of the Argentinian pampa, its gauchos, witchcraft, and women, perturbing memories that nurtured the writer's childhood.

Fresa y Chocolate PN1995.91.S6 F74 1995

Miramax Home Entertainment, [1995],1 videocassette, release of the 1994 motion picture produced by the Cuban Institute of the Arts and Film Industry, (104 min.). A young college kid meets a writer and a passionate woman who teach him the things that aren't taught in school.

Frescoes of Diego Rivera ND259.R5 F74 1986

Michael Camerini, Inc.,/Francis Thompson, Inc., 1989, 35 minutes. Explores the great beauty and political expression in Rivera's most extensive body of work, examining the artist and his techniques, using archival footage filmed during his work on murals created for the Ford Motor Company, and location footage of his most recognized efforts. In addition, the film explores the man and his politics, creating a complex and fascinating portrait of one of the geniuses of the twentieth century.

Frida Kahlo (1910-1954) ND259.K33 F75 1983

[Chicago, IL] : Home Vision, c1983, 1 videocassette (62 min.). Profiles Frida Kahlo's work, her interest in politics and her tempestuous relationship with husband Diego Rivera, leader of the Mexican muralist movement.

Gabriel García Márquez: Magic and Reality PQ8180.17.A73 Z6737 1981

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 198?, 60 minutes. This major film delves into the world of García Márquez, Nobel laureate and enfant terrible, where historical riots and levitating grandmothers appear to be equally real (or unreal). The life of the author is the material of his work; the images of the man, the resonance of his voice, and the texts of his books provide an intuitive as well as an intellectual key to the magic of Latin American reality.

The Garcia Marquez Collection [being processed by library]

The Global Assembly Line T49.5 .G56 1986

Directed by Lorraine Gray, 1986, 58 minutes. A documentary filmed in electronics and garment factories, homes, and communities of the United States, Mexico's northern border, and the Philippines. The program follows, with detail and intimacy, the lives of working women and men in the "free trade zones" of developing countries, as manufacturing industries close their labor-intensive operations in the United States to search the globe for lower-wage workforces.

La Guerra del cerdo (Diary of the war of pigs) PN1995.91.S6 G84 1988

Los Angeles, Calif. : Condor Video; distributed by Media Home Entertainment, Inc., c1988, 1 videocassette (ca. 90 min.). The generation gap is taken to the extreme by a group of young people who decide to exterminate all senior citizens.

Harvest of Shame PN4874.M89 G6 1993 v.4

From Good night and good luck: the Edward R. Murrow television collection [New York?], CBS Video, Beverly Hills, CA., Fox Video, c1993, 55 minutes.

La Historia Oficial

[See The Official Story]

Hungry for Profit HD1417 .H85 1984

Robert Richter, 86 minutes. A documentary showing how agribusiness has created large, mechanized plantations out of small, peasant farms which grow profitable export crops despite local food needs. Tells how this situation actually increases the amount of hunger for some the Third World.

IA-- Kuba: I am Cuba PN1995.91.S6 I2 1995

NY, NY : Milestone Film & Video, 1995, 1 videocassette (141 min.). Four main stories show the rise of the Communist revolution in Cuba, including Battista's Havana and the grinding poverty and oppression of the Cuban people. Dialogue in Spanish and Russian, subtitles in English. Originally released as a motion picture in 1964, a joint production of Mosfilm (USSR) and ICAIC (Cuba).

The Inner Life of J.L. Borges PQ7797.B635 Z735 1980

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 198?, 28 minutes. A sensitive portrait of this brilliant, self-effacing writer whose work combines the competing influences of a grandmother who was English and disdained Latin America and grandfather who died a hero in the Argentinian war for independence. Borges explains his literary heroes and enables us to understand the balance between his blindness and his vividly pictorial and surreal imagination.

Invisible Indians: Mixtec Farmworkers in California F1221.M7 I58 1993

Information Technology, UC Davis, 1993, 35 minutes. This presentation examines the distinct culture of Mixtec Indians from Oaxaca, Mexico, who started to migrate to California in the early 1970s to work in the produce fields. This program focuses on the special skills and values that these people bring to California agriculture jobs and their continuing connection to their communities in Mexico. Also examined are their living conditions in California.

Jorge Luis Borges: Borges and I PQ7797 .B635 Z74 1983

Home Vision, 1983, 76 minutes. Explores the life and works of Jorge Luis Borges.

Julio Cortazar, entrevista PQ7797 .C7145 Z715 1980

Films for the Humanities, 1980, in Spanish. The Argentinian exile author discusses his sources, inspirations, and forms.

The Kayapo: Out of the Forest F2520.1.C45 K3 1991

1991, 52 minutes. Documents the opposition of the Kayapo Indians of central Brazil to the construction of a hydroelectric dam at Altamira. Includes the demonstration by 600 Kayapo against the proposed dam and their success in stopping it construction.

Legacy: Central America: The Burden of Time CB311 .L34 1991 v. 5

Amrose Video, 1991, 57 minutes, from the series Legacy. Isolated from the rest of the world, the Aztecs, Maya and Inca created sophisticated civilizations that in many ways paralleled ancient Mediterranean empires. God-like kings and a noble ruling class dominated splendid cities of temples and pyramids. Extensive trade was practiced between cities. The arrival of the conquistadores caused near obliteration of their culture, but parts of it survive today in the mountains of Central America.

The Legacy of the Incas F3429 .L45 1990

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 199?, 43 minutes. The far-flunge empire of the Incas has left a vast legacy, from artifacts and mummies from before the Conquistadors, to ruins and building foundations of mighty Inca constructions, to modern inhabitants of the altiplano who look, dress, work the same fields, use the same tools and speak the same language as their first Inca antecedents. Viewers go from a laboratory where a mummy is X-rayed, through a number of the impressive sites in Cuzco and its neighboring areas. Explained are the growth and political struggles of the Incan empire as well as religious beliefs. The extraordinary efficacy and efficiency of their system of terracing and agriculture are demonstrated.

La Ley de Herodes PN1995.91.S6 L39 2000

Directed by Luis Estrada, 2000, 123 minutes. In a little town in the Mexican desert, a janitor turned Mayor gradually realizes how far corruption and his newly acquired power can get him.

Los de Abajo PN1995.91.S6 L6 1987

Directed by Servando Gonzales, 1987, 124 minutes. Based on the novel by Mariano Azuela, this is the most violent, passionate and brutal chronicle of the Mexico Revolution.

Lost Kingdoms of the Mayas F1435 .L67 1993

National Geographic Society, 1993, 60 minutes. An exploration of the forests of Central America and Mexico on the trail of the ancient Maya. Distinguished scientists unearth artifacts, reconstruct cities and decipher the hieroglyphics of an extraordinary civilization.

Lucia PN1995.91.S6 L8 1980

Center for Cuban Studies, 1969, 160 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles, B/W. This feature is structured in three parts, each centering on a woman in a different era of modern Cuban history: an aristocratic spinster involved in a passionate romance with a treacherous stranger during the Spanish occupation in 1895, a bourgeois girl who leaves her family to take up with an anti-Machado terrorist during the uprisings of 1933, and a strong-willed young peasant woman locked up by her foolish husband in post-revolutionary Cuba of the 1960s.

Macario PN1995.91.S6 M23 1989

Directed by Roberto Gavaldon, 1960, 91 minutes, B&W. A poetic fable based on a story by the mysterious writer B. Traven (The Secret of the Sierra Madre). The film conveys the pain of poverty and deprivation while conjuring a fairy tale atmosphere of the fantastic. It uses folkloric elements with great sophistication to create a work expressive both of national myth and personal obsession.

Marcelino pan y vino PN1995.91 .S6 M24 1989

Vanguard Video, 1989, 89 minutes. Marcelino is an orphan who grows up in a monastery. One day when he eats his small meal in a room full of old things he gives a piece of his bread to an old wooden Jesus figure - and indeed it takes the bread and eats it. Getting a wish granted for his donation, Marcelino wishes to see his mother.

Mayordomía: Ritual, Gender, and Cultural Identity in a Zapotec Community F1221.Z3 M29 1991

[Austin : University of Texas Press, distributor], c1991, 1 videocassette (20:18 min.). Uses the Mayordomia, an annual religious festival, to study the life styles and culture in a southern Mexican Zapotec town.

Mécaniques célestes (Celestial clockwork) PN1995.91.F7 M285 1997

Evergreen Entertainment, [1997], 1 videocassette (VHS) (83 min.). A beautiful young woman abruptly leaves her life in Venezuela for Paris, to pursue her long-lived dream to be a singer. Along the way she encounters an eclectic assortment of bizarre characters including a gay clairvoyant, an eccentric psychoanalyst, a Puerto Rican witch doctor and a jealous roommate determined to bring her down. But Ana is determined to get what she wants, no matter what it takes.

Media War in El Salvador HE8700.76.S2 M4 1989

First Run/Icarus Films, p1989, 1 videocassette (24 min.). Examines the use and influence of the media during elections in El Salvador.

Memorias de subdesarrollo

[See Memories of Underdevelopment]

Memorias de un Mexicano F1234 .M23 1985

Madera Cinevideo, 1985, 45 minutes, narrated in Spanish, B&W. This documentary uses only original films of actual events. It is considered one of the first films to be produced in Mexico. We see the key events and figures of the Mexican Revolution from 1904 to 1924. They are described by the pioneer filmmaker Salvador Toscano. This film captures the flavor and reality of war-torn Mexico during one of the most important revolutions in Latin American history. Memorias presents the political and military upheaval that shaped present-day Mexico, using exclusive, authentic footage. It also depicts women's role in Mexico during that period.

Memories of Underdevelopment PN1995.91.S6 M35 1971

Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea, 1968, 97 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. A breakthrough Cuban film, the first Cuban film to be released in the U.S. Set in the 1960s, the film centers on a Europeanized Cuban intellectual, too idealistic (or lazy) to leave for Miami, but too decadent to fit into the new Cuban society. The film is a remarkable demonstration that artistic subtlety, political commitment, and superior entertainment need not be incompatible.

Mexicans: through their eyes F1216.5 .M39 1992

National Geographic Society, 1992, 59 minutes. A program focusing on the vitality and spirit of Mexico through the eyes and voices of its people.

Miles from the Border F870.M5 M45 1987

Center for Visual Anthropology at the Dept. of Anthropology in collaboration with the School of Cinema-Television, University of Southern California, 15 minutes.

Miss Mary PN1995.9.D7 M38 1987

New World Video, 1987, 100 minutes (1986 motion picture). Set in Bueno Aires, this is the story of a cultured English governess whose display of compassion disrupts the tradition-bound existence of the wealthy household in which she works. Julie Christie.

Missing PN1995.9.D7 M4 1988

Directed by Costa-Gavras, 1988, 122 minutes (1982 motion picture). Based on an actual event, the story involves the search by the wife and father of a young American who has disappeared during a South American coup. Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek.

Nueba Yol PN1995.91.S6 N8 1996

Kit Parker Films, c1996, 1 videocassette (VHS) (102 min.) + short film (10 minutes). Short film is documentary on the filming of Nueba Yol

Octavio Paz: An Uncommon Poet PQ7297.P285 Z87 1988

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 1988, 29 minutes. Paz, dean of Latin American writers and intellectuals, reveals his thoughts on poets, poetry, and language, discusses his career as a political observer and activist, and draws sharp distinctions between politics and poetry (and between politicians and poets).

Odyssey: The Incas F3429 .I53 1988

Public Broadcasting Associates, 1988, 58 minutes. In just 100 years, the Incas created an empire that stretched over some of the world's highest mountains. The Incas offers fresh understanding of this remarkable 16^th century South American civilization that had unified several cultures spread over 350,000 square miles without the benefit of written communication or the wheel.

Odyssey: Maya Lords of the Jungle F1376.M292 1988

Public Broadcasting Associates, 1988, 58 minutes. Takes you to the jungles of Central America and the majestic remains of the Mayan civilization that thrived for thousands of years. How did the Maya develop and flourish? Why did the Mayan civilization suddenly decline? To understand the ancient Mayan civilization, join with archaeologists as they study the remains of their temples and tombs, searching for the clues to their mysterious decline.

The Official Story PN1995.91.S6 H47 1986

Directed by Luis Puenzo, 1986, 112 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles. In the mid-1970s, Argentina's military dictatorship carried out a brutal campaign of torture and murder against thousands of its own citizens. Set in present-day Argentina, The Official Story follows Alicia, the sheltered wife of a wealthy businessman, who finds herself face to face with a legacy of terror as she begins to discover that her own daughter, adopted at birth, may have been stolen from a family of "los desaparecidos" (the disappeared ones). The Official Story is the true account of a woman faced with the hardest choices she could make, to live a lie or risk tearing apart her own life and family.

Oriana PN1995.91.S6 O74 1997

Facets Video [distributor], c1997, 1 videocassette (88 min.), Spanish dialogue, English subtitles. A young woman prepares to inventory the belongings left to her by her aunt, but the visit back to the hacienda reawakens her memories of family secrets.

The Panama deception E183.8 .P2 P25 1993

Rhino Home Video, 1993, 91 minutes. Offers a view of the invasion of Panama that was not given by the American media. Presents evidence of mass burials of civilian casualties and internment of homeless civilians which was concealed by the U.S. military or went unreported. Also claims to reveal Pres. Bush's "secret agenda" behind the invasion: to keep U.S. military bases in Panama after the year 2000 in defiance of canal treaties.

Pixote PN1995.91.P65 .P4 1997

Directed by Hector Babenco, New Yorker Films, 1997, 127 minutes. A realistic dramatization of the brutal underworld inhabited by Brazil's unwanted children, based on the novel Infancia dos mortos by Jose Louzeiro.

A Place Called Chiapas [being processed by library]

Nettie Wild (Canada), 1998, 93 minutes. Eight months inside the Zapatista uprising.

Popol vuh: sacred book of the Quiché Maya F1465 .P839 1988

Berkeley, CA : University of California Extension Media Center, c1988, 1 videocassette (62 min.). Portrays the creation myth of the Quiché Maya of ancient Guatemala. Gives life to the mystic history and art of the Maya, using animated drawings taken directly from classic Maya pottery.

Raiz de Chile: Mapuche/Aymara (Chile's Roots: Mapuche/Aymara) F2230.2.A9 R23 1991

TEC Producciones, 1992, 50 minutes. Film explores the cultural identities of Chile's two major native ethnic groups, the Aymara of the north and the Mapuche in the south.

Secrets of lost empires TA636 .S4 1992

WGBH/Boston Science Unit; BBC-TV, 1992-1997. Teams of experts visit five archeological sites to determine how, with limited technology, ancient people were able to construct engineering wonders. Teams test hypotheses in constructing pyramids, obelisks, a canopy over the Colosseum, Stonehenge, and Incan cities.

The Sixth Sun: Mayan Uprising in Chiapas F1256 .S49 1996

A film by Saul Landau, a presentation of the Independent Television Service, Meridian Productions, 56 minutes. An examination of the events during and following the peasant uprising in Chiapas in 1994.

Spirits of the Jaguar F1434 .S64 1997

A co-production of Thirteen/WNET and BBC-TV. Using wildlife footage, dramatic recreations and computer simulation, this four-part series explores the great civilizations of the Aztecs, the Maya and the Taino, which dominated the Caribbean and Central America for centuries before disappearing totally.

v. 2 Forests of the Maya (60 minutes)

v. 4 The Fifth World of the Aztecs (60 minutes)

Tango! GV1796.T3 T35 1987

VIEW Video, 1987, 57 minutes. From a 1983 stage production by the Ballet of the Grand Theatre of Geneva, conceived and choreographed by Oscar Araiz. This show highlights the social and anecdotal aspects of the tango in a series of musical dance vignettes.

Tell Them We are Not Auca We are Waorani AV 6402

Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1988, 1 videocassette (28 min.). The Waorani of Ecuador have been known by the outside world as Auca, a derogatory term from the Quichua language meaning barbarian. One of the Waorani, Geketa, tells the story of his tumultuous life in the rain forest of eastern Ecuador.

Threads of hope HQ1236.5.C5 T57 1996

Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1992, c1996, 1 videocassette (50 min.). The powerful story of a group of Chilean women who banded together in silent protest and dared to defy a dictatorship. They are the sisters, mothers and wives of Pinochet's 'disappeared' and, armed with scraps of cloth, sewing needles and the overwhelming desire to find their loved ones, they set to work telling their stories by creating arpilleras: colorful handmade tapestries that chronicled the horror and injustice of Chile's reign of terror.

Time for revenge/Tiempo de revanche PN1995.81.S6 T4 1986.

Media Home Entertainment, 1986, 112 minutes. A demolition worker at a remote copper mine rigs a dynamite accident to blackmail the corrupt company. He pretends to have been struck speechless in a shock from the blast. The ruthless bosses will do anything to break him. Federico Luppi, Haydee Padilla.

Todos Santos: the Survivors F1476.T63 T6 1989

Icarus Films, Olivia Lucia Carrescia, 1989, 58 minutes. Documents the changes wrought by guerrilla warfare and government reprisals in the Indian village of Todos Santos Cuchumatan, in the Guatemalan highlands, since the documentary Todos Santos was made in 1979.

Trinkets & Beads F3722.1.H83 T74 1996

First Run/Icarus Films, 1996, 1 videocassette (53 min.). Documents the lives of the Huaorani, a small tribe of Ecuadorian Indians who, after 20 years of pressure from foreign oil companies, agreed to allow oil-drilling on their land. Focuses on the introduction of massive environmental pollution and cultural change, and the tribe's subsequent efforts to regain control of their lives and lands.

Valdivia: America's Oldest Civilization F3721 .V25 1990

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 1990, 43 minutes. The cultures of pre-Colombian Mexico and Peru have had most of the archaeological spotlight. In this program, the focus is on Ecuador, whose civilization dates back 5000 years. The peoples of the Valdivia region traded with and appear to have influenced those to the south in Peru and Chile and to the north in Central America. Here we see the remainders and reminders of their lives: their gravesites and ceramics, corn kernels and fish hooks, buildings and village models, the growing web of their influence, the trail of cultural development across geography and history. Their culture appeared to have been obliterated, first by the Incas, then by the Spaniards; but comparison between the ancient artifacts and modern customs and lifestyles demonstrate that Valdivia's culture still flourishes.

VideOpinion F1256 .V43 1994

Mexico, 1994, 37 minutes. News footage of the January, 1994 peasant uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, and their subsequent clash with government troops.

Voices from Panama E183.8 .P2 V64 1990

International Action Center, 1990, 60 minutes. Features eyewitness testimony from leading figures in Panama denouncing the atrocities committed during the 1989 U.S. invasion. Principal opponents of the U.S. are also featured. Filmed during the mass meeting at New York City's Town Hall during the aftermath of the invasion.

Watunna F2319.2.Y4 W3 1989

The Rocky Mountain Film Center;University of California, Berkeley, 1989, 24 minutes. Animated film depicts five stories from the creation myth of the Yekuana Indians who inhabit the Venezuelan rainforest. These fascinating, highly metaphorical stories explore the genesis of evil, night, sexuality, fire, and food. The animation is hand painted with watercolors using metamorphosing designs drawn in part from ancient Yekuana art.

When the Mountains Tremble F1466.5 .W54 1983

Skylight Productions. Rigoberta Menchu, a Quiche Indian and winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize, narrates her story about the struggle of the largely Indian peasantry in Guatemala against a heritage of state and foreign oppression.

Yo, la peor de todas (I, the worst of all) PN1995.91.S6 Y6 1990

First Run Features ; First Run Features Home Video, [199-?], 1 videocassette (107 min.). This historical drama tells the story of Juana Inés de la Cruz, one of the greatest poets of the Spanish Siglo de Oro. In order to pursue her passion for writing, Juana enters the convent. There, she develops an intimate relationship with the vicereine, who inspires her poetry. But when the forces of the Inquisition invade the convent, the women have only each other to turn to.

Yo soy E184 .M5 Y6 1985

Cinema Guild, 1985, 54 minutes. Many Mexican Americans, in the fields of business, education, labor, and politics, tell and show how they have been active in today's society, responsible for dealing with some of its problems, while retaining their Chicano heritage and identity.

Yo Soy Pablo Neruda (I Am Pablo Neruda) PQ8097.N4 Z96 1980

Films for the Humanities, Inc., 198?, 28 minutes, B& W. Here is Neruda in his native habitat on the rocky shores of Isla Negra, in Santiago's flea market amid a world of enchanting objects. The film examines the subjects of his poetry: his wife, the objects that intrigue him, the people of whose daily life and heroic deeds he sang, and the lost world of Macchu Picchu.