May
22
Wed
José Martí: El Ojo del Canario @ Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston
May 22 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Country: Cuba 2009
Plots keywords: Drama | Cuban Revolution | 19 Century
Language: Español – English subtitles
Director and Writer: Fernado Pérez Vadés
Production Co: Co-producción Cuba-España; Televisión Española (TVE) / Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC) / Lusa Films S.L. / Wanda Films
Runtime: 120 min.
Cast: Daniel Romero Bildaín, Rolando Brito, Broselianda Hernández, Enrique Lázaro Piedra, Manuel Porto, Julio César Ramírez, Damián Rodríguez, Francisco López Ruiz, Eugenio Torroella
Awards: 2010 Premios Ariel: Mejor película iberoamericana (ex aequo)

José Martí: El Ojo del Canario

José Martí, entre los 9 y los 17: los únicos años en que conoció de cerca a su patria y en los que aprendió a amarla y entenderla, para hacer la magna obra que le tomó el resto de su vida. No es una biografía: es un itinerario espiritual inspirado en la infancia y adolescencia del héroe nacional cubano José Martí.

”José Martí fue un hombre de una sensibilidad muy especial que marcó la historia de Cuba, pero también fue un ser humano común, corriente, como cualquiera de nosotros. Creo que eso es lo que hace grande a los grandes hombres. Mi película se sumerge en la complejidad cotidiana que formó el carácter de Martí durante su infancia y adolescencia. La mirada será más personal que histórica, más subjetiva que biográfica. Cada cubano tiene su Martí. En este filme, yo trataré de expresar el mío.” -Fernando Pérez, Director

José Martí: The Eye of The Canary

Little is known of the childhood and youth of the great 19th-century Cuban liberator, José Martí. This robust biopic imagines his early years. The son of a magistrate, the precocious Martí — “Pepe” to family and friends — takes an early interest in justice. Gradually he enters the nascent independence movement and, not yet 18, is arrested for sedition. Respectful, yet not worshipful, this is a portrait of the revolutionary as a young man, and a stirring historical drama besides.
José Martí: The Eye of the Canary was awarded the Ariel for Best Latin American Film at the Mexican Academy Awards in 2011.
Fernando Pérez has published articles on cinema and taught courses on film appreciation and cinema history at various Cuban universities. His filmography contains over a dozen titles including Havana Suite (2003), Life is to Whistle (1998) and Madagascar (1995). He was chosen as the most outstanding Cuban film director of the 1990s by the Cuban Film Press Association.

FILM SERIES:  The History Through Cinema

Sep
25
Wed
Innocent Voices @ Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston
Sep 25 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Country: Mexico, Puerto Rico, USA 2004
Plots keywords: Drama | Civil War El Salvador
Language: Español – English subtitles
Director: Luis Mandoki
Writer: Óscar Torres, Luis Mandoki
Production Co: Coproducción México-EE UU-Puerto Rico; Lawrence Bender Productions / MUVI Films / Organización Santo Domingo / A Band Apart / Altavista Films / Santo Domingo Films
Runtime: 120 min.
Cast: Leonor Varela, Carlos Padilla, Ofelia Medina, José María Yazpick, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Paulina Gaitan
Awards: 2004: 3 Premios Ariel, incluyendo Mejor maquillaje y Coactuación femenina (Medina)

Voces Inocentes

En un pueblo de la periferia de San Salvador, vive Chava (Carlos Padilla), un niño de 11 años, que se encuentra atrapado entre el ejército y la guerrilla salvadoreña. Cuando su padre abandona a la familia, en plena guerra civil, Chava pasa a ser “el hombre de la casa”. En esta época, el gobierno de El Salvador reclutaba niños de doce años. Así que a Chava sólo le queda un año de escuela antes de ser movilizado.

Innocent Voices

A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980’s El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him.

FILM SERIES:  The History Through Cinema

Sep
27
Fri
Ismael Torres in Concert @ Institute of Hispanic Culture
Sep 27 @ 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Ismael Torres is an artist, Singer and songwriter from Rosario, Argentina. He is 32 years old and already has 3 albums, 3 EPs and 1 DVD.

He began his professional career at the age of 16, accompanying with his voice and his guitar artists of the so-called “Trova Rosarina”. At age 18 he released his first solo album “Ciudad Manantial (spring city)”. Today with more than 14 years of experience he has toured multiple cities around the country and the world. He has shared stage and songs with Argentine artists such as León Gieco, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Lito Nebbia, Javier Malosetti, and from other countries: Jaime Ross, Ruben Rada (Uruguay), Ismael Serrano, Pedro Guerra (Spain), Leonel Soto, David Aguilar , Miguel Inzunza (Mexico), Roly Berrío, Augusto Blanca, Vicente Feliú, Amaury Pérez (Cuba) among others.

In 2015, Ismael released his third album titled “Vivo en Cuba (live in Cuba)”

recorded live in the city of Havana and published worldwide by the Mexican label Casete. With this album he toured the stages of Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, USA, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Uruguay.

In 2016, a tour of Mexico and the USA included concerts such as the “Festival Quimera 2016”, the ”Aula Magna Theater of the Civil College“ in Monterrey, the ”RockWood Music Hall“ in New York and the ”Blackerby Recital Hall“ in Austin among many others.

In 2017, the consolidation of Ismael as a Latin American singer-songwriter expanded the horizons of an important tour called “Una sola América 2017 (Only one America 2017)” touring numerous cities in Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Panama and Guatemala with more than 60 concerts. The closing of the year was marked with the artistic collective “Rosario 50 years of Rock in Castellano” in a memorable concert at the prestigious “Trovafest” festival in the city of Querétaro (Mexico) with more than 5,000 people, a festival that also hosted artists like Ismael Serrano, Armando Manzanero, Pedro Guerra, Amaury Perez, among others.

We can hear Luis A. Spinetta, Fito Paez, Charly Garcia, Sting, John Mayer, and Djavan as his main influences among others.

The essence of Ismael, though, is that he presents his art and talent via the stories in which he immerses us, through the beauty reflected in his music, and by inviting us to join his collective optimism. In his shows, he presents himself with a unique style and warmth.

This character is present whether he is alone on stage with his guitar, or with a powerful band of musicians without losing his essence.