ECOS LATINOS DOCUMENTARY TELEVISION SERIES
LIST OF 30 MINUTE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
EL-1. EDITUS MUSIC TRIO is a music trio from Costa Rica, featuring violin, guitar and percussion. They combine elements of the musical styles of Jazz, New Age, Classical and traditional Latin American rhythms. They talk about their music and their recent performance in New Orleans, as well as their feelings on conservation and theindigenous peoples of Costa Rica. They have a very inspiring music video, which portrays the disappointment that indigenous people feel when seeing the destruction of the rain forest, because of modern construction. The name of the video, "Tocu," means "God" in an indigenous Costa Rican language.
EL-2. HECTOR INFANZON QUARTET: Hector Infanzon is a virtuoso jazz pianist from Mexico. He is also a composer. Both Gambit newspaper and Offbeat magazine listed Hector Infanzon's Snug Harbor performance as one of the Top Ten Music Events of 1995. He performs with Waldo Madera, drummer, Rodrigo Cardenas, bass and Armando Montiel, percussion.
EL-3. CARLOS SANCHEZ is a flamenco guitarist from Spain. He performs with his daughter, dancer, Christina Sanchez, as well as Bolivian dancer, Carolina Gutierrez. He plays solo flamenco guitar, talks about his musical background and working with his daughter.
EL-4. MAS MAMONES is a local Latin music group, led by Venezuelan singer, Manuel Lander and bassist, Andrew Wolf. They are influenced by the music of the Latin big bands of the 40's and 50's, especially that of Cuban bass player and composer, Israel "Cachao" Lopez.
EL-5. ARMANDO IBANEZ is a Mexican American poet, who was born in Alice, Texas. His poetry is a mixture of Spanish and English (Spanglish) that is common in Texas among Mexican Americans. Armando is also a Dominican priest and he performs works from his latest published work, entitled "Wrestling With the Angel."
EL-6. LUIS GALICH is a Guatemalan singer and composer. He has his music orchestrated for the sequenced synthesizer. His tenor voice is of operatic quality, but is applied to the folkloric music of Guatemala, as well as his own compositions. He is the winner of the OTI prize from Spain for his composition "La Mitad de mi Naranja."
EL-7. ORIENTE is an Afro Cuban jazz group from Miami, led by guitarist, Eddy Balzola. Their members were born in Cuba, which has distinctly influenced their style of music. They explain Cuban rhythms and music and how it influenced their original compositions.
EL-8. JULIO AND CESAR are two brothers from Guatemala. They both play guitar and sing and they are masters of Latin folkloric music. They recently won the Aqui New Orleans "Aplauso" award for their contributions to Hispanic culture in New Orleans. They are a favorite of many Latin festivals in New Orleans.
EL-9. PACO DEL PUERTO is a flamenco dancer from Spain. He comes to New Orleans each December to perform and to give classes in Flamenco at the Jasmine Dance Studio in Mid City. He has toured the world with companies from Spain and has his own studio near Cadiz, Spain. He and his dancers and musicians talk about flamenco music & dance.
EL-10. FERNANDO CASTRO PACHECO is a Mexican painter from the city of Merida in the Yucatan Peninsula. He is in his seventies and lives with his wife Blanca in Merida. One of the most interesting aspects of his painting is the fascinating color scheme of his paintings, which take on a harmony of their own apart from the subject matter. One of his favorite themes is the Mayan woman and her child.
EL-11. SAN MIGUEL ALLENDE FESTIVAL is an annual jazz festival in the city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. San Miguel is an artist's colony in the central mountain plateau,north of Mexico City. The festival was an international cultural exchange among musicians from throughout Mexico and the United States. It was also a mixture of styles of the participants from traditional to mainstream to Latin jazz.
EL-12. RUBEN GONZALEZ "MR. SALSA" was an inspiration to many young musicians in New Orleans until his death in 1994. He was the singer who brought Salsa to New Orleans in the 1960's. He explains what salsa is and performs with the Latin Jazz All Stars, as well as his own group. He was the two time winner of the Big Easy music award for best Latin musician.
EL-13. LOS SAGITARIOS is the oldest Latin American music group in New Orleans. They have been in existence for the past twenty-five years. The group was founded by the Marcia brothers, Oscar and Moises. Their sons, Giovanni and Johnny also play with the group and the other musicians expressed to us that they get a feeling of brotherhood and family from belonging to the group. The group plays dance music in the calypso, salsa merengue, punta, bolero and ballada rhythms.
EL-14. TANGO TANGO is a program featuring the performing group, Aqui Argentina and the music and dance of Argentina. There are performances by dancers Pablo and Monique, the great tango singer, Sylvia Bezi and musicians, Jorge Vernieri on piano and Miguel Arrabal on the bandoneon, which is an Argentine type of accordion. Their repertoire includes classic tangos by Astor Piazzola and Carlos Gardel and more modern tango adaptations.
EL-15. MYRA MIER is a Cuban dancer, teacher and choreographer. She is the Artistic Director of the Jefferson Ballet Theater in Kenner, La., a suburb of New Orleans. Her original choreography of the Pachelbel Canon in D is featured, as well as classical ballet pieces from the Nutcracker Ballet, the Raymunda Variations, Copellia and others, as performed by the Jefferson Ballet Theater.
EL-16. LOUISIANA LATINA ARTISTS, Luz Maria Lyles, Theresa Herrera and Haydee Dominici are presented. Luz Maria Lyles is a Honduran born painter and multi media artist, who lives in Covington, La. Her works reflect the jungle, Mayan symbols and bright colors of Central America. Theresa Herrera is a Mexican American painter who lives in Luling, La. In her works, she weaves the Mayan and Aztec symbols of her heritage into a modern context. Theresa is an art teacher to the Gifted and Talented in St. Charles parish schools. Haydee Dominici is a Cuban born sculptor and painter. Haydee teaches art for the New Orleans Recreation Dept. This program follows the progress of her creation of a live size bronze figure of Christ at the well.
EL-17. CORREO AEREO, (Air Mail) is a world music duo performing traditional music of Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina. Highly skilled musicians, Abel and Madeleine Rocha, combine silken harmonies and an unusual array of instruments(Harp,Violin,Tres,Bombo, Maracas,Guitar) with a rich mastery of traditional rhythmic patterns and song. Hailed for their original interpretations of folkloric music, Correo Aereo takes audiences on an unforgettable journey into the rich sounds of Latin America. Abel is Mestizo, born and raised in Mexico. Madeleine is of Spanish gypsy, French, Russian and Sephardic Jewish heritage, born in Texas and raised in Minnesota. "Musically, a Correo Aereo performance is like stepping through a doorway into another time and place. "
EL-18. ANCESTRO music group is a Louisiana based folkloric acoustic music group, whose members are originally from Honduras and Guatemala. The group was formed at the University of Honduras in 1990. Ancestro is dedicated to the preservation of the folk music of Latin America. Ancestro's performances feature the traditional bamboo wind instruments of the indigenous peoples of Latin America (the Inca, Maya, Aztec and Aymara.)
EL- 19 MANUEL OBREGON The television show includes footage of pianist, Manuel Obregon, performing in concert with the folkloric marimba group, Nicaragua Mia, at the Teatro Melico Salazar in San Jose, Costa Rica. After traveling to Masaya, Nicaragua, to hear a folkloric marimba festival, Mr. Obregon had the idea of forming a Central American Orchestra, with musicians and repertoire chosen from theCentral American region. He invited the nine member group, Nicaragua Mia, to come to Costa Rica to perform in a series of concerts. He combines their folkloric music with the concepts of jazz and improvisation. Other performers shown will include the Quarteto Sporadico de Jazz and Louisiana jazz harpist, Patrice Fisher, Louisiana violinist, Nancy Buchan and Louisiana drummer, John Vidacovich.
EL- 20 JAVIER JUAREZ The television program includes footage of Javier's choreography from several concerts of Javier's Dance Company. Dancer, Javier Juarez, is an alumnus of theBallet Folklorico of Mexico and the Ballet of Milton Ghio. Mr. Juarez is a talented dancer, choreographer and teacher. Upon moving to the United States, Javier opened his own dance studio, Javier's Jazz Dance Studio, in Slidell, La. He has been teaching and performing in Louisiana for the past 15 years. Mr. Juarez is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Cultural Society of International Performing Arts. Inc. Due to his outstanding achievements in the entertainment field, Javier was the recipient of the New Orleans "Big Easy" awards for "Best Ethnic Dance Production" in 1996 and "Best Choreography New Work" in 1998. Javier was honored with an "Artist Fellowship in Dance Performance" from the Louisiana Division of the Arts in 1999.
EL-21 PACO DEL PUERTO The documentary contains footage of two live performances in New Orleans, the first at Rogers Chapel of Tulane University and the second at the Contemporary Arts Center's Freeport McMoran Theater. Local dancers, Linda Upton, Solangel Calix, Joy Lee and Kristina Anderman are featured, as well as local guitarists, John Burr and Kevin Coleman. The tv documentary also shows video footage shot in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. There are performances by Paco's professional flamenco dance company in Spain and his flamenco dance school, as well as general footage of Carnival in Cadiz, Spain. There are interviews with Paco del Puerto, his musicians and dancers and other Spanish musicians and artists. Paco del Puerto is an intense and passionate performer whose innovative style of flamenco dancing captivates audiences. A native of Cadiz, Spain, Paco has been surrounded by Flamenco since early childhood, when he began performing at the age of five. He began his professional career at the age of nine & by his teens was performing throughout Europe, intriguing audiences with his unique style. In 1992, Paco, a choreographer, formed the Ballet del Arte Espanol, which offered local Louisiana artists a chance to study and work with him. Paco del Puerto returned to Spain to open a school of flamenco dance, but he maintains close contact with the New Orleans flamenco community and returns here to perform and teach