12 thoughts on “Does Puerto Rico have a national cinema?”
I’m not sure
I’ll take a stab at this although I’m no expert on the cinema. I would say Puerto Rico has produced several films but that it has never had a consistent industry for different reasons. I would have to say that for me a national cinema would mean a somewhat conscious effort on the part of some major industrialist or government agency to foster filmmaking. There are both commercial and non-commercial models and a combination of the two for fostering a national cinema. I think this is one major factor in creating a national cinema. Whether Puerto Rico has this or not. I don’t know but I am inclined to think not. Most Third World countries don’t for obvious and not so obvious reasons.
Interview with Benicio del Torro in “Claridad”.
I remember reading an excellent interview with Benecio del Torro in which he talked about this same thing. It was in “Claridad”, I’ll dig around to see if I can find it.
RE: Interview with Benicio del Torro in “Claridad”.
I would like to read it. Please try to find out the date and issue. Who is Benecio del Torro? Pardon my ignorance. I just want to say that the cinema is a very useful way to access a country’s culture and history. I was really impressed by the Nuyorican Cinema program Escalona curated at the Julia de Burgos Center in El Barrio. I learned a lot about our movement from Puerto Rico to the United States. Her essay on this site is really informative–as are those film clips.
But that’s our experience here. I would like to learn more about Puerto Rican cinema from the island.
none
I’ve thought about this for quite some time, and aside from the occassional mention or stereotypical portrayal of Puerto Ricans in film, there is no Puerto Rican national cinema. And that’s a shame because one of the great aspects of art is its social commentary.
Now, this isn’t to say that absolutely no films exist regarding Puerto Ricans and their experiences….or that no films were ever directed, written, or produced by Puerto Ricans. There hasn’t been enough to raise consciousness and the proverbial eyebrows.
JBaez
National Cinema, not really…
PR does have an agency that seeks to foster the island as a location for film making not necessaily on PR subject matter.
Yes, REALLY
I would say that Puerto Rico does have a national cinema, although it is extremely problematical. For different reasons. But before getting into the reasons, let’s see what a national cinema is. A national cinema first and foremost expresses a distinct sensibility–a certain cultural perspective which includes feelings, values, ways of portraying character and ways of seeing situations, etc. This Puerto Rico definitely has. What is problematical–and this is not necessarily unique to Puerto Rico–is the lack of an infrastructure for a film industry. Filmmakers are on their own. This is changing but we’re not there yet. The government has begun to provide certain supports. But even under the most adverse conditions, people have created films: Los Peloteros, Un dia cualquiera–which is a beautiful film by the way, Maruca, Arrocho y Clemente, etc. These are early works but then there’s Linda Sara, Lo que le paso a Santiago–an academy-award nominess–La Guagua Aerea, Los Cuentos de Abelardo, Heroes de Otra Patria. Definitely, there is a respectable body of work that has been produced and they are quite fascinating.
The problem of a market flooded with American movies who have, of course, greater resources, also effects both the production and distribution (presentation) of Puerto Rican films. Puerto Rico has, in spite of the odds, produced many films, reflecting her evolving reality–including a spillover into the U.S. where a Nuyorican cinema as a parallel counterpart has also grown in fits and starts. An area of profound concern for me is preserving our film heritage and making it known.
But enough for now. I would really like to hear from people on this and any films they might have seen.
pr should have its own cinema
i think if Puerto Rico doesn’t have a national cinema, it should. i know there has been productions from the island. some have already been mentioned by judy. but i don’t think that just having made films means you have a national cinema. a ‘national cinema’ to me means having some sort of consciousness about making films. something like what the dogma group does. i believe they are swedish. it is also somewhat like what the ex-soviet union had or for that matter what cuba had in the sixties and seventies. or perhaps what mexico had in the thirties–during mexico’s golden age. what i’m getting at is that. i guess someone might ask: does the united states have a national cinema. and the answer would be yes and no. most filmmaking in the u.s. is unconscious so that’s the ‘no’ part. the yes part is that it regularly produces films that are identifiably american. how: the pacing, the formulaic structures, the stock characters,the values. if puerto rico had a national cinema, what would it look like? what would its pacing be like, its values, its stock characters?
puerto rico has the basis for a national cinema and has even gone beyond this but it needs to produce more films, regularly and its filmmakers need to follow their one star, not the fifty that hang over them–if you know what i mean.
Your guys at PRdream really makes us think!
This is another dead topic in the Forum. Like gays and like the ecology. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe people don’t really understand the questions or issues involved. I think sometimes you guys at PRdream are way ahead of the game and really make us think about things we would normally not think about. Thanks!
Television–what about Television?
If the cinema seems to be in fits and starts, perhaps the fact that there is television, with local Puerto Rican programming is a contributing factor–just as the American film presence and political economy factors in.
Posting on stereotyping of Puerto Ricans in SHAFT
This isn’t directly relevant to the discussion on Puerto Rican cinema yet I thought it was important to place it in some discussion on media. Puerto Ricans as well as other Latinos need to control their own images and tell their own stories because, as Marina Ortiz points out, even African Americans have taken to stereotyping us, in keeping with the Hollywood line. It’s reallly shameful, considering both our histories.
Samuel L. Jackson & John Singleton get the “Shaft” (An open letter to Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton). I have seen all your films and admire how you have progressed
from stereotypical African-American roles (like the crackhead” in “Jungle Fever”) to everyday people (“Rosewood” and “A Time To Kill”) and even heroic characters (“The Negotiator” and “Die Hard 3”). So it was that I went to see “Shaft” with my 16-year-old son. I liked the movie, but was horrified to see that every single Latino male character was a killer or drug dealer. I saw “good” and “bad” white and black characters, but there was not even one “good” Latino in the entire movie (the only “good” male character was a junkie snitch who got killed very quickly – in fact, the actor was really a “brother” who spoke very bad, very fake
Spanish). Shame on you, Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton! If you are going to represent us, please be fair and please get the facts straight. Number One: We’re not all drug dealers and criminals here in New York City. Just as you now wield the power to present more positive images
to your community (police officer, father, husband, etc.), so do young, impressionable Latinos like my son want to be represented in the media once in awhile. Number Two: The regional accent of many of the minor Latino characters was obviously that of west-coast Chicanos even though the film was set in New York City – which is predominantly Puerto
Rican and Dominican. Considering the roles, it’s no wonder that you couldn’t find reputable Latino actors. Jeffrey
Wright as “Peoples Hernandez” I bought, but Vanessa L. Williams as “Carmen Vasquez”? I don’t think so.
Altogether, a Disappointed Fan)
Marina Ortiz
I beg to differ
There is an extensive body of work on the island that is historically and culturally revealing and exciting. On the stateside, there is a substantial body of work–enough that it can be called a cinema, a Nuyorican Cinema. Check out the Nuyorican Cinema section on this site. I am very much interested in this subject and welcome any comments or leads or suggestions about films, directors, actors both from the island and stateside.
RE: National Cinema, not really…
Yes, this generates revenues and potentially income for the above and below the line production personnel on the island. But as a guarantee that Puerto Rican production crews are used and that Puerto Rican films are being produced, there should be provisions made in which foreign film companies shooting in Puerto Rico:
1. Guarantee that at least 1/3 of their production personnel is Puerto Rican.
2. A percentage of their budget or distribution revenue goes to a Puerto Rican Film Fund. This can be done in a very positive way with certain perks attached to it.
I’m not sure
I’ll take a stab at this although I’m no expert on the cinema. I would say Puerto Rico has produced several films but that it has never had a consistent industry for different reasons. I would have to say that for me a national cinema would mean a somewhat conscious effort on the part of some major industrialist or government agency to foster filmmaking. There are both commercial and non-commercial models and a combination of the two for fostering a national cinema. I think this is one major factor in creating a national cinema. Whether Puerto Rico has this or not. I don’t know but I am inclined to think not. Most Third World countries don’t for obvious and not so obvious reasons.
Interview with Benicio del Torro in “Claridad”.
I remember reading an excellent interview with Benecio del Torro in which he talked about this same thing. It was in “Claridad”, I’ll dig around to see if I can find it.
RE: Interview with Benicio del Torro in “Claridad”.
I would like to read it. Please try to find out the date and issue. Who is Benecio del Torro? Pardon my ignorance. I just want to say that the cinema is a very useful way to access a country’s culture and history. I was really impressed by the Nuyorican Cinema program Escalona curated at the Julia de Burgos Center in El Barrio. I learned a lot about our movement from Puerto Rico to the United States. Her essay on this site is really informative–as are those film clips.
But that’s our experience here. I would like to learn more about Puerto Rican cinema from the island.
none
I’ve thought about this for quite some time, and aside from the occassional mention or stereotypical portrayal of Puerto Ricans in film, there is no Puerto Rican national cinema. And that’s a shame because one of the great aspects of art is its social commentary.
Now, this isn’t to say that absolutely no films exist regarding Puerto Ricans and their experiences….or that no films were ever directed, written, or produced by Puerto Ricans. There hasn’t been enough to raise consciousness and the proverbial eyebrows.
JBaez
National Cinema, not really…
PR does have an agency that seeks to foster the island as a location for film making not necessaily on PR subject matter.
Yes, REALLY
I would say that Puerto Rico does have a national cinema, although it is extremely problematical. For different reasons. But before getting into the reasons, let’s see what a national cinema is. A national cinema first and foremost expresses a distinct sensibility–a certain cultural perspective which includes feelings, values, ways of portraying character and ways of seeing situations, etc. This Puerto Rico definitely has. What is problematical–and this is not necessarily unique to Puerto Rico–is the lack of an infrastructure for a film industry. Filmmakers are on their own. This is changing but we’re not there yet. The government has begun to provide certain supports. But even under the most adverse conditions, people have created films: Los Peloteros, Un dia cualquiera–which is a beautiful film by the way, Maruca, Arrocho y Clemente, etc. These are early works but then there’s Linda Sara, Lo que le paso a Santiago–an academy-award nominess–La Guagua Aerea, Los Cuentos de Abelardo, Heroes de Otra Patria. Definitely, there is a respectable body of work that has been produced and they are quite fascinating.
The problem of a market flooded with American movies who have, of course, greater resources, also effects both the production and distribution (presentation) of Puerto Rican films. Puerto Rico has, in spite of the odds, produced many films, reflecting her evolving reality–including a spillover into the U.S. where a Nuyorican cinema as a parallel counterpart has also grown in fits and starts. An area of profound concern for me is preserving our film heritage and making it known.
But enough for now. I would really like to hear from people on this and any films they might have seen.
pr should have its own cinema
i think if Puerto Rico doesn’t have a national cinema, it should. i know there has been productions from the island. some have already been mentioned by judy. but i don’t think that just having made films means you have a national cinema. a ‘national cinema’ to me means having some sort of consciousness about making films. something like what the dogma group does. i believe they are swedish. it is also somewhat like what the ex-soviet union had or for that matter what cuba had in the sixties and seventies. or perhaps what mexico had in the thirties–during mexico’s golden age. what i’m getting at is that. i guess someone might ask: does the united states have a national cinema. and the answer would be yes and no. most filmmaking in the u.s. is unconscious so that’s the ‘no’ part. the yes part is that it regularly produces films that are identifiably american. how: the pacing, the formulaic structures, the stock characters,the values. if puerto rico had a national cinema, what would it look like? what would its pacing be like, its values, its stock characters?
puerto rico has the basis for a national cinema and has even gone beyond this but it needs to produce more films, regularly and its filmmakers need to follow their one star, not the fifty that hang over them–if you know what i mean.
Your guys at PRdream really makes us think!
This is another dead topic in the Forum. Like gays and like the ecology. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe people don’t really understand the questions or issues involved. I think sometimes you guys at PRdream are way ahead of the game and really make us think about things we would normally not think about. Thanks!
Television–what about Television?
If the cinema seems to be in fits and starts, perhaps the fact that there is television, with local Puerto Rican programming is a contributing factor–just as the American film presence and political economy factors in.
Posting on stereotyping of Puerto Ricans in SHAFT
This isn’t directly relevant to the discussion on Puerto Rican cinema yet I thought it was important to place it in some discussion on media. Puerto Ricans as well as other Latinos need to control their own images and tell their own stories because, as Marina Ortiz points out, even African Americans have taken to stereotyping us, in keeping with the Hollywood line. It’s reallly shameful, considering both our histories.
Samuel L. Jackson & John Singleton get the “Shaft” (An open letter to Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton). I have seen all your films and admire how you have progressed
from stereotypical African-American roles (like the crackhead” in “Jungle Fever”) to everyday people (“Rosewood” and “A Time To Kill”) and even heroic characters (“The Negotiator” and “Die Hard 3”). So it was that I went to see “Shaft” with my 16-year-old son. I liked the movie, but was horrified to see that every single Latino male character was a killer or drug dealer. I saw “good” and “bad” white and black characters, but there was not even one “good” Latino in the entire movie (the only “good” male character was a junkie snitch who got killed very quickly – in fact, the actor was really a “brother” who spoke very bad, very fake
Spanish). Shame on you, Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton! If you are going to represent us, please be fair and please get the facts straight. Number One: We’re not all drug dealers and criminals here in New York City. Just as you now wield the power to present more positive images
to your community (police officer, father, husband, etc.), so do young, impressionable Latinos like my son want to be represented in the media once in awhile. Number Two: The regional accent of many of the minor Latino characters was obviously that of west-coast Chicanos even though the film was set in New York City – which is predominantly Puerto
Rican and Dominican. Considering the roles, it’s no wonder that you couldn’t find reputable Latino actors. Jeffrey
Wright as “Peoples Hernandez” I bought, but Vanessa L. Williams as “Carmen Vasquez”? I don’t think so.
Altogether, a Disappointed Fan)
Marina Ortiz
I beg to differ
There is an extensive body of work on the island that is historically and culturally revealing and exciting. On the stateside, there is a substantial body of work–enough that it can be called a cinema, a Nuyorican Cinema. Check out the Nuyorican Cinema section on this site. I am very much interested in this subject and welcome any comments or leads or suggestions about films, directors, actors both from the island and stateside.
RE: National Cinema, not really…
Yes, this generates revenues and potentially income for the above and below the line production personnel on the island. But as a guarantee that Puerto Rican production crews are used and that Puerto Rican films are being produced, there should be provisions made in which foreign film companies shooting in Puerto Rico:
1. Guarantee that at least 1/3 of their production personnel is Puerto Rican.
2. A percentage of their budget or distribution revenue goes to a Puerto Rican Film Fund. This can be done in a very positive way with certain perks attached to it.