The Studio

Merry Christmas!

photo of Madrid, NM Christmas festival via Midori Snyder

In the spirit of the holiday, I wanted to post a link today to author Midori Snyder's blog In the Labyrinth which features a great group of photos of the light festival in the former bustling mining town (and now ghost town) Madrid, New Mexico.   Here is:

The Festival of Lights

"Being Pavarotti"

I first saw Odette Geldenhuys' film "Being Pavoratti" a few years ago on MPTV.  After having forgotten the name I searched endlessly until I found more information on it.  I would like to share the synopsis and a link to the full film, which is available at BlackPublicMedia.org .  

(From BlackPublicMedia.org)

Being Pavarotti” Dir. Odette Geldenhuys, South Africa, approx. 56 min

Elton is a boy of 13 who sings opera in Hermanus, a small seaside town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, popular with tourists for whale sightings. His love of opera music begins after his cousin gives him a tape by Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. His passion leads Elton from performing solo stints at open-air festivals to opening acts for established opera singers from nearby Cape Town. Elton Nelson Nkenke Nkanunu is black, poor and one of six children. His unemployed mother often disappears, leaving his grandmother to soldier on valiantly, fighting off despair with both hands. Elton’s quest to become an acclaimed opera singer is set against the backdrop of his life as a young teenager. He and his opera-singing friends are harassed by authorities and beaten by police, who prefer to retain foreign tourists at the expense of local black street performers. Yet his irrepressible talent and love for music bubbles up in him constantly: he belts out Italian arias in the family kitchen, accompanied sweetly and then increasingly raucously by his baby sister; he joins a choir in Zwelihle township; he and his friends sing at school assembly. He jumps at the chance to get voice-training lessons from a music professor, and then from Mthunzi.

about Odette Geldenhuys
Odette Geldenhuys grew up in a small town in South Africa and studied at the University of Cape Town. She trained as a human rights and labour lawyer and worked with the prestigious SA law firm Cheadle, Thomson & Haysom. She has worked with the United Nations and the Legal Aid Board in South Africa. Her client list included farm workers, inner-city housing tenants and workers. In 2002, she decided to follow her passion and become a full-time filmmaker. Being Pavarotti is her first film as director.

A link to the full film (streaming) is located here:

 "Being Pavarotti" by Odette Geldenhuys

Guillermo Gomez-Pena

I am currently reading Guillermo Gomez-Pena's book New World (B)order, an interesting look into art and cultural hybridization.  Here is a video by the artist entitled: "Welcome to the Third World."  

a border tale from photographer Stu Jenks

I was introduced to the work of Tucson photographer Stu Jenks by Midori Snyder.  Today I wanted to share a link to his blog, which includes a great deal of his work and writings.  Enjoy the Road to Fronteras...

  

"Crossing the Nacozari" photo by Stu Jenks

 

fire in the desert

 

We traveled back from downtown after having a few drinks with a friend and barreled down Speedway close to 2am.  In the shadow of the looming mountains, amidst the darkness - the shell of a house burned.  My first inclination was to stop and call 911; but another vehicle was parked on the gravel shoulder.  "Don't stop - you don't know if they are calling for help or if they started it," she said.  Once home we could hear the sirens approaching.  We walked into the backyard and could still see the distant glow.  The yipping and laughing of coyotes engulfed the entire area.  I could hear them to the left and right - their paws crunched against the dirt.  The pack howls were deafening.  The sirens began to get closer and became indistinguishable from the coyotes.  Once the fire trucks arrived their sirens went silent - simultaneously the cacophony of yips and howls also fell completely silent.  Only the flames remained.