Photo by Luis Hidalgo ©

Article By Dora Leticia / Photos by Luis Hidalgo, Mauricio Vergara Seguel and Heia Kato

A special thanks to the Chilean photographers whose efforts to document this catastrophe and struggle help communicate what is going on in Chile, before and after the quake.

View more works from these photographers by clicking on their names here:

• Luis Hidalgo
• Heia Kato
• Mauricio Vergara

Earthquake in Chile: Chilean Photographers Communicate Through Their Work by Dora Leticia

On February 27, 2010, at 3:34 am local time, a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck Chile.  In the wake of this devastating destruction many struggled to reach their loved ones.

It is still difficult to get through to cell phones and land based lines and after the initial reaction of the international community, media coverage (TV) has been scarce in comparison to recent natural disasters.

Photo by Luis Hidalgo ©

Photo by Luis Hidalgo ©

Chilean authorities have confirmed over 700 people dead and countless more missing.  This number is expected to climb, but, with the news that comes out, mostly over the internet, the picture painted is much grimmer than has been reported on major TV networks.

For many, the internet and social networks continues to be the only line of communication and websites like www.ustream.tv/channel/tv-de-chile make it easier to stay informed with the current situation in Chile because of it’s detailed and expansive local Chilean news coverage. 

Photos by Luis Hidalgo ©

In the day that followed the catastrophic quake, international media TV coverage dwindled and was reduced to a scrolling bar under regularly scheduled programs with sporadic updates here and there, leaving many frustrated.

How can this be when other recent natural disasters consumed local and international TV networks for weeks?

It makes one wonder – What are they waiting for?! Perhaps everyone is on hold until Chilean authorities publicly accept international help?  How long is a catastrophic event newsworthy?

Society teaches us that even if someone does not ask for help, but, could obviously use it, we don’t just stand idly by.  So, why doesn’t this apply here?

Photos by Luis Hidalgo ©

In the face of such a catastrophe, we must not forget that human beings are one race, and how we help each other as human beings, despite our place in this world, makes all the difference.

There are thousands of Chileans living outside of Chile, and as many scramble to learn about their loved ones, the details of International Aid and why Chile has taken so long to respond to the offers made from abroad leave many confused and bewildered.

Chile is a wonderful self-sustaining country and from what I personally know of Chileans, they do not want to be considered a Third World unprepared country.  Chileans are wonderful, proud and strong people.

However, considering the large task at hand and the immediate need for food, water and shelter…something seems amiss.  What is really going on?

Photos by Mauricio Vergara Seguel ©

In the end, people just want to know about their loved ones, they want to be able to care for themselves. Money is not the issue here.

As observed on UStream Live Video coverage, one Chilean woman screamed, “We have money! We want to buy food, water…”,  however, with fears that grocery stores can collapse causing further deaths, something as simple as shopping for food becomes the situation that is starting to unfold in front of us and leads to looting and other desperate acts.

In the future, social media networks and websites with live video streams may replace all major news channels as the first thing we look to when looking for current and up to date news.

Twitter and Facebook have proven to be not only social networks, but, vital communication tools.

As a matter of fact, the first news that my own family was doing okay came from a Facebook instant message that popped up on my screen as I scrambled to hear news, from anywhere, anyone.

Signs of life came through Facebook!

The epicenter of Saturday’s earthquake was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake ever recorded in the world.  This earthquake occurred on May 22, 1960, it was a magnitude 9.5 and killed 1,655 people.

Wherever you happen to be the next time an earthquake hits, be sure to take your smart phone with you – a WiFi internet signal may be your only life line.

Note: If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to submit them to info@lensethics.com.

If anyone would like to submit photographs for consideration, please email them to doraleticia@lensethics.com.

ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE (From the U.S. Geological Survey)

Magnitude: 8.8
Date-Time: Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 03:34:14 AM (at epicenter); Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones (Click Here)
Location: 35.846°S, 72.719°W
Depth: 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program
Region: OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE
Distances: 100 km (60 miles) NNW of Chillan, Chile / 105 km (65 miles) WSW of Talca, Chile / 115 km (70 miles) NNE of Concepcion, Chile / 325 km (200 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Chile
Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 7.2 km (4.5 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters: NST=255, Nph=255, Dmin=988 km, Rmss=1.12 sec, Gp= 36°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID: us2010tfan

The following series of photographs are by Heia Kato ©,  a freelance photographer located in Chile.

EARTHQUAKE SUMMARY

Tectonic Summary

“This earthquake occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. The two plates are converging at a rate of 80 mm per year. The earthquake occurred as thrust-faulting on the interface between the two plates, with the Nazca plate moving down and landward below the South American plate.

Coastal Chile has a history of very large earthquakes. Since 1973, there have been 13 events of magnitude 7.0 or greater. The February 27 shock originated about 230 km north of the source region of the magnitude 9.5 earthquake of May, 1960 – the largest earthquake worldwide in the last 200 years or more. This giant earthquake spawned a tsunami that engulfed the Pacific Ocean. An estimated 1600 lives were lost to the 1960 earthquake and tsunami in Chile, and the 1960 tsunami took another 200 lives among Japan, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Approximately 870 km to the north of the February 27 earthquake is the source region of the magnitude 8.5 earthquake of November, 1922. This great quake significantly impacted central Chile, killing several hundred people and causing severe property damage. The 1922 quake generated a 9-meter local tsunami that inundated the Chile coast near the town of Coquimbo; the tsunami also crossed the Pacific, washing away boats in Hilo harbor, Hawaii. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake of February 27, 2010 ruptured the portion of the South American subduction zone separating these two massive historical earthquakes. A large vigorous aftershock sequence can be expected from this earthquake.”

HISTORIC EARTHQUAKES IN CHILE

• 1730 07 08 – Valparasio, Chile – M 8.7
• 1835 02 20 – Concepcion, Chile – M 8.2 Fatalities 500
• 1868 08 13 – Arica, Peru (now Chile) – M 9.0 Fatalities 25,000
• 1877 05 10 – Offshore Tarapaca, Chile – M 8.3 Fatalities 34
• 1906 08 17 – Valparaiso, Chile – M 8.2 Fatalities 3,882
• 1922 11 11 – Chile-Argentina Border – M 8.5
• 1928 12 01 – Talca, Chile – M 7.6 Fatalities 225
• 1939 01 25 – Chillan, Chile – M 7.8 Fatalities 28,000
• 1943 04 06 – Illapel – Salamanca, Chile – M 8.2 Fatalities 25
• 1960 05 21 – Arauco Peninsula, Chile – M 7.9
• 1960 05 22 – Chile – M 9.5 Fatalities 1,655
• 1965 02 23 – Taltal, Chile – M 7.0 Fatalities 1
• 1965 03 28 – La Ligua, Chile – M 7.4 Fatalities 400
• 1971 07 09 – Valparaiso region, Chile – M 7.5 Fatalities 90
• 1985 03 03 – offshore Valparaiso, Chile – M 7.8 Fatalities 177
• 1998 01 30 – Near Coast of Northern Chile – M 7.1
• 2002 06 18 – Chile-Argentina Border Region – M 6.6
• 2003 06 20 – Near the Coast of Central Chile – M 6.8
• 2004 05 03 – Bio-Bio, Chile – M 6.6
• 2005 06 13 – Tarapaca, Chile – M 7.8 Fatalities 11
• 2007 11 14 – Antofagasta, Chile – M 7.7 Fatalities 2
• 2007 12 16 – Antofagasta, Chile – M 6.7
• 2008 02 04 – Tarapaca, Chile – M 6.3
• 2009 11 13 – Offshore Tarapaca, Chile – M 6.5

Email: mauriciovergara@vtr.net

Mauricio is a Chilean Freelance Photographer who documents life in Chile.  These photographs were taken in Santiago, Chile and Southern Chile before the earthquake.

Send Mauricio your comments using the comment box at the bottom of the page.

Email: haciaelinfinito@gmail.com

These photographs were taken in Santiago, Chile after the quake. Send Heia Kato your comments using the comment box at the bottom of the page.

Email: luishidalgo91@gmail.com

Luis is a Chilean Freelance Photographer.  These images were taken in Santiago, Chile after the quake.

I last spoke to Luis before he headed out to Concepcion, Chile, where he plans to photograph the events unfolding in that region.

Send Luis your comments using the comment box at the bottom of the page.

2010 Aperture Portfolio Prize Competition

From Aperture.com

“The purpose of the Aperture Portfolio Prize is to identify trends in contemporary photography and specific artists whom we can help by bringing them to a wider audience. In choosing the first-prize winner and runners-up, we are looking for work that is fresh and that hasn’t been widely seen in major publications or exhibition venues.

First prize is $2,500. The first-prize winner and runners-up are featured in Aperture’s website for approximately one year. Winners are also announced in the foundation’s e-newsletter, which reaches thousands of subscribers in the photography community.

The deadline for the summer 2010 Aperture Portfolio Prize is Wednesday, July 14, 2010, at 12:00 noon EST. All entrants will be contacted with final results by November 1, 2010. For more information, see the Guidelines and FAQs pages.”

Visit www.aperture.org for more information.  Good luck!!

“Legacy:  The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks”

Joel Meyerowitz is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world. He was born in New York in 1938. He began photographing in 1962. He is a “street photographer” in the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, although he works exclusively in color.

As an early advocate of color photography (mid-60’s), Meyerowitz was instrumental in changing the attitude toward the use of color photography from one of resistance to nearly universal acceptance. His first book, Cape Light, is considered a classic work of color photography and has sold more than 100,000 copies during its 25-year life. He is the author of 17 other books, including the newly released book by Aperture, Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks.

In 1998 he produced and directed his first film, POP, an intimate diary of a three-week road trip he made with his son, Sasha, and his father, Hy. This odyssey has as its central character an unpredictable, street-wise and witty 87 year-old with a failing memory. It is both an open-eyed look at aging and a meditation on the significance of memory.

Within a few days of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, Meyerowitz began to create an archive of the destruction and recovery at Ground Zero and the immediate neighborhood. The World Trade Center Archive consists of over 8,000 images, and was created with the sponsorship of the Museum of the City of New York, to whom a set of digital files was donated for their archives and for exhibition.

The Archive is an historic, photographic record of the immediate aftermath of the tragedy and the neighborhood as it evolved. The U.S. Department of State mounted 35 exhibitions of this work and they were shown around the globe from their inauguration by Colin Powell in Spring 2002 until 2005. Over 4 million people have seen these shows from Jerusalem to Islamabad, Rome, Paris, London, Kuwait, Moscow, Istanbul, and 200 other cities.

In addition to the traveling shows, Meyerowitz was invited to represent the United States at the 8th Venice Biennale for Architecture in 2002 with his photographs from the World Trade Center Archives. In September 2002, he exhibited 73 images – some as large as 22 feet – in lower Manhattan. The show that was exhibited in Venice is currently touring the United States.

Meyerowitz created a traveling exhibition of 117 vintage and modern prints entitled “Out of the Ordinary 1970-1980,” which premiered in 2006 at the Jeu de paume in Paris, France. It has traveled throughout Europe and been shown widely including at the Museum der Modern in Salzburg, Austria, Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Musee de la Photographie in Charloi, Belgium.

A retrospective book spanning Meyerowitz’s entire 45-year career will be published by Phaidon Press in Spring 2011 with an accompanying exhibition.

Central Park, Hallett Nature Sanctuary, autum
Copyright Joel Meyerowitz, Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery, NY

Most recently, Meyerowitz completed the ambitious project of documenting and creating an archive of New York City’s 29,000 acres of parkland. It is the first long term visual documentation of NYC parks since the 1930’s when they were photographed as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s WPA program. Adrian Benepe, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, invited Meyerowitz to produce a comprehensive database for future use by the Parks department and to share these images of the parks with communities in all 5 boroughs.

Aperture has published the book, Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City and a museum exhibition is on view at the Museum of the City of New York in Manhattan until March 2010.

Meyerowitz is a two time Guggenheim fellow, a recipient of both the NEA and NEH awards, as well as a recipient of the Deutscher Fotobuchpreis. His work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Art and many others.

Joel Meyerowitz:  Legacy (Book) – Buy the Book
Visit www.JoelMeyerowitz.com

© UNICEF Sierra Leone/2009/Davies

(Above) Fatmata Shaw, 13, is one of the beneficiaries of the UNICEF-supported Children’s Forum Network photography workshop in Sierra Leone. Children pose during the photography workshop in Sierra Leone.

By Issa Davies

In the run-up to 20 November 2009, the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF is featuring a series of stories about this landmark international agreement on the basic human rights of all children – including progress made and challenges that remain. Here is one of those stories.

KABALA, Sierra Leone, 18 November 2009 – Until a few months ago, Fatmata Shaw, 13, had never used a camera or a computer. But after training with a professional photographer, she wants to use her newfound skills to help her peers in the community.

“With the level of illiteracy in our communities, pictures can tell the story much better than words,” Fatmata said. “With my camera, I hope to be able to better advocate on issues affecting children in my community, especially child labour.”

Fatmata is an active member of the Children’s Forum Network (CFN) a group that was established to advocate for children’s rights, protection and participation in Sierra Leone. Along with 70 other young members, Fatama received basic photography training from renowned Italian photographer Luca Babini.

“I joined the CFN so that I can also contribute to the efforts of my colleagues to change the negative attitudes and behaviour of our communities towards children,” she said.

A right of all children

Through the Italian National Committee for UNICEF, Mr. Babini donated 15 digital cameras to CFN last year. He later travelled to Sierra Leone and offered training in basic photography skills to children in the network. Mr. Babini also facilitated the donation of 10 laptop computers to the CFN from a philanthropist in the United Kingdom.

The training workshops fulfilled a basic right enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the right to expression.

“Before now, I have neither touched a camera nor operated a computer,” Fatmata said. “But with this training, I have not only learned how to take good photographs but also how to upload them in the computer and do basic editing.”

And Fatmata wants to affect change by passing on her knowledge to other children – in the hope that they, in turn, will do the same.

‘This training has changed my life’

In Sierra Leone, cameras and computers are luxury for children, especially those living in rural areas. Access to the Internet is limited to the capital and provincial towns.

As a result of these trainings, UNICEF – in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs – is producing a photography booklet consisting of pictures taken by CFN members. The booklet will express the views of children on an array of social issues, such as education, child labour and early marriage.

UNICEF is also supporting a children’s radio project called ‘The Voice of Children’ and a children’s newspaper called ‘Pikin News’, or ‘Children’s News’, written exclusively by children on issues that affect their lives.

“Given the opportunity, we can also make a difference, as our skills and potentials will be further realized,” Fatmata said. “This training has changed my life.”

© UNICEF 2009

Photos Courtesy of Paola Mendoza & Gloria La Morte

About the Film

In Entre Nos, adoring mother Mariana has toted her two children from Colombia to New York City to indulge her husband’s whim. But when he abruptly abandons the family, she’ll have to rely on her own imagination and courage – and that of her remarkable kids – to survive insurmountable odds during their first summer in the United States. Disoriented in this foreign place without fifty dollars to her name, Mariana will collect cans to provide a first sense of economic stability for her family.

One Vision, Two Voices:  An Interview with Directors, Paola Mendoza & Gloria La Morte by Dora Leticia

With all of the interviews sparked by the Tribeca Film Festival World Premiere – I would like to start this interview with a slightly different approach…

Directors & Cast (left to right) Gloria La Morte, Laura Cortez, Paola Mendoza, Sebastian Villada Lopez

LE: Tell me one thing about yourselves and the film that no one knows, but, a thought that you would like to shed some light on.

Entre Nos Directors, Paola Mendoza & Gloria La Morte

GLM: We began this film 3 years ago when I had just given birth to my son Emile and being a mom was very, very new to me.  The challenge of making Entre Nos was also going to be one of the biggest challenges in my professional life.  So, for me these last three years have been a culmination of the most challenging things, on a personal level, and on a professional level, being co-director and co-editor (of Entre Nos).  It makes me that much more proud because of my son.  I think that every minute that we spent in the writing room, editing room, and on the set…means a lot more because every minute is that much more valuable.

PM: For me, I guess it would be, when Gloria and I first started writing the film.  We didn’t have any expectations as to who would be directing the film. And while we had talked about me being in the film, that was definitely at the forefront of our minds, the directing was just not something we had even talked about.  It wasn’t until the first draft of the script and we started going out to raise money, that the question started coming up. You know, who’s going to direct this movie?  We weren’t sure. My mom and I had a conversation (about the movie), you know, this is what the movie is, this is what the script is, and this is what we’re thinking about doing.  And she asked, well, who’s going to direct the movie?  I didn’t think anyone else could direct it besides me and Gloria. But, I didn’t think that I could be in the movie and direct it. And my mom said to me, “Well, you have to be in the movie. There’s no other way that someone could play the part of me unless it’s you. And if it’s not you, then you can’t make the movie.”  So, really, that was the reason that Gloria and I decided that we were going to direct the film and I also had to be in the film (playing the lead, as my mother’s character).

LE: The two of you have alot in common, but, are very different from each other – your childhood’s for example are different.  But, I think, that like many latino families there is a common core that drives us, that helps us deal with life’s struggles in unique ways. Much like it’s depicted in your film.  What would you say was the spark that ignited the fire when it came to collaborating with each other?  On what common ground did you find each other?

PM: I think the common ground on this collaboration was the idea of wanting to tell the story truthfully. You know, we always put our egos aside. We never came from the perspective of, oh, this is my idea or this is your idea. It was always about what is best for the film and that was how we worked from the very beginning, to do what was best for the film.

GLM: Yeah. And I would say that another very important element as far as common ground goes is that Paola and I did grow up in the United States. However, we have both kept a very significant connection with Colombia.  We made sure that we didn’t forget Spanish, we speak Spanish fluently. Our communication with our families in Colombia and just keeping that Colombian culture alive is very much a part of our lives here in the States.

LE: Our parents can be a strong source of inspiration, or, quite the opposite.  What do you think is the reason that some of us create beautiful unique experiences from very humble, poor and even violent beginnings and others choose a more tragic path?

PM: I believe that everyone is affected by a community, not just an individual. So, when you’re growing up, if your community is strong, whether that’s your extended family, your neighbors, or you know, just kids on your block, I think that has a large influence as to how you will be in your adult life. I also think it has to do with personalities, the type of person you are uniquely inside of you. If you are a person that sees things positively or negatively and how those things affect you. I also think that the idea of forgiveness is extremely important. For those who are able to forgive, I think they are able to move into a place in life where they can have more positive reflections related to their childhood, as opposed to those who are unable to forgive.

GLM: I think Paola is right. The ability to do something about what your future will be like is important, but, alot of people did not have a choice in what their past was as children. They may have seen violence, they may have seen poverty, alot of different things. But, some people can come to realize that, you know what, I’m an adult now, from this day forward I can make these (positive) decisions. But, sometimes, emotionally, there is just so much trauma that maybe some people aren’t able to do that. So, it can be a thing of maturity and I think of exposure. I think that when children are at an age and are exposed to another way of life, they can possibly dream of something different.  Paola directed a  documentary, Autumn’s Eyes, just as an example, of a little girl (Autumn) who is really, really a very bright young girl …(exposed to the type of trauma we are speaking of).  I think it’s really about exposing people to another way of life….that it doesn’t always have to be the way that it is now.

LE: So, you do agree that having a creative outlet, being able to express those feelings instead of repress them, when we have problems within our families, actually helps us in the healing process?

GLM: I would say absolutely.  Whether you express them (your feelings) to let’s say the parent that you may have your issues with, or, whether you express it to a friend. Those of us that can express it through art can do that as well…

PM: I mean, just as a personal example, having worked on the film with Gloria for 3 years, the writing process is what was really instrumental for me.  When you are writing a script you have to get into your character’s perspective, get into their head, try to figure out why they’re making those decisions.  So, in breaking down the character of Antonio (the father character in the film), it was really the first time in my life that I sat down and tried to truly, truly comprehend for a long period of time, the reasons as to why Antonio did what he did.  And that process took me to this place of being able to forgive my father, while I don’t agree, obviously, with what he did, I was able to understand the decisions as to why he did what he did, and in turn that allowed me to forgive him.  So, that’s a perfect example of where art can help in the healing process of trauma.

LE: It took you about two years to write the script and only 18 days to shoot the film… What were the challenges during the writing process and how did they compare to the challenges you faced during the shooting of the film and any time constraints?

PM: There were huge time constraints when we were shooting the film.  I mean, we only shot the film in 18 days, and that breaks down to basically shooting 6 takes per day. Which is near impossible. On top of the fact that 2 weeks of the film are also for children, so, we had them on set for the minimum amount of time because of child labor laws, which of course we agreed with. That was an enormous challenge. What made the film successful and allowed us to accomplish the impossible task every day was that our crew was fantastic. All the way from our DP Bradford Young, our Producers Michael Skolnik, Joseph La Morte, all the way down to Myo Campbell, Linda Pereira…they were fantastic! Everyone took ownership of this film and sacrificed and sweated blood and tears in order to make this film happen.

GLM: The fact that our vision started to shape itself well when we did start writing helped.  So, by the time we were ready to shoot, we felt really prepared with what we wanted for each scene, for each character and ultimately for the story.

I think the writing process took the time that it needed to get to where it was.  Because, when we started writing there was such a commitment on both parts. Paola is a working actor, I was a new mom and we really did not have any excuses like – I can’t write today because of this.  We really took that time because that’s the time that it needed for our research.  We got involved in researching people that collect cans on the street. So, there were a lot of elements that we needed to really, really know what that world is like because we needed to bring honesty and truth to the screen. We knew we were going to stop writing when we were ready to shoot.

PM: And, also, to add to that…because we were first time writers, writing our first script, we also allowed ourselves the pleasure of really enjoying the process and learning from the process. You know, the next script that we write, hopefully it’s for hire…hopefully, if not, maybe we won’t have the freedom that we had with this.  But, I think that what was great is that Gloria and I found it instrumental to just enjoy what we were doing.

LE: On a more personal note…Many latinos come to the U.S. as children having no say in the migration.  In retrospect,  how do you both feel about your families choices and given the chance, if the roles were reversed…Would you make the same ones?

PM: I think my life is what it was and it was a great life and I am very happy with where I am now in life and the world that I’ve traveled. Would I do it again? You know, as a mother, I would do anything to give my children the support and the opportunities.

GLM: I would have to say that every day especially because we did come to the New York area, we came to live in New Jersey and we were so exposed to New York City.  So basically, I think I would’ve done the same thing.  I am so grateful every day because we still have that connection with Colombia. I still feel that that’s part of my culture.  But, I think that being here, in this country, and being exposed to literally the whole world, has been for me one of the greatest things and the thing that has shaped my life, my self.  I thank my parents because I know they sacrificed a lot to make it in this country. So, I think that in my acknowledgment of their sacrifice is where I can say, you know – Thank you, this is exactly where I would’ve wanted to be.

LE: With the film completed and now in it’s world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival – what do you have planned for the future?  Any new projects?

GLM: For my immediate future, I will start to work on another screenplay that I’ve had in my head for a while, about a father and son relationship.  I want to continue to write and to bring things to the screen and you know, as  Paola said, it would be wonderful to work for hire, to continue to collaborate.  I think the film has personally allowed me to believe that much more in my ability, in myself.  Sometimes as a writer or an artist, you can spend your time just writing and not really taking the chance to show your work to the world. So, this experience with Entre Nos has really showed me that you really do have to take that chance.  I think that anybody who has the opportunity to see the film could walk away with so much.  So, as an artist, you can’t keep that only on paper, in your computer, you have to let it out to the world. But, yeah, I want to continue to write and edit and direct.

PM: As for me, I have an idea for a script in my mind.  I don’t know much about it, but, I do know it’s going to be a love story. Hopefully, I will be able to go to Colombia for 3 weeks, sit down, escape and write what’s in my mind.  I’m an actor so I will definitely continue to work in those areas as well and continue to direct.  My passion is just to be able to tell stories, so, if I can do that in all 3 capacities I’ll be very, very happy.

LE: So, Paola, do you consider yourself a romantic (considering the love story) ?

GLM: (giggles)

PM: A romantic? No, no, I don’t consider myself a romantic. I actually consider myself more of a realist. But, I do believe in the goodness of people. Does that make me a romantic? I don’t know. I do believe that we are innately good and I believe that part of our responsibility as individuals is to raise the consciousness of our brothers and sisters. And how I am able to do that is through my art.  So, the art that I have decided to make has that aspect of raising consciousness, make us all better.

LE: Both of you still visit Colombia to unite with your family, yes?

GLM: Yes absolutely.

PM: Oh, yes, yes, definitely.  At least, at the very least, once a year. I just talked to my aunt in Colombia last night, so, yeah.

LE: I read that Gloria makes some fantastic empanadas.

PM: Yeah, that’s Gloria. (giggles)

GLM: I come from a family of six kids and my parents always worked the double shift. My older sister, whose responsibility it would’ve been to learn to cook, has autism. So, it became my job at age 11 or 12 to basically cook for the family – the other five kids. So, yeah, I learned to cook at an early age and then I just realized the importance of tradition and food. Part of that tradition is handed down just like with music and anything else..there’s food. So…YEAH. I am very proud of my empanadas.

LE: I think that one of the reasons traditions exist, is to make peace with our past, with ourselves, to ensure our survival…and to come to terms with the vessel (life) that takes us to tomorrow.  You guys have done a great job with the film and in bringing these struggles to light.  I think Gloria is right, anyone who sees the film can learn alot. That’s what makes the film inspiring and so special.  I look forward to seeing more of your work!

Thank you both for taking the time to chat with me.  Congratulations again! I wish you both all the success with Entre Nos, other current and future projects!

PM & GLM: Thank you so much!

Additional Info:

Check out the film at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival!

Visit www.EntreNosFilm.com.

Watch the Trailer

Cast & Credits

Primary Cast: Paola Mendoza, Sebastian Villada Lopez, Laura Montana Cortez, Andres Munar, Sarita Choudhury, Anthony Chisholm
Director: Paola Mendoza, Gloria La Morte
Screenwriters: Gloria La Morte, Paola Mendoza
Producers: Joseph La Morte, Michael Skolnik
Executive Producers: Bob Alexander, Ryan Harrington
Director of Photography: Bradford Young
Editor: Gloria La Morte
Original Score: Gil Talmi

From Doctors Without Borders

“Haiti: MSF Treats More Than 1,000 Patients; Inflatable Hospital on the Way”
January 14, 2010

“Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams in Port-au-Prince are treating large numbers of people who suffered fractures, head injuries and other major trauma during and after the January 12 earthquake.” Visit the Doctors Without Borders Website to find out how to help >>>>>

You can help by spreading the word! Doctors With Borders has a Donate Button (see below) that you can embed and share with others.

Click the Donate Button to go to www.DoctorsWithoutBorders.com and find out how.

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“The Witness” Photo & Essay by Dora Leticia ©

The holidays have come and gone now, and, with them an onslaught of memories dating back to my childhood and early teens come knock some dust off the memory shutters just for kicks.

They are not memories of mistle toe and christmas carols that pay the visit.  I don’t even know that I am a Christian, not in a New Testament kind of way anyway.

They are memories that make my chest tighten just a bit.  One memory in particular is of a boy’s pale and dirty silhouette as he shivered in a December chill outside of his Texas shotgun home.

He was a lonely kid from the neighborhood, fairly new on the street.  My bedroom window faced his home, with clear view of his small front porch.

He never knew that his presence always accompanied me as I painted or tapped away on my old typewriter.

I had the habit of opening all the curtains in my bedroom when I painted – to let in the natural light. And when I did – along with the natural light came the vision of him, his defeated posture and tear stricken face framed by my bedroom window.

What more could I write or paint? What is the perfect shade of suffering and shame? Perhaps it’s brown…with a little bit of red…or maybe the color of…none.

One night, I awoke to his mother’s drunken screams.  I ran to my window and peered outside.

The mother had thrown the boy out.  Shivering in the cold, he curled up into a ball wearing nothing but his dingy white underwear. I watched him through the window and the memory of him showered by moonlight was etched in my soul forever.

It’s not a cliche or some sentimental kind of shit.  It’s real. It’s the 80’s. It’s now and long ago.

I quietly called the police to inform them of the incident.  I pulled up a chair to my window and -  in the dark – I waited for someone to rescue him.  In some dark places, where not even the media shows interest, being a silent witness becomes the norm.  Unless…

No one came to his rescue and his mother eventually told him to get his ass back in the house, knocking him in the back of the head as he scrambled past her. I didn’t call the police again. The fact that they didn’t come…in a world like this, when you cry for help, any chance of survival can come down to one night, one chance.

I am not referring to the obvious survival, food and clothes, you know, but, the one hidden beneath the attempts.  The chance that trust will thrive in this boy’s heart…trust, it’s slim to none. Unless…

Trust, this is a word that carries a whole lot of weight for us as children and as adults.  How many times has a child suffered because of abuse and rejection?

We need not look at third world countries for examples.  These examples are right outside our door if we care enough to notice.

I stared blankly at his front porch – small, dark and vacant. My stomach hurt.

I felt the burning sensation of anger spread across my face.  The knot in my throat begged me to swallow the disappointment and pain, but, the only thing that provided a bit of release and loosened the knot, were the tears that fell down my cheeks and stained my face.

He’s not the only one.  How many?

Should I have done more? I was a kid myself, but, that tightness I feel inside my chest every time I think of him tells me no.  I helped the only way I knew how – by witnessing – just in case things got really bad.

When you are a kid yourself, in situations like this,  you think – if things get bad enough…someone will notice, right?  Wrong.

This reality soon sinks in and you get lost in the shuffle if you allow yourself to become a statistic.  What good are statistics? They are nothing but a way to categorize the pain and pretend we are making a difference. Unless…

What would I have done? Back in the 80’s, nobody really gave a damn about a barrio kid with a drunken mother.

Help rarely went beyond the charitable goods you might collect at your local neighborhood mission center. But, what good does a can of cream corn and a box of Frosted Minnie Wheats do when the violence begins and you are left outside?  An outsider…

Barrio kids might go a bit hungry, but, starvation is not the real threat – it’s violence and lack of love and support that debilitates and strangles this strange and lonely breed.

You can’t swim where there is no water and the neighborhood pool a few miles away wreaks of urine.

On Christmas morning that year, I bought some junk food and raided our cupboards for anything I thought he could eat without much preparation: Hostess cupcakes (gotta have the Hostess), carton juice boxes, canned vienna sausages and some cheap toy. I placed the items in a box, wrapped it and placed a big damn bow on top.

I didn’t want him to be embarrassed by my gesture, so I waited until he left home.  It’s enough to feel the sting of shame that comes with poverty, but, worse, to have someone rub your nose in it.  To me, he wasn’t poor, he was just dealt a shitty hand when it comes to the mother card.

The boy finally came outside when a neighborhood kid came over to show off his Christmas gift – a shiny toy gun, how surprising.

“What did you get?”, the boy asked him. “Nothing…” he said as he kicked the ground lightly.  They chatted for a bit and went for a walk.

He always wore those old brown pants, high-waters actually…with no socks.  He was a dancer to me.  A dancer in an unknown ballet spinning in a slow and painful way, his feet sore and hungry for a nice cotton blend.

Once I saw them disappear around the corner, I dragged my gift to his porch, placed a note on top and went back home to paint.

A short time passed and he returned with his friend to find my gift.  His friend excited, begged him to open it.  “Who is it from? Who gave it to you? Man, open it!”

My simple note read “Merry Christmas” (with no From: or To: attached).  The boy refused to open the gift outside. He asked the boy to help him take it inside before his mother got home.

That day at dusk, I went to my window and there he was, barefoot, wearing his old brown pants and a flimsy t-shirt. He slowly savored his Hostess cupcake and sipped from a juice box, tracing the edge of the porch step with his toe. A lock of his dark, unwashed hair lay on his forehead.  I could taste the white creamy filling inside the cupcake as he ate.  I could feel the numbness in his cold red feet.

Things don’t make sense some times. Not a drunk that abuses her kid. Not the men that enter her revolving door without much as a glance at her unkempt son.

Not much…not much…unless…

I don’t know where he is. I think his name was David. But, I can’t say for sure.

Did he make it? Does he have children? Does he abuse them?

Somehow I think he wouldn’t, even though they say the cycle repeats itself more often than not.  But, then again, who said so? The people who never came that cold December night? People much too far from the reality of these situations to really know the depths of innocent dispair?

He seemed so frail and lost…

In addition to the junk food and the cheap toy I put in that cardboard box so many years ago, I would like to send him this…it’s just a couple of photographs…and a message…

He should know, that at the exact moment I captured the image of the boy…I thought of him. And I think of him every year come December.  He is more than a memory, he was and is real.

He should know, he wasn’t alone.