Why Reinaldo Arenas Still Matters for Cuba’s LGBT Community
On Dec. 7, 1990, the Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, suffering from advanced AIDS, ended his life after a decade spent in exile in the United States. Arenas had become a vocal opponent of the Cuban government and, in his suicide note, personally blamed Fidel Castro for the poverty and displacement that defined much of his … Read more
Cómo un director de teatro venezolano conquistó Broadway
Read in English Una tarde de septiembre pasado, sentado en un taxi en los alrededores del centro de Manhattan, Moisés Kaufman recibió una llamada en la que le avisaban que había sido seleccionado para recibir la Medalla Nacional de las Artes, la máxima distinción artística de los Estados Unidos. “Lo primero que dije fue: ‘¿estás … Read more
How a Venezuelan Playwright Conquered Broadway
Leer en español One evening in September, while sitting in a cab in midtown Manhattan, Moisés Kaufman got a phone call telling him he’d been selected to receive the National Medal of Arts, the U.S.’ government’s highest artistic honor. “The first thing I said was ‘Are you sure you got the right number?’” Kaufman told AQ … Read more
Understanding Indigenous Identity through Film
Anthropology and film have cohabited since the early days of cinema. The blending of artful narrative with scientifically grounded ethnography was pioneered as a genre – dubbed “ethnofiction” – by Jean Rouch, one of the foremost documentary filmmakers of the 20th century. Rouch’s films focused on social life and rituals in Niger and Mali and, … Read more
Why a Quechua Novelist Doesn’t Want His Work Translated
On the 79th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Walt Whitman published his first edition of Leaves of Grass. That such quintessentially American poetry would be published on a day commemorating the country’s birth suggests both homage and irony — perhaps intentional. But when Pablo Landeo Muñoz published his novel Aqupampa (Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos) on … Read more
Argentina’s Tonolec Experiments With Tradition
When Charo Bogarín and Diego Pérez formed the electronica duo that would become Tonolec in 2000, the music they created had little to do with the cultural heritage of their native Argentina. But when the worst economic crisis in the country’s history hit the following year, that began to change. On a self-described mission to … Read more
Indigenous Imagery in the Art of Mariana Castillo Deball
In the late 1970s, the makers of an American antipsychotic drug called Stelazine were looking for a way to market their product to consumers in magazines and medical journals. The campaign they settled on featured indigenous masks and headdresses from Africa and Canada alongside slogans like, “Lift the mask of schizophrenic withdrawal.” For a version … Read more
10 Things to Do: Buenos Aires
Argentina’s capital, synonymous with steak and tango, has been a tourist hotspot for more than a decade. But there is another city just off the beaten path — and it’s the combination of Buenos Aires’ thriving art scene, legendary nightlife, and friendly locals that keeps visitors coming back. 1. Sip on reds and whites. Visit local wine … Read more
Film Review: Tempest
“We know you haven’t done anything, but someone has to pay,” Miriam Carbajal recalls hearing from a court-appointed attorney before being put in jail. What started as a normal day at work turns into a five-month nightmare for Carbajal, one of the central characters in Tempest, an emotionally charged Mexican documentary by Salvadoran-born cinematographer Tatiana … Read more
Olha o Picolé
The Brazilian street vendors’ call “Olha o picolé!” (“Look at the Popsicle”) will evoke memories of steamy days for anyone who grew up in Brazil. But the picolé, once considered a cheap alternative to ice cream, has gone upscale. Now sold at shopping malls and even French restaurants, the picolé has become a favorite of … Read more
Bolivia’s Fiesta de las Ñatitas
Praying to a shrine featuring a real human skull may seem macabre to some. But since pre-Columbian times, inhabitants of what is now the Bolivian Altiplano have made the veneration of human skulls a central element of their spiritual life. The tradition continues to this day with an annual celebration on November 8 called Fiesta … Read more
Book Review: Open for Business
It can be difficult to document a historic moment while it’s still unfolding, but Richard E. Feinberg has taken to the task with his book, Open for Business: Building the New Cuban Economy. In exploring how President Barack Obama’s opening to Cuba “fits squarely within a broader theme of his foreign policy,” Feinberg has provided … Read more
Book Review: Multiple Choice
The literature of Alejandro Zambra is one of both movement and repose. On one hand, his work — reflected in titles such as Ways of Going Home, Bahía Inútil and Mudanza — brings to mind an expert in packing bags, works of few pages that speak to a traveler who knows in advance that the weight he carries will … Read more
Book Review: The Salvador Option
Despite decades of military support and millions in development aid, for many Americans El Salvador remains a caricature, caught somewhere between an episode of Gangland and the milieu of sex, alcohol and jungle violence portrayed in Oliver Stone’s 1986 film, Salvador. Those Americans who do spare a thought for the tiny country are prone to … Read more
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