VERSO NEGRO: Black Verse Poetry of the Spanish Caribbean
Price: $310.00 Code: 1038 |
Directed by Leita Luchetti and Ben Levin
1999, 40 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $55
Featuring poetry performances that often resemble contemporary rap, this film examines an important aspect of Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage. Verso Negro, originally written between the late Twenties and mid-Forties, was part of the worldwide literary movement that included the Harlem Renaissance. The poems spoke openly about racism and the beauty of African heritage in the Caribbean, and they were made widely popular by performers of poetry known as 'declamadores.' This film features Efraín Ortiz, a young contemporary 'declamadore' who performs-with musical back-up-many of the now classic Verso Negro poems and who is struggling to keep this tradition alive through his performances in neighborhoods, schools and festivals both in Puerto Rico and the mainland United States. The video also includes newly discovered archival footage as well as interviews with the acclaimed Puerto Rican cultural historian Don Ricardo Alegria and Brooklyn born poet Martin Espada.
1999, 40 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $55
Featuring poetry performances that often resemble contemporary rap, this film examines an important aspect of Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage. Verso Negro, originally written between the late Twenties and mid-Forties, was part of the worldwide literary movement that included the Harlem Renaissance. The poems spoke openly about racism and the beauty of African heritage in the Caribbean, and they were made widely popular by performers of poetry known as 'declamadores.' This film features Efraín Ortiz, a young contemporary 'declamadore' who performs-with musical back-up-many of the now classic Verso Negro poems and who is struggling to keep this tradition alive through his performances in neighborhoods, schools and festivals both in Puerto Rico and the mainland United States. The video also includes newly discovered archival footage as well as interviews with the acclaimed Puerto Rican cultural historian Don Ricardo Alegria and Brooklyn born poet Martin Espada.
Subjects & Collections
Spanish Language Puerto Rican Studies Performing Arts Music Literature Latino Studies Latin-American Studies Directed by Women