Cinema Klandestino @ the Cube Cinema Thurs 4th Dec

Cinema Klandestino return for Cube V

Presenting: the 'Wandering Shadows' and 'En Agosto'

This month Cinema Klandestino brings two Colombian films to the Cube Cinema for our 5th event there.

With a 35mm monochrome and an award winning short animation, this'll be a quality night.

Doors 7pm

*STARTS*

This Thursday 4th December 2008 Cinema Klandestino presents:

'The Wandering Shadows' 

(La Sombra del Caminante, Colombia 2004, 90mins)

plus

'In August' 

(En Agosto, Colombia 2008 14 mins)

El Kolectivo Klandestino invites you to this 35mm stark monochrome 1st anniversary flick n' party!

'The Wandering Shadows'

Colombia's 2004 award-winning and bid for the Foreign Language Oscar 'La Sombra del Caminante' is Ciro Guerra's disquieting parable of a silent, goggle-wearing silletero (someone who carries a chair decorated with flowers) on the streets of Bogota, who scrapes a pittance carrying passenger Mañe, a middle-aged amputee in a roughly hewn seat on his back.

"Taking the hitherto tired 'odd couple' concept to alien new heights, the two gradually form a wary friendship. However, in a twist as David Lynchesque as the all-pervading air of dark portent, a shared secret begins to emerge that could sever their fragile bond." (Mark Powell, Metro 2006) 

Jaw-droppingly quirky and utterly absorbing from start to finish, The Wandering Shadows is Cinema Klandestino's 1st Anniversary celebratory experience.

Can't be missed! 

PLUS the night's prelude will be:

'In August'

The Colombian official entry for this year's Bristol Encounters Short Film Festival. A fifteen minute short film in 2D and 3D animation which was two years in the making. The film was written and directed by Andrés Barrientos and Carlos Andrés Reyes.

It depicts a city transformed by a diluvian cataclysm in the distant future, a young indigenous shaman woman's vision is strangely related to a similar vision of an old man's deceased wife across a vast span of time. In their visions the world's future shall be revealed. Veronica and Pedro foresee the arrival of the end of the world in August. They each anticipate it at different points in time, one in the present and one in the distant future.

Andres Barrientos will be presenting his film and doing Q&A.

So really, a night that can't be missed!

Thurs 4th December

7pm doors for pre-film party, 8pm start 

£5 (bring da badge for £1 discount)

*CineK price for best goggles.

Cube Cinema

Dove Street South,

Bristol

BS2 8JB 

Links for further information, trailers and images

Directions to the Cube Cinema: 

http://microplex.cubecinema.com/cubewebsite/directions.html

La Sombra del Caminante:

A new hope for Colombian Cinema: http://www.elojoquepiensa.udg.mx/ingles/revis_04/seccio...6.pdf

http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/viva2006_laso...a.htm

En Agosto

Official site with trailer:

http://www.dia-fragma.com/enagosto.htm

Interview with Andrés Barrientos

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jhPPqZCdMwg

contact: cinemaklandestino@riseup.net

Related Link: http://www.cinemaklandestino.org/

*ENDS*

Beyond Violence - the struggle against gender and gang violence in Guatemala

Iduvina Hernandez and Rosemary Burnett will be speaking in the Common Room at the School for Policy Studies,
University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road , Bristol , BS8 1TZ
on Thursday 13th November at 1.00 - 2.30pm.

Iduvina Hernández is a Guatemalan journalist and human rights defender working to challenge the extraordinary and horrific levels of violence and murder against women and young people in Guatemala. Her work to hold the Guatemalan authorities and security forces to account has at times resulted in her receiving threats and intimidation.

Rosemary Burnett, former director of Amnesty International Scotland, will also talk about her experiences working to support and protect human rights defenders in Guatemala. She will explain how you can support human rights work in Guatemala, including information on how to get involved with accompaniment work.

TALK IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH AN INTERPRETER - ALL WELCOME

Blog of Espacio Bristol-Colombia solidarity accompanist

Hello,

I am in Colombia working with a Colombian network of social organisation doing solidarity accompaniment.

You can read about my experiences and reflections here.
http://gizzacroggy.blogspot.com/

If you want to be informed when the blog is updated email me at gizzacroggy at gmail.com

Thanks

Solidarity Picket with Sacked Amey Workers: Wed 22 Oct

Bristol No Borders - Picket Call Out

Support the Sacked Amey Workers! Equal Rights Without Borders

Assemble (with whistles and banners) October 22nd 11.30am - 1.30pm outside Amey Rail Plc ,Albert House, 111-117, Victoria St, Bristol. BS1 6AX

Five cleaners employed by Amey (who have the contact for rail maintenance in Bristol) were sacked for "damaging the company image" on the 2nd of October. They are going to appeal.

How were they damaging the company image? By belonging to a Trade Union and telling other staff at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in London where they work what was happening to them.

The text of the offending leaflet:

TO THE NPL STAFF:

The Amey Cleaning Department are looking for your solidarity, because LAURA JORDAN site manager is discriminating and bullying us, also has violated our employment rights, refusing to follow the grievance procedures and taken decision over the employment regulations Act.

This is the latest in a series of measures taken against the cleaners since Amey, which is owned by Spanish multinational Ferrovia, took over the cleaning contract in May 2007 and found itself faced with a largely Latin American migrant workforce that had recently unionised and was taking steps to gain recognition. The first came last year, when the company invited workers to a ‘training session’, only to bolt the doors behind them and leave them in the care of the Home Office, which promptly deported three of them, one to Colombia and two to Brazil, for not having official documents.

Since then the number of cleaners has been reduced from thirty-six to fifteen as Amey looks to cut costs as much as possible. The current suspensions are a direct result of the remaining workers’ attempts to protest against this trend. Amey, which posted a net annual profit of a £75 million, is well versed in these tactics. It is a majority shareholder in Tubelines, which cleans parts of the Underground. Tube cleaners who went on strike for a living wage this summer were faced with a corporate response consisting of paper checks, immigration raids and deportations to Sierra Leone and the Congo.

This is the second day of actions supporting the sacked workers, with another demo happening on 22nd October outside an NPL conference in London.

It comes as part of a wider movement, including the Campaign Against Immigration Control and No Borders, demanding that that documents and border controls are dispensed with altogether, or migrant workers be regularised and given the documents they need.

Cinema Klandestino @ the Cube Fri 10th Oct

Shrouded in mystery in the Cube programme:
http://microplex.cubecinema.com/cgi-bin/diary/programme.pl#4045

it can now be revealed that:
This Friday, the 10th of October, Cinema Klandestino return for our 4th night at the Cube Cinema to present:

Violet of a Thousand Colours
Dir: Harold Trompetero
Colombia, 2005

doors @ 8pm
£4/3 (Bring yer badge!)


This film has not been internationally released for the star, Flora Martinez, has prohibited its director, Harold Trompetero from showing it in Colombia or anywhere else. She claims that the movie was made for experimental film purposes and that Trompetero wants to jump on the bandwagon of the commercial success of her next film Rosario Tijeras (2005)

Despite this, it was shown at the Bogotá Film Festival in October 2005, in the Cartagena Film Festival in March 2006 and in La Palma Island International Film Festival in July 2006, where it won several awards.

It is now being screened for the first time ever in the UK.

Low-budget, raw, and ultimately audacious, Violet of a Thousand Colours is set in New York and revolves around a nameless woman. A woman with all the defects and qualities of a human being. A woman who one day takes the decision to exist no more, simply because she is tired of life.

She begins to prepare for her death. Her plan is to cut her veins in the bathtub, surrounded by candles and rose petals scattered on the floor and remember each moment of her life until her body gives out and her brain ceases to irrigate blood. She plans to lose consciousness and then sink into the warm and tranquil water for all eternity or until someone finds her dead.

For her the important thing is to die, to die remembering, to die dreaming, to die like she always wanted, a perfect painting for the painter, the only photograph that will annihilate the forensics photograph, the perfect scene for a film director. A suicide artistically perfect, committed by a woman like any other.

Through the film, Trompetero explores adverse sentiments inherent in femininity and the human condition in general, and this, added to its prohibited nature, should make for another quality night at the Cube.

New tunes, fresh from Colombia, will be playing at the bar before the film, so get down at 8pm!

Directions to the Cube: http://microplex.cubecinema.com/cubewebsite/directions.html

Violeta Info:

Review in Spanish (there are none in English!): http://www.cinefagos.net/index.php?Itemid=3&id=328&option=com_content&task=view

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGsDbV94UPs

Wiki: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_de_mil_colores

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485164/

IMDB trivia: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485164/trivia

http://www.cinemaklandestino.org/

Colombia Accompaniment Training: 15th & 16th NOVEMBER 2008, BRISTOL

INTRODUCTORY TRAINING WEEKEND
FOR ACCOMPANIMENT AND SOLIDARITY WORK IN COLOMBIA
15th & 16th NOVEMBER 2008, BRISTOL

Espacio Bristol-Colombia is organising its second two-day introductory training weekend for people interested in travelling to Colombia as a volunteer to help with its solidarity and 'accompaniment' work there.

You would be working with Colombian social organisations on various projects, in accordance with your skills and what you feel comfortable with, as well as providing 'accompaniment', which involves providing an international presence to deter the army or paramilitaries from interfering with social activists.

This training is essential for anyone who is interested in volunteering in Colombia, although we are keen to emphasise that the focus is on the training being an orientation weekend with absolutely no commitment to travelling to Colombia. It is also a great way of learning about the culture of the country and the current political situation that Colombians are facing.

INTRODUCTORY TRAINING WEEKEND
FOR ACCOMPANIMENT AND SOLIDARITY WORK IN COLOMBIA
15th & 16th NOVEMBER 2008, BRISTOL

Espacio Bristol-Colombia is organising its second two-day introductory training weekend for people interested in travelling to Colombia as a volunteer to help with its solidarity and 'accompaniment' work there.

You would be working with Colombian social organisations on various projects, in accordance with your skills and what you feel comfortable with, as well as providing 'accompaniment', which involves providing an international presence to deter the army or paramilitaries from interfering with social activists.

This training is essential for anyone who is interested in volunteering in Colombia, although we are keen to emphasise that the focus is on the training being an orientation weekend with absolutely no commitment to travelling to Colombia. It is also a great way of learning about the culture of the country and the current political situation that Colombians are facing.

ABOUT ESPACIO
Espacio Bristol-Colombia is part of the Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia (Network of Friendship and Solidarity with Colombia) which is a space for coordination between grassroots organisations in Colombia and between solidarity collectives in other countries in Europe and the Americas.
Groups in the Red de Hermandad work together around themes such as:-
• the impact of multinational corporations;
• human rights violations;
• the need for a negotiated solution to the social and armed conflict in the country.
• supporting "planes de vida" (life plans), local/regional level collective organisation around social and economic alternatives

WHY WE NEED YOU
International collectives who are part of the Red de Hermandad not only take action in their own countries in solidarity with groups working on these issues in Colombia, but also provide accompaniment to social organisations in Colombia
There are basically three types of solidarity and accompaniment work, depending on your experience. In practice, however, these are flexible and depend very much on what you want to do and feel comfortable with:

1. People who are in Colombia for the first time or who have less experience can either

(a) do several shorter periods of accompaniment and, in the process, learn about the work of various organisations and the reality in different parts of the country or
(b) work with one organisation but without being given huge amounts of responsibility.

2. People with more experience of accompaniment or political work are normally linked to one organisation during their time in Colombia, often (although not always) in rural areas.

3. People with specific areas of knowledge might be linked into relevant areas of the Red de Hermandad's activities. For example, a plumber might help displaced communities returning to their land with the installation of water and sanitation and an academic might help with a research project.
The training will be run by three people from Espacio who have just spent some time living in Colombia and working with social movements.
Content
• an introduction to Espacio, the Red de Hermandad and organisations within it
• an introduction to Colombia's historical and political context
• accompaniment with social organisations in Colombia
• cultural awareness
• safety and legal issues
• emotional issues when working in Colombia
• health, hygiene and vaccinations
• practical issues, such as how to get a Visa and what to pack

During the weekend, you will have plenty of opportunities to hear from people who have already provided accompaniment in Colombia. You will also have the chance to ask questions and chat with them informally.

There is absolutely no requirement to commit to going to Colombia just because you come on the training. If you decide not to go ahead with the accompaniment, we will fully respect your decision. If, however, after the training, you decide that you want to do accompaniment, we will arrange an informal interview with you to discuss it and, if we both think that its right for you then we will provide you with all the support we can.

NEXT STEPS
If you are interested in attending the training, or have any further questions, please email us at espaciobristol@redcolombia.org
The training will take place in central Bristol from approximately 11am – 5pm on Saturday and then 10pm – 4pm on Sunday.
On Saturday evening we will eat together. Accommodation will be provided, where necessary. Please, note, however, that Espacio is an entirely volunteer-run group with little financial resources, and we are not in a position to subsidise travel costs. This is why we ask for a donation of £20 or more if you can afford it (£15 if you are on low income). The donation will help cover the costs of room hire, photocopying and printing costs for hand-outs and travel for people running the training. Please do get in touch if the value of the donation is preventing you from attending, as we are really interested in sharing Espacio's work with people would not want you to be put off by the cost.

So that we know a little about you before the training, please complete the short questionnaire below and send it back to us at espaciobristol@redcolombia.org. Please note that the questionnaire is not an application form. All answers given will be kept in strict confidence and will not be shared with any third parties.

Name:
Citizenship if other than UK:
Date of birth:
Permanent address:
Dietary or Special Needs:
Would you like accommodation (it'll be in the homes of members of Espacio) in Bristol on:
* Friday 19th: Y/N
* Saturday 20th: Y/N

Level of Spanish (ability to communicate without difficulty in Spanish is essential before you travel):
Have you been to Colombia before? If so, please provide details.
Relevant experience (activist/social movement/campaigning involvement, other experiences of accompaniment etc.):
Any useful skills (e.g. photography, carpentry, research, art, counselling):
Qualifications and professional background (not essential but may be useful for visa letter):
Anything else you want to tell us?

To cut-and-paste the above into an email, highlight the text with your mouse, press CTRL+T (or APPLE+T on a Mac) to copy, open a new email in your email client and press CTRL+V (or APPLE+V on a Mac) to paste the text into your email and send to us at: espaciobristol[at]redcolombia[dot]org

El Topo: Friday 4th July

Cinema Klandestino present:
El Topo (1970)

The Cube Cinema, Dove St

4^th July 2008, 7pm doors for pre-film party, 8pm start

£5 advance, £6 on the door, £1 discount with Cinema Klandestino badge or concessions.

Off the back of the last sell-out event, Cinema Klandestino return with another banger on 35mm. To celebrate the re-release of Jodorovsky's 1970 cult classic El Topo, you are invited to this exclusive screening on this special day. While over the pond they celebrate Freedom from British Imperialism, we raise our glasses to U.S. imperialism with a parodic wink. Join us to party from 7pm - dress code is psychedelic Western - before the film starts at 8pm. Advance booking recommended.

El Topo was the landmark cult film that began the whole 'midnight movie' phenomenon. It was the most talked about, most shocked about and most controversial quasi-Western head trip ever made transforming the way risk-taking audiences, seeking mainstream Hollywood alternatives, watched edgy underground films and how the industry learned to market them. New York cinema owner Ben Barenholtz first came across El Topo at the Museum of Modern Art. He booked the film to play seven nights a week at midnight in his run-down Elgin Cinema on 8th Avenue because, as the single ad he took out in The Voice put it, it was "too heavy to be shown any other way". El Topo regularly sold out every night for months, with many fans returning on a weekly basis. It ran at the theater through June 1971, until at the prompting of John Lennon—who was reported to have seen the film at least three times—Beatles manager Allen Klein purchased the film through his ABKCO film company.

The movie unfolds in two parts, opening to the sound of the it's eponymous hero playing his flute, showing him and his son crossing an unnamed desert on horse back. El Topo tells his son that, now he is seven he must bury his first toy and a picture of his mother in the sand. The second half takes place years later. El Topo is rescued by a band of deformed outcasts who, saving him from death, take him to their underground community where he lies comatose for several years; meditating on the four lessons. When he awakes he is 'born again' and is determined to repay the outcasts. Together with a dwarven girl who looked after him while he was in his coma, El Topo sets off on a quest to free them from their subterranean prison.

Links:

www.cinemaklandestino.org

Eye for Film review: http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?id=5793

El Topo - A Book Of The Film: http://www.subcin.com/bookfilm01.html

BBC films review: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/04/02/el_topo_2007_review.shtml

Film Guardian review: http://film.guardian.co.uk/Film_Page/0,,2046026,00.html.

ABKCO Films: http://www.abkcofilms.com/topo.php

Contact: cinemaklandestino@riseup.net

Pachanga Sudaka: Sat 28th June

Pachanga Sudaka

Get your dancing shoes ready, it's time for another Pachanga Sudaka! Back again at the Blue Lagoon, join us for this cross-border benefit fundraiser for Bristol Colombia Solidarity Campaign and Bristol Solidarity with Venezuela. As we stand side-by-side, we raise a united glass to social movements resisting oppressive economic and social injustices and working for meaningful social change. Whilst our struggles either side of this Andean border face distinct political problems, there is plenty in common and plenty to learn. On this night, we remind ourselves not to leave the party out of protest - we've all got to let our hair down!

Join us for salsa, reggaeton, cumbia, rumba, latin-hop and more as we get down to the sounds of our favourite resident DJs, El Borracho and DJ Phatticito, plus special guest!
We only ask for a donation of £3 to help us get our messages out there and continue campaigning. And there'll be stalls with plenty of information on the night...
So what are you waiting for, put it in your diary!

Saturday 28th June
8pm - 1am

£3 donation
The Blue Lagoon, 20 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8AE
click here for a map or visit http://tiny.cc/C17yy (both link to Google Maps)

Los Cartoneros: 18th June @ La Ruca

The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires:
Shadow show, film and discussion on the inspiring environmental work of Argentinas poorest.

The sound of nightlife in downtown Buenos Aires now is not so much heels clicking to a tango but the trundle of carts loaded up with rubbish. Each evening, thousands of families take to the streets and alleys to spend the night salvaging heaps of cardboard, glass and cans. They're called the "cartoneros". Though they are providing an essential environmental service, they earn only about 2p on every kilo collected. In a country where over half the people are in poverty, this is the only way they can put food on the table. The appearance of cartoneros has been one of the most visible and lasting effects of the 2001-2002 economic crisis in Argentina, a result of IMF and World Bank incompetence.

Rossana Vanni, from Buenos Aires, will present her stunning shadow show of the Cartoneros story. There will then be a short documentary and discussion. This event will look at the origins of the economic and social crisis and the resourcefulness of the cartoneros in not only creating work for themselves, but also providing their own social services, creative projects and campaigns. This is a tragic story, but full of hope.

Wednesday, 18th June 2008 – 7.15 p

La Ruca, 89 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8AS

Cost – Donations (All proceeds will go to social projects run by the Cartoneros).

Latin American Food and Cartoneros Books Available for sale

FFI: Ross.Vanni@bristol.ac.uk or karenbell50@hotmail.com

The Politics of Cocaine

The Politics of Cocaine

Panel discussion and debate

The cocaine and crack cocaine trade affects almost all of our lives be it as recreational users, addicts or community/family members or friends trying to deal with the social side effects. From fumigation of the coca crops at the source and consumer boycotts in home markets through to full de-criminalisation, everyone seems to have a different solution. This panel discussion organised by Bristol Colombia Solidarity Campaign will bring together key arguments and ideas surrounding this drug of global and local notoriety looking at who really stands to gain from this $70bn industry, what are the costs and what, if anything, should be done about it. Please come along to listen and take part in the debate.

Speakers:

Emily Crick- Transform

Nathan Eisenstadt - Colombia Solidarity Campaign/Espacio Bristol-Colombia

Duncan Winton - Bolivia Solidarity Campaign

+ one more tbc

Thursday 15th May

starts 7pm

at

Kuumba Centre, 20-22 Hepburn Rd, St. Pauls, BS2 8UD

click here for a map or visit http://tinyurl.com/59b6er

Colombia: Promises and Bullets

(2007) Colombia: Promises and Bullets
Friday May 9th 2008, 8pm
The Cube Cinema, Dove Street, Bristol BS2 8NQ
A film by GCM Productions
With introduction and Q&A from the director, Monica del Pilar Uribe Marín.
UKs second showing, release forthcoming.

Contains extensive and exclusive interviews with the FARC's key negotiator, Raúl Reyes, assassinated by the Colombian government in a bombing raid in Ecuadorian territory two months ago.

Promises and Bullets charts the history of Colombia's war, exposing the roles of the guerrilla, paramilitary groups, the army and the Colombian government.

The film looks in depth at the role of the Colombian government, questioning its ability and readiness to broker a real and lasting peace.

Finally Bullets and Promises presents a space for ordinary citizens of Colombia to speak out about the conflict and how it affects them.

Useful links:
GCM Productions
Guardian Article about the bombing raid and its aftermath
Cube Website
Reyes Obituary in the Guardian

Football, FIFA and a coca Farmer: There's more to play for in Bolivia

The Bristol Bolivia Solidarity Group held a symbolic football match on Saturday 3 May 2008

The BBC recently reported a football match in La Paz involving Evo Morales and Diego Maradona. Bristol Bolivia Solidarity Group has decided to use this to highlight what is happening under Bolivia ’s progressive government and how it is overwhelmingly underreported.

The Group held a symbolic football match on College Green on Saturday 3 May from 12noon until 2pm, to which representatives of the BBC were invited.

The football match was interspersed with information and readings about Bolivia .

For further information contact: bristol.boliviasolidarity@yahoo.co.uk

There's More to Play for in Bolivia

On 19 March 2008 BBC News reported that Argentine football star Diego Maradona and Bolivia's President Evo Morales took part in a charity football match. Held in Bolivia’s capital La Paz, at 3,600meters above sea level, the match was played in protest against a FIFA ban on high altitude international matches and to raise funds for victims of major flooding in Bolivia. The Bristol Bolivia Solidarity Group are delighted that the BBC covered this story. However, we would like to highlight other pressing issues in Bolivia:

Collective struggle in Bolivia

Bolivia is rich in natural resources which throughout history have been exploited along with indigenous people’s livelihoods, culture and tradition. This has created a parallel history of resistance to defend their livelihoods.
In 2000 people in the city of Cochabamba succeeded in reclaiming the water supply from the control of a multinational company. In 2003 people in La Paz prevented an agreement to export and further exploit Bolivia’s gas. Popular protest forced president Losada to resign.

Change in Bolivia

In December 2005 collective struggles resulted in the election of indigenous Aymara coca farmer, Evo Morales, leader of MAS (Movement towards Socialism).
On May 1^st 2006, MAS began the process of re-nationalising the energy industry and renegotiated contractual terms with powerful trans-national companies, including Brazil’s Petrobras and Spain’s Repsol.
The profits from these industries enabled the government to give grants to 1.4 million school-age children and a universal pension for people over the age of 60.
Cuban advisers taught 600,000 people to read and write, using the Cuban "Yes, I Can!" literacy programme. Illiteracy is expected to be eradicated by September this year.

These are just some of the positive changes made since 2005.

Threat to democratically elected government in Bolivia

The opposition, predominantly from the elite class, landowners and multinationals, are undermining the government. Backed by the media and international powers, mainly the US and the UK, the opposition is threatening a more equal society for all Bolivians.
The opposition, based in the fertile lowlands of Santa Cruz, are campaigning for self-determination. On 4 May 2008 they will hold a referendum on autonomy.

This is a serious threat to the economy of Bolivia and needs international support.

"I note with concern the intention of the authorities of the Department of Santa Cruz to promote a…referendum on departmental autonomy…The draft statute of autonomy includes a number of provisions of a racist character… which would be highly harmful for the indigenous peoples”

(United Nations Special Rapporteur, Mr Stavenhagen, speaking on Bolivia)

For further information please contact:

Bristol Bolivia Solidarity Group bristol.boliviasolidarity@yahoo.co.uk

March 6th Street Theatre Action In Bristol

At lunchtime today a group of protestors from the Bristol Solidarity Campaign and Espacio Bristol Colombia performed a lively and menacing piece of street theatre outside Bristol University's Wills Memorial Hall at the Triangle in central Bristol, bringing public attention to the intimidation, torture, mass murder, disappearance and displacement of poor people, trades unionists and human rights activists in Colombia, committed by the state in direct collusion with transnational corporations.



Two actors set off down University Road and onto Whiteladies Road, one dressed as an AUC paramilitary in camouflage and balaclava, and the other as a business executive with his suit covered in transnational corporate logos. Between them they kicked and pushed a third actor (hooded and tied) down to the Wills Memorial building where the protest street theatre took place at a time when the Triangle is one of the busiest locations in central Bristol. The hooded victim was then pushed to the ground and abused by the paramilitary, encouraged by the business executive.

Police and security arrived on cue, and immediately started trying to intimidate and stop the protest under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. These threats were flimsy and transparent, as for example when the chief of university security said he felt 'offended' and 'disturbed' when he saw the hooded actor being 'kicked' by the paramilitary actor. He was then asked had he really never seen a play, a film or a TV drama where violence was enacted for effect, and did he not realise that theatre was 'pretend' and not 'real'? But he would not answer, as evidently he had been made aware of the stupidity of his own statement. So as it turned out the day was even more successful than had been planned, for the police/security presence and over-reaction just brought more onlookers, created more interest in the protest, and even drew members of the public to remonstrate with the police and their attitude. Even more bizarrely, the cops started offering the protestors PR and 'marketing' tips on how to promote their protest better.

Prize bobby of the day award however has to go to PC Putain de Merde, a 'French Gendarme' incongruously kitted out in a Brit police uniform who started to wax lyrically in full public about 'immigrants' and 'asylum seekers' and the 'threat' these people constituted to (his?) jobs and living standards. Oh for a videotape to hand. Touché, m'sieur.

2008 Forum a Success!

The day kicked off with people milling around stalls, picking up and studying programmes as musicians and workshop organisers prepared and set up their equipment. In the main lecture theatre, brief introductions were given by Matthew Brown and Ben Pearson from Bristol University. A group of contemporary Bolivian musicians (Tradición Andina) then led off with traditional Andean instruments, guitars and an electronic drum. Half way through this performance, the musicians were joined by costumed dancers in a colourful and energetic indigenous dance that expressed the life and history of the Andean peoples (see movies).

The plenaries were kept to a minimum this year, with Amancay Colque from the Bolivia Solidarity Campaign speaking on the current struggle in her country, Andy Higginbottom from the 'Frontline Latin America' newspaper giving a political and economic overview of the continent, and Venezuelan Consular to the UK Alvaro Sanchez talking about recent events and ongoing projects in Venezuela, followed by a short question and answer session (see movie).

Then followed three rounds of workshops, with 6-7 to choose from in each session, punctuated by a bargain Latin American style lunch provided by the Kebele Social Centre. The workshops ranged far and wide in topic and approach, (for example) discussing the impact of climate chaos on Latin America, on through an up to date account of the indigenous Mapuche people's struggle for self-determination, through a history/ practical demonstration of Capoeira dance and its key place in Afro-Brazilian culture, to the role of photography in public memory of the dictatorships in Chile and Argentina. And while all this was going on, Cinema Klandestino was running a continual stream of Latin American films in a separate room.



Finally the day's events came to a close with a World Café, a relaxing but dynamic experiment in collective discussion, facilitated by Claire Hall of Espacio and Hilary Cole of Cuba Solidarity, before a much needed break and the evening's after-party at the Kuumba (see the follow on sections 'World Café' and 'After Party' below for more).

Opening Ceremony & Plenary

These were streamed live on the day. We have displayed them here so you can view again or get a feel for next years Forum.

Part 1:



Part 2:

Video of the Afterparty

Of course the sound and video does not come close to witnessing these two incredible bands in the flesh but heres an approximation:

Colores de mi Tierra:



Orquesta Montpelier:

Presentation by Thomas Muhr

This presentation on participatory democracy and Latin American integration was given by Thomas Muhr at the Bristol Latin America Forum 2008. It is 2 hours long so is in four parts.

Part 1.



Part 2.



Part 3.



Part 4.

"If I cant dance it's not my revolution"

...And if you cant make it today get down KUUMBA, 20-23 Hepburn Rd. St. Pauls for the Afterparty tonight 9pm - 2am. Entry - £5, £4 Unwaged


This year we have three bands spanning a range of Latin American styles and incorporating european influences, celebrating the old and embracing the new:

• ORQUESTA MONTPELIER - 16 Piece live salsa creol band, crystalised in Bristol. Fat contemporary arrangements of Salsa classics, playing Descarga Mambo, Boogaloo, Merengue with Mindful Hip Hop; creatively combined with traditional Afro Cuban folkloric beats, to bring you one of the UK's most exciting orchestras of experimental Salsa.
  

• COLORES DE MI TIERRA - Rhythms, dances and melodies from the Caribbean coast of Colombia ...... sounds of tambores, voices, flutes and guitars that have been passed down through the generations. This is a living tradition performed from the heart with energy and joy.
  

• EL MERCADO DE MIRÁN - Contemporary acoustic music inspired in the traditional rhythms and melodies of African, Amerindian and European folklore in Latin America. El Mercado de Mirán, incorporates the Andalusian cajón beat and Colombian piano of new band members Jorge and Raimundo alongside Miranda on vocals and Julian on guitar bringing the European sound of the melodica into their spirited, passionate and heart-felt Latin American folkloric sound.
  

We will also have resident Pachanga Sudaka DJs playing a mashup of Latin Music from cumbia, salsa and bachata through to Latin Ska, Fusion, Reggateon, Latinhop and a lot in- between.