Summer of Music: Latin America
July – August 2024
Depot’s annual Summer of Music continues this year with five great films featuring Latin American music. Although not many concert films have been made, Latin American rhythms have featured extensively in movies, notably in Hollywood films during the studio era such as Flying Down to Rio (1933) and those featuring the actress Carmen Miranda.
Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959) is a colourful retelling of the mythical story of Orpheus and Eurydice set during the Rio Carnival. Extensive music and dance scenes refashion the narrative as an exuberant Brazilian romance. The film won the Palme d’Or in Cannes and Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
Black Orpheus
Two of the greatest films ever made make extensive use of Latin American music in their soundtracks. City of God (Fernando Meirelles) , 2004) is a powerful, gritty but humanistic portrayal of gang violence around the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Roma (Alfonso Cuaron, 2018) is a semi- autobiographical account of his upbringing in Mexico City which features stunning black and white imagery to depict a moving emotional drama. Rarely seen in cinemas it won three Oscars including Best Picture in 2019.
Carlos
One of the greatest exponents of Latin American music is Carlos Santana who performed a legendary set at Woodstock in 1969 and became a global sensation. We are screening the new documentary Carlos (Rudy Valdez, 2023) which features unseen music tracks and archive footage from his career.
Finally – a small gem. The great American director Orson Welles was commissioned in 1943 to make a propaganda film in Brazil and Mexico for the war effort. Disillusioned with the Hollywood system he made It’s All True, a provocative and enthralling movie about ordinary people and carnival in those countries.
– Robert Senior, Depot Chair of Trustees
Live Music
Latin Guitar Paul & Tony Shepherd
Sunday 11 August, 15:00 – 17:00
To tie in with our Summer of Music: Latin America season, we welcome guitarist Paul Richards on and Tony Shepherd on percussion explore the rich music of South America – live on our terrace.
This is a public performance with no need to book in advance.
