LA Sierra, the prized documentary, will be on tonight

Monpirri says on Oct 2, 2005, 19:40:

You beat me to it You know I was going to place the "Sierra" documentary on this post, but you beat me to it. Well done!!
Do you watch the reality Nómadas? because if you and if I miss it one night I could ask about it.

Monpirri AKA "Yo me llamo Cumbia"

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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kernow62 says on Oct 3, 2005, 06:08:

I agree GIB, the lighter side of Colombia needs far more coverage than the violent side, and then it still won't be a balanced view. Such is the overwhelming power of the violent image that has been portrayed for decades.

That is one of the reasons, in fact the only reason why I spent countless hours putting my little website together. To show the side of Colombia that my friends the Colombian people want the world to see. Some would say it is looking at Colombia through rose coloured glasses. I counter that it is helping present a balanced view.

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antifreeze says on Oct 3, 2005, 06:08:

Just saw it yesterday Amazing program. Pretty amazing that such things happen in Colombia. There are many Colombias; one for upper-scale Colombia, and another for dirth-poor stupid Colombia. Pretty impressive that when that 14 year old girl got pregnant from the FARC guy (as young at 14 year old), she thought she had a good catch. It just keeps going generation after generation feeding on people's stupidity.

I hope Colombia will be able to escape this viscious circle of violence, but have some serious doubts. These people do not have many more options than to use the power of their threat of their weapons.

Freeze

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toneloc24 says on Oct 3, 2005, 07:33:

I thought the gangs were AUC-affiliated? I need to watch it again. I bought it on DVD back in July. No worries, no one else has seen my crystal clear copy yet.

Funny thing about this. When I asked several of my friends in Medellin about the whereabouts of La Sierra, no one knew. Kinda like in Rio de Janeiro and City of God. Wonder how these filmmakers found it.

GIB is right. This does not need to make it to the USA. There's gotta be other ways to document Colombia than this. Yes, it might be reality to some. However, there are normal stories to be told as well. La Sierra just seemed pretty senseless to me. Kinda like the LA gang wars of the 1980s, and the story was told from that perspective.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 3, 2005, 09:48:

Devil's advocate I'm going to play devil's advocate. This film wasn't made by a couple foreigners who parachuted in to make a gratuitous and exploitive film about Colombia. The producer is a Colombian who works for the Associated Press and knows more about what's going on in Colombia than any of us here. The director is an American who has been in Colombia for about a decade working as a photojournalist. He, too, has been around the block more than any of us, including getting kidnapped by the ELN for a couple weeks.

I assure you that they didn't take dramatic liberty with their story. This stuff is really going on. And filmakers are looking for interesting stories that people will want to watch, not to provide good public relations.

Complaining about this fact of filmaking is like complaining that instead of "Boyz in Da Hood" and showing a dark side of L.A. gang life, John Singleton should have made an upbeat tale of how new jobs were being created in Los Angeles, or new public housing because that movie scared people out visiting South Central L.A. for years.

The critical reception of La Sierra shows that the film taps a nerve. If people want promotional films about Colombia, go ahead and make them yourself.

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Rubiazo says on Oct 3, 2005, 11:34:

City of God does exist. And the stories are all true stories, but they are amalgamated from different neighborhoods, mostly the bad half of the Zona Oeste of Rio, around where the original neighrborhood is. I think it might have another name now though.
Half the movie was filmed in the original neighrbohood, the other have was filmed in Novo Iguacu 70km north, not even in the city anymore. Novo Iguacu is also where they had that BS with the police killing 30 people recently.

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toneloc24 says on Oct 3, 2005, 11:45:

Mr. H. - I completely agree with what you're saying. However, when is enough, enough? It's the same type of films from Colombia. Each ALWAYS touch on violence, drugs, and senselessness. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, and frequently. There are just other stories to tell. The poor and disenfranchised are just such an easy target.

Now if these documentaries dudes had any nuts, they would produce a documentary on the relationships between those who head up AUC, FARC, narcos, and politicians. Poblado, amongst other Strata 5 & 6 areas throughout Colombia, is a haven for those types. It would show or explain why Colombia is the way Colombia is. At the least, it would be interesting. However, I suspect the filmmaker wouldn't make it out alive. LOL!!!

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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toneloc24 says on Oct 3, 2005, 11:47:

Rubi I never said that City of God doesn't exist. Just that before the movie, few cariocas even knew where it was. It was just another favela in the hills. Just as La Sierra is just another barrio on the hills of Medellin.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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BAQ says on Oct 3, 2005, 11:54:

WHAT ??! OK, so EXACTLY what is this documentary about? Gang wars in Medellin? Poor people in Medellin? AM just curious.

Semper Fidelis !

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toneloc24 says on Oct 3, 2005, 12:02:

Synopsis http://www.lasierrafilm.com/aboutthefilm01.html

More than 30,000 people have been killed over the last ten years in Colombia’s bloody civil conflict, in which left-wing guerillas fight against the government and illegal right-wing paramilitary groups. Recently, as guerillas and paramilitaries sought to control marginal city neighborhoods, urban gangs aligned themselves with each side. In this way, the national conflict was translated into a brutal turf war that pitted adjacent barrios against each other. The documentary La Sierra explores life over the course of a year in one such barrio (La Sierra, in Medellin), through the prism of three young lives

Edison, aka “The Doll,” is a paramilitary commander in La Sierra. At the age of 22, he is also the de facto mayor of the neighborhood and a playboy who has fathered six children by six different women. Openly dedicated to and excited by his life of violence, he is also an intelligent and charismatic young man. As we follow him through the armed conflict, its victories and setbacks, he shares his dreams for himself and his children, and explains his attachment to what he calls “my war.” We follow his life up to the moment he is gunned down in the street, and then witness his family’s suffering and faith in the face of tragedy.

Cielo, age 17, was displaced from the countryside in sixth grade, when her brother and father were murdered by guerillas. A mother at the age of 15, she was widowed when the father of her son (a gang member) was killed. Now Cielo is devoted to a new boyfriend, a paramilitary, who she visits in jail every Sunday. With little or no money to her name, Cielo goes downtown to beg and sell candies on the buses, resisting her friend’s suggestion of prostitution. After her rocky relationship with her boyfriend unravels, Cielo finally gives in and takes a job in Medellin’s red light district.

Jesus, 19, is a mid-level paramilitary member. Badly wounded when a homemade grenade blew up in his hands and face, Jesus presents himself as ready for death at any moment and hoping for little more than the opportunity to continue indulging his taste for marijuana and cocaine. But as the war in La Sierra comes to a end, and the paramilitaries begin a government-sponsored disarmament process, Jesus dreams of beginning a life without war.

La Sierra is an intimate, unflinching portrait of three lives defined by violence, and a community wracked by conflict. Over the course of a year these lives, and the life of the barrio itself, each undergo profound changes, experiencing victory, despair, defeat, death, love, and hope. In a place where journalists are seldom allowed, Scott Dalton and Margarita Martinez spent a year filming, interviewing, and building trust. The result is a frank portrayal that not only includes startling scenes of graphic violence and its aftermath, but also reveals intimate moments of love and tenderness, and shows the everyday life that manages to coexist with conflict.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 3, 2005, 12:07:

What bothers me in film is the INACCURATE portrayal of Colombia as the stereotypical banana republic. Where this happens most is in Hollywood feature films. A great example is the opening scene of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

But documentaries that show the dark side of Colombia don't bother me at all. That stuff needs to have the light shine on it and be seen. Otherwise it's all forgotten and can continue.

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juancegomez says on Oct 3, 2005, 16:30:

La Sierra shows that the AUC can exert influence in poor, forgotten neighborhoods through an uneven mix of fear, convenience, revenge and genuine solidarity (as well as, logically, also the ELN and co. can do, though the documentary doesn't really say much about them per se, other than placing their area of influence somewhere else in Medellín).

There are no easy ways to absolutely classify these people (men, women and children) and sometimes even their actions, both ugly and not, given their conditions and the greyness of much of Colombian reality.

Btw, the filming of the documentary itself took place between 2002 and 2003, when the paramilitaries in Medellín mostly demobilized and being reintegrated into society (arguably not completely, but violence has definitely been reduced as a result), including those from La Sierra as well. The end of the documentary also raised this fact briefly.

That doesn't mean that there aren't more La Sierras out there, but provides a current historical context that should be taken into consideration.

And AFAIK, the documentary had already been shown outside of Colombia plenty of times and apparently in a public showing in La Sierra itself (leading to illegal copies being distributed), but this is the first time it's officially shown on Colombian television.

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BAQ says on Oct 3, 2005, 17:58:

Will it Air again? If anyone gets info on when it will be aired again, please post it.

Thanks

Semper Fidelis !

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Lucia Rojas says on Oct 4, 2005, 09:26:

HI I got some offensive PM's for posting the information on la Sierra from ColombianoX ( For those of you who were wondering where he was)

I just want to say one thing: For The people who like to pretend that those things don't happen in Colombia and for people who like to sweep their problems under the carpet. This issues MUST be acknowledged. Colombians must not prentend this doesn't happen," no, things aren't that bad" or " But we have two oceans, and emeralds...bla, bla." Violence has become culturally bred and we don't even notice some of the behavoiral characteristics that we possess as a consecuence of this. No real transformation will happen if the problem is not treated in that very deep, deep layer. If the educational system does not evolve to address this issues. And every single one of us colombians is part of the cycle. But we don't like to admit it. LA ropa sucia se lava en casa no?

We need a bigger perspective of the problems we have, we need to open our minds and think out of the box. I hope for less narrow-minded people like colX.

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toneloc24 says on Oct 4, 2005, 10:49:

You know what? Why not just post his responses on the board? Make them public. The dude (ColX) is sitting somewhere around Orlando, Florida, safe and sound.

If he's supposedly gone from the board, he should stay gone, not harass members by PM. Nothing like a self-righteous coward, I tell ya. LOL!!!

While I wish there were other views emanating from the Colombian film industry, to deny this part of Colombian reality is to live with your head up your ass...or completely remove from the reality NOT reported in El Tiempo.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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juancegomez says on Oct 4, 2005, 10:56:

For what it's worth...EL TIEMPO and other newspaper have reported on similar situations in the past, even if perhaps not about La Sierra specifically. Admittedly, not necessarily in the most comprehensive or detailed way, but not even a documentary like this one can reflect everything either. A lot depends on the reader and his or her interests.

As a consequence, it's obviously up to each person to make his or her own mind about Colombian reality both as a whole and regarding particular subjects.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 4, 2005, 11:03:

About El Tiempo I think El Tiempo actually does a good job reporting on these kind of things, at least about crimes that affect the "little people" such as the two kids killed when they played with grenades they found on the ground or the peasant family killed by a boobytrapped truck. If you think about it, when was the last time you saw the NY Times or the Washington Post reporting on gang killings in those cities? In Los Angeles, for a murder to get in the paper it must either involve a celebrity or a car chase.

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toneloc24 says on Oct 4, 2005, 11:04:

at Juan And which would be a better vehicle to do so, a film/documentary or El Tiempo? Which would reach more people?

Outside of Colombians and people who are interested in Colombia, who reads El Tiempo?

As a point of fact, it wasn't until TV started broadcasting scenes of firehoses being turned on black Americans in the USA in the South, that the issue became relevant nationwide and globally. Until then, it was largely a regional, internal thing. Things changed thereafter, thankfully. The power of visuals.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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BAQ says on Oct 4, 2005, 11:05:

LUCIA I for one want to THANK YOU for posting the informaiton. Even though I missed the program (I hate it when I do that).

Just my opinon, but if someone thinks supressing information is the way to go, then they should tear their ass to China or North Korea and live. They will LOVE IT there.

Semper Fidelis !

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caslug says on Oct 4, 2005, 14:07:

looks like COLX is starting to go off the deep-end..LOL! the movie was a documentary, why rag on it. Lucia you should post some excerpt of COLX's letter, then i bet more people would be curious to watch it. Nothing like controversy to boost a movie's viewing! LOL! Beside what's the big deal, US makes documentary about bad stuff IN THE US all the time. Heck they just had one on TV the other night on how all level of government(local, state, & federal) failed the people of during Hurricane Katrina.

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BAQ says on Oct 4, 2005, 14:13:

On second thought I wonder of Michael Moore is COLX's room mate.

Semper Fidelis !

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BAQ says on Oct 4, 2005, 17:19:

New Artile written today about Medellin
MEDELLIN, Colombia (Reuters) - Jorge Rojas, once a right-wing Colombian paramilitary boss who dispensed street justice in northeast Medellin, was about either to help his city rise above its violent past or step back into it.

Sitting in front of him was a man who just admitted raping an 8-year-old girl. Rojas could kill him, as his impulses and some of his neighbors were urging, or he could try something new and turn him over to authorities.

He ended up taking the suspect to the police, marking a step in what some call the growing success of Medellin's rehabilitation of illegal militias. The effort is contributing to a huge fall in crime, even though human rights groups have denounced the initiative.

In 1991, when Medellin was the domain of drug lord Pablo

Escobar, it was the world's most violent city with 6,500 murders. By 2004 the toll had plummeted to 1,100 and city hall is working closely with police to cut that to 700 this year.

Yet Medellin remains in a twilight zone where gangs that once openly ran many parts of town retain shadowy influence.

Rojas surrendered his gun in Colombia's first paramilitary demobilization in 2003, part of President Alvaro Uribe's attempt at ending a decades-old guerrilla war which kills thousands every year and displaces tens of thousands more.

But from his days with the far-right militias, which have terrorized this Andean country for 20 years in the name of fighting Marxist rebels, Rojas remains an authority figure in this poor neighborhood sloping toward the Medellin River.

The girl's parents brought the trembling child to him, not the police, after the rape in June. The suspect was in hiding but Rojas tracked him down within a week.

"When he told me he had penetrated her not only once but several times, I felt more anger than I had ever felt before," he told Reuters. "I started having old thoughts, thoughts from my previous life, about killing him."

Using what he had learned in the city's Back to Legality rehabilitation program, Rojas said he decided to respect the laws of Colombia rather than those of the street.

The girl is in therapy and the suspect is awaiting trial.

"The family was happy with the way I handled it but quite a few people in the neighborhood were angry at me," said Rojas, whose lined face makes him look older than his 40 years.

"I had to have a meeting with some of them to explain that if we would have killed the guy, there would have been more pain and vengeance and violence, and we would be back to where we were before the demobilization."

The episode shows progress from the days when government authorities were supplanted by Escobar's cartel then, after he was gunned down in 1993, paramilitaries who were also tied to drugs.

Of the nearly 6,000 members of illegal armed groups estimated to live in Medellin, the city says 2,600 have demobilized.

"Little by little we are restoring the legitimate presence of the state, in the sense that we are the ones who should provide security," Mayor Sergio Fajardo, a former mathematician and one of Colombia's most popular politicians, told Reuters.

NEW START OR SMOKESCREEN?

Critics say the program offers soft treatment to criminals guilty of some of the worst atrocities of the conflict. Those who massacred and beheaded peasants suspected of cooperating with the rebels face up to only eight years in jail.

"Our research in Medellin indicates that paramilitary power remains intact. While some low-level troops may be demobilizing, the process is giving these mafias a veneer of legitimacy while they continue their criminal activity and abuses," said Maria McFarland, researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Fajardo says the crime drop proves the success of the program, which is distinguished from those in the rest of the country, under which more than 10,000 paras have turned in their guns, by the intense counseling and follow-up that the one-time criminals and their families receive and by the city's expertise in helping them enter the legitimate economy.

Medellin is the capital of Antioquia province, where people pride themselves on being shrewd negotiators and entrepreneurs.

"Business is in our blood," said Sandra Ocampo, Medellin's chief of international cooperation. "We know how to get people started in their own enterprises and reward the most competitive initiatives."

Every August this city of 2.2 million hosts Colombia's biggest fashion show. This year 20 demobilized paras, some with swastikas tattooed on their hands, worked the event as security guards, janitors and food vendors.

Among them was Artanan Correa, 33, who joined the militia as a teen-ager after rebels killed members of his family. Handing out papaya to models and clothing buyers, he said he plans to become a chef, with the help of cooking classes provided by the city.

"We have a vision now," said Correa, whose fruit business was opened using a local microcredit program.

Fajardo said Medellin will keep backing the demobilization if only to avoid falling back into its hellish past.

"The illegal armed groups have the power to destroy," he said. "But what they can never do is make us happy as a society. That's the difference and that's why we are making progress."

Semper Fidelis !

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salteno says on Oct 5, 2005, 12:36:

La Sierra People here have been asking me where this documentary can be purchased or rented. Do you know?

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toneloc24 says on Oct 5, 2005, 14:15:

Quick apology to ColX. My comments weren't called for. My bad.

Salteno - depends on where you're located. If you're in Colombia, probably anywhere that they sell copies of DVD in El Centro nearest you.

In the USA, if you can find somewhere that sells copies of Spanish-language movies, you may get lucky. Depends on whether there are a lot of Colombians in your area.

In July, I bought a copy of La Sierra without previously seeing anything about it. I just read the DVD carton and grabbed it. Cost me COP5.000 or 7.000, I forget. I bought it in Bogota. I have yet to see it here in Atlanta.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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juancegomez says on Oct 5, 2005, 15:05:

at toneloc24

Yes, a film/documentary is usually (not always) a better vehicle as far as average foreigners are concerned, not much doubt about that point.

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Brians says on Oct 5, 2005, 17:41:

Is it accurate? Probably but I cold go into just about any slum in the USA and find stories just as scary. The point being that these seem to be the only impression people outside of Colombi have of Colombia. Whereas the documentaries about ghettos in the USA are not the only impression people outside of the USA have of the USA. It really is ashame that there are not nice documentaries about Colombia but I guess violence sells in the USA and nobody would go to see it otherwise.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 5, 2005, 17:44:

Doubt it You might find individual tragedies in the US ghettos that are as sad, but you won't find anything that parallels the horrible violence that took place for decades in the Medellin slums. Not even the Crips vs. Bloods gang wars come close.

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kernow62 says on Oct 5, 2005, 18:02:

There have been a couple of nice documentaries about ethnic musicians from Colombia.

"The Devil's Accordion" http://acordeon.de/english/index_english.htm

"Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto" http://www.tamborygaita.com/film.html

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Monpirri says on Oct 7, 2005, 18:32:

La "Sierra" documentary will air again Carol Television will air La "Sierra" documentary again on Saturday, October 8 at 10:00 P.M.
Los estudiantes de Ciudad Bolivar estudian la tolerancia, el miedo, la paz y otros factores.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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Nacholoco says on Oct 7, 2005, 23:19:

PLEASEE somebody I know this is alot ot ask but I know people in the states get Caracol with satellite. If anyboy tapes it or records it to CD-r or DVD can they send it to me and I would gladly pay for it!!!

I really want to see this, and here in Canada with crappy satellite we can see any colombian channels



Junior de Barranquilla CAMPEONES PARA SIMEPRE

Junior de Barranquilla CAMPEONES PARA SIMEPRE

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Monpirri says on Oct 8, 2005, 07:46:

OK I will try to record the documentary tonight at 10:00 P.M., and I will send it to you.

Monpirri

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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