Stories of Latin American Cultural Influence
A showcase of Latin America's profound impact on global culture. Through powerful storytelling, these films explore the region’s rich traditions, artistic contributions, and social movements that have shaped music, dance, literature, and beyond—from the rhythms of salsa to the revolutionary voices of literature.
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The Stories of Latin American Cultural Influence collection includes the following titles:
100 Ways to Cross the Border
Documentary
United States, Mexico
A celebration of performance artist Gómez-Peña and the contributions his radical, anti-colonial art has made to conversations around border thinking, gender politics, and Latinx identity.
A Place Called Music
Un lugar llamado música
Documentary
Mexico
The captivating musical encounter between American composer Philip Glass and Mexican Wixárika musician Daniel Medina.
Carretera Cartonera: Discover the World of Cartonera Publishers
Carretera cartonera
Documentary
Italy
Carretera Cartonera travel across Latin America to understand Cartonera book production. What they find is a diverse and vast array of citizens and cooperatives committed to using literary production as a means of fighting for social justice, economic equality, and a more sustainable world.
Dreams of Chonta
Documentary, Musical
Colombia, United States
Diego, an Afro-Colombian musician, leaves his family behind on the Pacific Coast of Colombia, and endures a solitary life as an undocumented immigrant and a minimum wage job at a cemetery all to become an ambassador of his music and culture in NY.
Día de Los Muertos
Documentary, Musical
United States
Latino rock greats Los Lobos, the salsa-rap-reggae-funk Ozomatli, and the all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache lead this musical celebration of Dia de los Muertos.
El Eternauta´s Wife
La mujer de El Eternauta
Documentary
Argentina, Spain
Elsa Sánchez's life is evidence of the cruelty of Argentina’s repressive dictatorship, which took the lives of her husband and family.
Erasing The Border
Documentary
Mexico, United States
Mexican American artist Ana Teresa Fernández imagines a creative way to make the US-Mexico border wall disappear.
Gabo & Cinema
Gabo y el cine
Documentary
Mexico
A commendable and well documented contribution to the general study of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez’s cultural production. In the voice of his friends and accomplices, the documentary takes us beyond his literary figure and immerses us in his cinematic one.
Great Performances - Piazzolla’s History with Tango
Documentary, Musical, Series
United States
Scott Yoo and his wife Alice Dade, a leading flutist, travel to Buenos Aires to discover the music of Astor Piazzolla
Grey City
Cidade cinza
Documentary
Brazil
A new form of graffiti was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The works of artists such as Os Gêmeos, Nunca, and Nina spread from city streets to art galleries and museums around the world. When City Hall implemented a law to “combat visual pollution”, a graffiti war against the local government is unleashed.
Horizons
Horizontes
Documentary
Cuba, Switzerland
Alicia Alonso’s splendor still radiates throughout the world of ballet today. A star so brilliant, she has captivated audiences worldwide. Even now at the age of ninety, she continues to encourage the dreams of young dancers who seek to follow in her footsteps.
Isaac & Nora, Ep. 01 - Spain and Mexico
España y México
Documentary, Series
Spain
Isaac, Nora, and their parents explain the start of their passion for Latin American music and start their tour at the Canary Islands.
Isaac & Nora, Ep. 02 - México and Colombia
México y Colombia
Documentary, Series
Spain
Isaac and Nora travel to Colombia, land of cumbia and vallenato, where they learn the basic rhythms of cumbia with young musicians their age in one of the suburbs of the capital.
Isaac & Nora, Ep. 03 - Colombia and Peru
Colombia y Perú
Documentary, Series
Spain
In Bogota, the siblings explore folk and manouche jazz. They travel to Peru and explore the music and dance of Arequipa.
Isaac & Nora, Ep. 04 - Chile and Spain
Chile y España
Documentary, Series
Spain
Isaac and Nora travel to Chile and explore its rich musical traditions, including la cueca. They travel back to Madrid where they close the tour at the Teatro Circo Price.
Jaar. Lament of the Images
JAAR el lamento de las imágenes
Documentary
Chile
Alfredo Jaar is one of the most uncompromising and innovative artists working today. To him, art is “the last place” of freedom, and he displays his work as an act of resistance.
Juan of the Witches
Juan de las Brujas
Documentary
Mexico, United States
An homage to 82-year-old Juan Medellín, a founding member of Mexico City's prestigious Ballet Folklórico de Amalia Hernández.
Kobra Self-Portrait
KOBRA Auto-Retrato
Documentary
Brazil
A chronicle of multifaceted Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra’s evolution from a rebellious youth clandestinely graffiting São Paulo’s streets to a global peace activist known for his NYC expansive murals.
La Frontera: Season 1, Episode 1 - Miles from Nowhere
Documentary, Series
United States
Pati travels from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to Big Bend National Park. She discovers the people, places, and food that make the culture and economy of the region distinct.
La Frontera: Season 1, Episode 2 - From Dos Laredos to Mars
Documentary, Series
United States
Pati travels from Laredo and Nuevo Laredo to Brownsville, Texas. She learns how tight family bonds are an underlying theme connecting everything in the Laredos, and throughout La Frontera.
La Frontera: Season 2, Episode 1 - Fronterizos of the Golden Coast
Documentary, Series
United States
Pati Jinich travels from San Diego and Tijuana to Mexicali. She meets the golden coast fronterizos to experience the melding of cultures, cross-border collaborations, and explosive growth.
La Frontera: Season 2, Episode 2 - Ancient Seeds & Desert Ghosts
Documentary, Series
United States
Pati Jinich travels along both sides of the Arizona-Sonora border through some of the most untouched places in North America.
La Frontera: Season 2, Episode 3 - Back to the Middle
Documentary, Series
United States
Pati Jinich travels from Nogales through the border region of New Mexico and Chihuahua, which offers some of the most unique and bio-diverse places in the world.
Mafifa
Documentary
Cuba
Deaf filmmaker Daniela Muñoz Barroso uncovers the legacy of trailblazing female musician Mafifa, finding inspiration and self-discovery along the way.
Marina Abramovic in Brazil: The Space in Between
Documentary
Brazil
Marina Abramović travels through Brazil in search of personal healing and artistic inspiration, experiencing sacred rituals and revealing her creative process.
Miguelito: A Song to Puerto Rico
Miguelito: canto a Borinquen
Documentary, Musical
Colombia, Australia, Puerto Rico
Reminiscent of Searching for Sugar Man, the filmmaker follows the steps of Puerto Rico's child music sensation Miguelito. Featuring incredible archival footage of NYC in the 70s’ and salsa performances from Papo Lucca’s La Sonora Poncena, Malo Malo and many others, this is a film that celebrates the musical and cultural depth of the Caribbean.
Miúcha, the Voice of Bossa Nova
Miúcha, a voz da Bossa Nova
Documentary
United States, Brazil, France
Unseen footage, rare recordings, and vibrant animations unveil the hidden story behind the Bossa Nova movement from Miucha’s distinctly female perspective.
Neighborhood Cinemas
Cines de video
Documentary
Peru
Elder Peruvian cinema workers screen a movie in which they are the protagonists, sharing intimate tales from their past in old theaters.
Niède
Documentary
Brazil
At 85 years old, Brazilian archaeologist Niéde Guidon looks back on a career including discovering cave drawings and devising a new theory on man's arrival on the American continent.
On Suspicion: Zokunentu
Bajo sospecha: Zokunentu
Documentary
Chile
A journey through the works of Mapuche artist Bernardo Oyarzún, exploring identity, spirituality, territory and racial justice in contemporary Chile.
Porro Made in Colombia
Porro hecho en Colombia
Documentary
Colombia
The singer and composer Adriana Lucía undertakes a multi-year musical journey to discover the origins of one of the most characteristic and lively rhythms of the Caribbean.
Roberto Clemente
Documentary
United States
Explore the life of Roberto Clemente, the man who broke racial barriers to become baseball’s first Latino superstar.
Roots of Latin Jazz
Documentary
United States
Celebrate Latin music with the Raices Jazz Orchestra, with originals and arrangements such as Herbie Hancock's “Eye of the Hurricane” and performances by artists including Richard Bona and Anaadi.
Silent Witnesses
Mudos testigos
Experimental, Drama, Documentary, Romance
Colombia, France
An imaginary trek through the history of Colombia (and its cinema) during the first half of the 20th century, using footage of Colombian silent film.
Skin
Documentary, Experimental
Brazil
The vibrant tapestry of Belo Horizonte, Brazil reveals walls adorned with captivating art: stunning murals, raw graffiti, and heartfelt expressions that leave an indelible mark.
Tania Libre
Tania libre
Documentary
Cuba, United States, Germany
In a fascinating and novel approach, Lynn Hershman Leeson allows us to eavesdrop on one of the world’s most celebrated—and daring—Cuban artists, Tania Bruguera’s session with Dr. Frank Ochberg, a New York-based psychiatrist and pioneer in post-traumatic stress disorder and the Stockholm syndrome.
The Apizaco Shaman
El brujo de Apizaco
Documentary
Mexico
The stormy life of Mexican bullfighter Rodolfo Rodríguez González and his alter ego "THE PANA," who worked as a baker, gravedigger, and bundles loader before becoming a bullfighter.
The Journey of Monalisa
Documentary
Chile, United States
Chilean-born performer and writer Iván Monalisa fully embraces his / her dual selves: scrappy, masculine Iván as well as diva, transvestite sex-worker Monalisa.
The Padilla Affair
El Caso Padilla
Documentary
Spain, Cuba
La Habana, 1971: poet Heberto Padilla has just been released from prison and “self-confides” as a counter-revolutionary before the writer’s guild, marking a before and after in the Cuban regime.
Vicente Ruiz: In Real Time
Vicente Ruiz: A tiempo real
Documentary
Chile
An exploration of the social role of art through one of the leading figures of the Chilean counterculture of the 1980s: Vicente Ruiz.
Zurita, You Will See Not to See
Zurita, verás no ver
Documentary
Chile
National Literature Award Laureate Raúl Zurita is not only one of Latin America’s most celebrated and controversial living poets; he is also a rocker, a human rights activist, a public figure, and a tireless struggler. This documentary is an account of his travels and daily life, as he reflects on topics such as state terrorism and death.