Carlos Gutierrez | 20 years of Cinema Tropical

It’s a season to celebrate Carlos Gutiérrez and twenty years of Cinema Tropical. I say one of the most beautiful projects out there in the expansive landscape of Latinx/o/a arts and culture—Continental U.S. and Southern hemisphere.

 A one in a million man with a thrust for this whole thing, cine de América Latina que hay que ver. We spoke about two weeks ago, close to the official Cinema Tropical 20th Anniversary programming that kicked off on March 31 and extends through the fall of 2021. Carlos is tenacious, fierce convictions, and humble. There’s a manner about him, the way he frames impressions of society and circumstance that’s old-wise.

I asked him how he felt at the twenty-year juncture. He responded with, “Cinema Tropical is always we, never me, el cine se hace en equipo.” Our talk begins there and carries on with his sense of Latin American film being the epicenter of cinema, the U.S. going through a creative crisis, thriving during the pandemic, performance anomalies, more funding for the arts, and the importance of celebrating. ¡A buena hora!

 From now until the end of the year, Cinema Tropical will mark its 20, so visit. “Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema already passed but look out for “TropiChat 20” and the special online film and conversation series “Mexico on the Hudson,” celebrating the relationship between New York City and Mexico that begins in June co-presented by the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute. Best of all, the content will be available to audiences across the U.S. and internationally online.

 Lindo and bravo.

Sol