The late afternoon of Wednesday, February 24th was one filled with cinematic hype, as the doors of the Chapel Amphitheater welcomed those spectators who wanted to delight themselves by watching the movie Las Vacas con Gafas. The event was hosted by two associations from Colegio; Cinémathèque, a film association, and the Foreign Languages Association (ALE) for its acronym in Spanish.
At 7 pm, the Chapel was already packed with film enthusiasts, professors, and intrigued students who had patiently waited in line for this special movie night. Cinémathèque’s advisor, Dr. Mary Leonard, gave a warm welcome to the audience as well as the presidents from both organizations, Carlos Carrero (Cinémathèque) and Laura Irizarry (ALE).
The audience at Las Vacas con Gafas con Gafas screening.
Cinémathèque had the goal of collaborating with filmmakers and help them with the subtitles for their movies. Their opportunity to work with Las Vacas con Gafas also counted with two professors from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM), Professors Stephan Pillet and Roberta Orlandini. Both of these professors created the French and Italian subtitles for the film as part of a project with their class. Seven of Pillet’s students assisted him in the French subtitling for this film, which resulted in the film being premiered in the Festival Recontres du Cinéma Sud-Américain at Marseille, as well as other French film festivals.
Dr. Orlandini remarked that “our experience with students and translations was enriching; they [my students] translated portions of film at their houses, and created many dialogues in the classroom about the process. They ask me ‘what is the real meaning behind what the character said, so that we can translate more efficiently?’” Orlandini additionally highlighted how important it is to study other languages.
Dr. Orlandini talking about the process of subtitling.
Dr. Orlandini and Film professor Dr. Mary Leonard emphasized how important film and translation are for Puerto Rico, because of how it “constructs bridges from country to country.” Surprisingly, they also mentioned that most Puerto Rican literature has not been translated in other languages. This particular fact exposes how crucial translation is as a connecting tool between cultures, nations and ethnicities. The lack of translation for Puerto Rican film and literature exposes gaps that need to be filled in order to share the local talent Puerto Rican artists, filmmakers, and writers have to offer. The more common translations become, the more accessible stories will become to broader audiences across the globe, since language has the potential of serving as a unifier between people, rather than a wall between speakers and non-speakers when translation is factored into the equation.
Las Vacas con Gafas is an original film by Puerto Rican director Alex Santiago. Santiago majored in History at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras (UPRRP). He has directed various short films but Las Vacas con Gafas is his first feature film, which has been presented in different international film festivals. “Thank you all for coming, I have presented this movie in different places but when I present it in Puerto Rico, I get really nervous. For me, it’s the most important place [to show the movie],” expressed the filmmaker as he thanked everyone for coming. Without further ado, the movie started and everyone paid attention to a marvelous Puerto Rican cinematic masterpiece. Las Vacas con Gafas tells the story of Marcelino Sariego, a painter and art professor, who is going blind. The director adds that to him, this film best fits under the category of a “cool, boring film,” as it is slow-paced, and in his opinion “a film for the grand minority.”
Director Alex Santiago.
After the movie screening, the audience had the opprtunity to ask Santiago some questions about the film, the process of subtitling, and his upcoming projects which he happily answered. Santiago is already working on the script for his second feature film, titled Andrea Esperando. This activity was a resounding success for both the associations who hosted it and for the humble and talented director who couldn’t be happier to show his work at UPRM. As a spectator, it also left one thinking about how much ground there is yet to cover in translating Puerto Rican literature and film into other languages.
Professors Stephane Pillet, Mary Leonard, and Robert Orlandini alongside Diretor Alex Santiago, and Cinémathèque‘s directive.
*Photo credit: Fran Zayas, Cinémathèque’s historian.