When

Fri, Oct. 09, 2009
7 pm - 9 pm
(GMT-05:00) America/Chicago

In the past decade, Latin America has witnessed the emergence of a new generation of democratically elected left-wing leaders who, in most cases, have made history just by winning the presidential elections in their traditionally right-wing countries. Moreover, by breaking up with local political inertia, these leaders have helped establish a new political landscape throughout the region. Though this phenomenon appears to have given rise to a homogenous and consistent regional block, most of these leaders emerged from the diverse and sometimes conflicting traditions of the Latin American Left and from disparate local contexts.

"¡REVOLUCIÓN! The New Latin American Left" is an original film series comprising six documentary films about some of these new regional leaders. This event aims to start a constructive and engaging dialogue about the similarities, differences, challenges and risks of the diverse expressions of the contemporary Left in Latin America, while also discussing the immediate and long-term future of the region.

Each film will be introduced by a specialist in Latin American studies and followed by a moderated discussion session among the audience.

Sponsored by the Department of Hispanic Studies, the Department of Political Science, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, the Department of History and Rice Cinema at Rice University; the Department of Political Science at The University of Houston; and Cinema Tropical, New York.

Venezuela: "La Revolución No Será Televisada (The Revolution Won"t Be Televised)"
(Kim Bartley and Donnacha O"Briain, Ireland, 2003, 74 min. Spanish with English subtitles. 35mm screening.) An award-winning documentary.

In September 2001, Bartley and O"Briain began a documentary on the unorthodox Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. They were still shooting in April 2002 when they found themselves in the middle of a coup. Their film, which records what was probably history"s shortest coup d"état, is a unique documentary that explores political muscle and paints an extraordinary portrait of the man The Wall Street Journal credits with making Venezuela "Washington"s biggest Latin American headache after the old standby, Cuba."

Moderators: Beatriz González-Stephan, Ph.D., Lee Hage Jamail Professor of Latin American Studies, and Luis Duno-Gottberg, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Spanish, both of the Department of Hispanic Studies, Rice University

When

Fri, Oct. 09, 2009
7 pm - 9 pm
(GMT-05:00) America/Chicago