NOW I KNOW

It has been hard to know how I want to make my film intro. Since I am ten years old, I have imagined great intros for films while I listened to music.; therefore, for me MUSIC is an elemental factor for the intro because it sets the tone for the scene, and there are so many beautiful songs that can provide an unexplainable environment for the film. Consequently, this whole week I have been thinking and searching which song I WANT. It seemed to be wayyyyyy easier when I used to do this for fun but now that I have to truly consider what I can do, and when I have to have it ready for; is when the brain turns into a state (as the choreographer of my theatre class said, "my brain is dead"), hours later I got to understand that mental state. Also, now I get to understand why peers of my class where asking if we can post in our blogs, our mental breakdowns due to the project and to be honest NOW I get it; didn't have a mental breakdown but my brain was dead, with all the ideas I wanted, all the stories I wanted to share, all the songs to choose from, etc... BUT NOW I KNOW.

As I was doing a quiz for the class of Chemistry that I am taking online, I was listening to my dad's afternoon ritual, playing his music. My dad is a person who has a story for everything, and my mom is there to point out the truth out of those stories because my dad is great being hyperbolic. As I was saying, my dad has a story for everything, most from his experiences, and he constantly connects those experiences with a sensation, and a song that reminds him of that moment or to a song that was actually at the moment. Therefore, this always inspired me to create a story, as my dad shares them, music riven and nostalgic. On the other side, my dad also help me to get inspired by playing his music on shuffle; and as I was doing my homework, the salsa music I was listening to from the living room, changed the tone completely; to a tone I've never heard before in salsa, so classical and moving emotionally which was a new to me since salsa music makes you want to dance, but rarely makes you want to take a step back and just contemplate your environment or the moment. All this feeling due to a section of the song which mixes an orchestra with the salsa. It may sound random but it is beautiful, and that is when I knew which song I WANT for my intro.

As an amazing artist I got to know this year (not personally), Stromae, a French artist and composer, he said once in a interview that the reason for him to create his music in french, is because it sticks to his native language allwoing him to express himself accurately. And this stuck to me, therefore my film intro will be using the song "El cantante" (the singer) by Hector Lavoe,the film will be named "La Sabrosa Comedia"(the Delicious Comedy) , alluding to Hector Lavoe's album of "La Comedia", where the song "El Cantante" was in; also I allude to Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" since even though I know Divine stands for heavenly, in Spanish's colloquial language it is also used as a synonym for delicious, and the word "sabrosa" is the feminine of another synonym for delicious in Spanish. Also, the word "sabroso" suits perfectly to one of the film's elemental factors, salsa music; which in Spanish salsa stands for "sauce"; therefore, the salsa is used for giving more flavor to the food, as the salsa music is considered to give more flavor to life.

I have been thinking for a great song to use for so much time; I went through the decade of the 70s and 80s; because those are my favorite decades, and I didn't know which song to use and which decade the story should be in. Every song that I found gave me the tone and a feeling for a story that I did not want my intro to be based upon, so I had to look a little bit more; something more meaningful, relatable and nostalgic. I have not been in the 70s nor 80s but I would have liked to; also by my grandma and dad sharing their experiences on such eras, makes me want to know how it used to be, and more how my country used to be also. In addition, Hector Lavoe, is a salsa singer who marked the South American and Caribbean culture, a Puerto Rican artist who gave to the Hispanics and Latinos, the american 70s motto of "Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll" but rather "Sex, Drugs, and Salsa"(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XhaLIv2uGw&t=1612s.
Therefore, in order to be nostalgic and relatable to me, I have to follow Stromae's technique of sticking to one's native language to express our art.

As a result, my film ideas/goals for my film intro are:
-Foreign film (Hispanic/Caribbean)
-Sound driven/Dance scene (Salsa, Hector Lavoe "El Cantante"
-Nostalgic, 70s/80s South America/ Miami
-Comedic, playful
The film could go two ways, either the protagonist Juan, has emigrated from Puerto Rico, Colombia or Venezuela, to Miami; and is adapting but can't get over the life he is used to have in his coutry. Or the film will take place in Juan's country, and the film would be about the life of a teenager of such era, in which the information could be based upon interviews to people whose adolescence was in South America.
The introduction of the film will be a dance scene were the main protagonist named Juan Garcia (interpreted by a friend of mine, Juan Diego), will be entering to a party along with two friends Willie and Ivan; and as he is getting comfortable to dance salsa since he is learning,the scene starts to change ( it could be from the alcohol or is attracted to a girl who would be interpreted by a friend of mine Sofia Herrera). That still needs to be thought through.


My inspirations for this dance scene come from films such as Dirty Dancing, Slumdog Millionaire, and Call Me By Your Name:

• Dirty Dancing: the introduction of the film sets the tone of what dirty dancing means by showing close-ups of a slow movement scene, of young people of the 50s dancing in a party. This scene sets the space for the titles, playing the song "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes. Consequently, this introduces the tone, and title of the film before any character is introduced.

• Slumdog Millionaire: Even though it portrays a story based in India, it is an English film since it was directed by Danny Boyle; who made the film to be sound driven but lack cellos for the music not making you weep but rather anxious, and mainly the soundtrack possessing the style 70s Indian Disco Music, when the film is based on 2008 but all with the purpose to give the film scenes alluding to Bollywood's techniques such as dance scenes at the end of the film.

• Call Me By Your Name: American film set in Northern Italy during the 80s. A film that inspires me for my intro by possessing a beautiful scene where the soundtrack, lighting and mise en scene give the perfect space for the character Oliver to jam to the music while been contemplated by the protagonist, Elio; who has a crush on him.

Finally, the "La Sabrosa Comedia" will be a film of drama, romance and comedy based n the year of 1978, demonstrating the life the character Juan Garcia who gets to get over the love of his teenage life, who he either left due to how he emigrated or the girlfriend broke up to him. (that still needs to be decided, and I need approval from Fania Records in order to use Hector Lavoe's song :) no pressure).