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Title: Crucero = Crossroads Rating: 3.3 out of 4 Reference: Director, Ramiro Puerta; written & performed
by Guillermo Verdecchia. Library of Congress subjects: Latin Americans—Canada--Drama
Reviews and Numerical Ratings 4 Provocative view of diasporic identity. Entertaining & lively, particularly in use of Toronto settings and depiction of world history. Uses humour as a pedagogical device for confronting issues of race & racism - implicates viewers in stereotyping without blaming (lets the Saxonians laugh at themselves). Assumes that the viewer is intelligent. Lecture topics: diaspora, race & racism, stereotypes, prejudice, the “other”, transnationalism. Kathy Bischoping & Riley Olstead 3.5 Excellent critique of racial stereotypes of Spanish men found in Anglo culture. The use of humour in this critique made it light but effective. In fact, the humour in this video could be interpreted as a form of resistance. Negative archetypes of Spanish men in American culture as being “drug lords, overly macho, involved in gangs, loud, and ‘unserious’ towards women” are deconstructed, challenged and scorned for their mythological nature and their exaggeration. The video plays on highly stereotypical images of Anglo culture (men in kilts, in pubs drinking beer, playing the bagpipes, and dancing to traditional tunes) to demonstrate the ridiculousness of the essentialist and compartmentalized images of the male Spanish identity. For students at any level. Kisrene McKenzie (undergraduate) 1 The creativity of this video overpowers its main purpose, which is to present the topic of Latino identity and its representation in North America. The use of this vibrant actor, who changes personae constantly from Verdecchia to Wideload, makes it difficult to absorb & view the content in a serious manner. In addition, the constant change of personae makes it intolerable to follow the video & extract its messages. If one wants to watch a video with immense creativity & be entertained, then this is the perfect choice. However, I personally do not believe that students across the curriculum will be able to gain informative knowledge from this video due to the fact that it is unclear, inconsistent, & outrageous in its purpose. In addition, the rambling of this actor who is irritatingly trying to be creative & educational while conveying his messages will make it intolerable for students to even have class discussions. Do not show this video to your classroom: the lack of content is inappropriate for university students. Minh Hoang (undergraduate) 4 Great pick for the festival. Creative & artistic treatment of many “identity” issues. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments even while dealing with complex issues. Well-written and performed, not simplistic. Lecture topics: ethnicity, immigration, arts & cultural production, everyday life in the city, identity (gender, masculinity). Mervyn Horgan 4 Great video!!! For lectures on ethnicity, identity,
whiteness, “Saxon” culture, stereotypes of Latin-ness. Luin
Goldring
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