Southern Hemispheres

Thousands gathered in the heart of Montevideo to affirm the human rights of all and to protest the racially charged beating of a woman of African descent in Uruguay five days earlier. According to many, it was the largest racial justice protest in modern memory.

One of the thousands of protestors on the streets of Montevideo to say no to racism and “I love my kinky hair! Long live people of African descent!”

Mate in hand, outside of the Casa de la Cultura Afrouruguaya, Elizabeth Suárez prepares to meet up with family and friends in support of Tania Ramírez, an Afro Uruguayan activist who was preparing to testify before a judge in a case of racial violence that has sparked an intense debate in Uruguay.

Prepping for a day´s shoot. Producer/Director Pam Harris mics up Sergio Ortuño, a master candombe teacher and the founder of Triangulación Kultural. The organization is using candombe to connect and engage marginalized communities in Parisian suburbs and rural Uruguay.

Producer Carolina De Robertis leads an interview with Sergio Ortuño at his home in Canelones, just outside of Montevideo.

Live action shooting with Sergio Ortuño and Manu Brun on the streets of Canelones.

Producers Pamela Harris and Carolina De Robertis prepare for an interview in Canelones, Uruguay with Emmanuel (Manu) Brun, the coordinator of Triangulación Kultural in France.  You can see a video of him here on Youtube promoting a festival coming up in July 2013 in Paris.

The production team was hosted in Melo, a small town near the border with Brazil, by Ramón Farías Sr. (left) and Ramón Farías Jr. (right) to Melo. We were able to take part in many wonderful conversations in community spaces and private homes alike.

Ramón Farías as an infant in the arms of his mother, who was born into slavery in Brazil. After slavery ended in Brazil in 1888, she crossed the border into Uruguay to start a new life and family. Señor Farías was generous in sharing memories and photos from his personal collection with our crew.

A street fire fed by cardboard and wood scraps warms and prepares the skins of  candombe drums in preparation for a comparsa rehearsal on the streets of Barrio Sur in Montevideo.

Dancer Johanna Ba, a native of France, dances with a racially mixed comparsa in the llamadas in Atlántida, a small costal town northeast of Montevideo. Each comparsa (group in the llamadas) features flag bearers, dancers, and scores of candombe drummers. The llamadas (the calls) were traditionally a part of urban culture and drum contingents used their powerful sound to call each other across city blocks.