A Weekly Short Film Review
This week’s “Short Film” is another one from a Puerto Rican artist and one that’s very special for all who have seen it on the Island and the diaspora. Aquí is a short documentary film directed by Carlos Mario and narrated by Evelyn Cordero-Olavarría, taking place in “El Verano del 2019” when Puerto Rico protested to get then governor Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation.
Throughout the film, you can listen to the pleneras, panderos, and hand claps accompanying Evelyn’s wholehearted narration about our struggles and feelings as Puerto Ricans take the streets of San Juan for weeks. The beautiful black-and-white photography chronicles the uprising and shows the buoyance that makes us distinctive. Even when being neglected after Hurricane Maria, we fought and celebrated our unity.
Despite nothing improving after the summer of 2019, there’s a sense of hope when watching Aquí. It’s a poetic documentation of the days of our political protest. A reminder that we can do it and that rejoicing is resisting.
Aquí is available on the Criterion Channel.
