Accesible y contento Benicio comparte junto a colegas

Luego de una tarde de entrevistas con varios medios del país el pasado martes, el actor Benicio del Toro compartió en una recepción privada con parte del elenco y equipo de producción puertorriqueño que trabajó junto a él en las películas "Che part One" (The Argentine) y "Che part Two" (Guerrilla), en las cuales interpreta al líder revolucionario Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

La recepción tuvo lugar en el restaurante Level 25 del hotel La Concha, en Condado, luego de haber disfrutado de la primera parte del filme en Caribbean Cinemas de Plaza Las Américas. Allí no sólo compartió con los actores sino que saludó y hasta se tomó fotos con el público que se percató de su presencia a las afueras de la sala.

A eso de las 9:00 p.m., el primero en arribar a la hospedería fue Del Toro junto a Laura Bickford, productora de los filmes. En el vestíbulo habían muy pocas personas, pero rápidamente lo reconocieron, él saludó y lo detuvieron para fotografiarse con él. Entre éstas figuró Mayra Matos, la actual Miss Puerto Rico Universe, quien estaba en una sesión de fotos.

Ya en la terraza del restaurante, posó para varios fotógrafos frente a los carteles del filme. Luego encendió un habano (costumbre que dicen adquirió como parte de su caracterización del "Che") tomó vodka con jugo de parcha y conversó animadamente durante un largo tiempo con Luis Riefkohl, director ejecutivo de la Corporación de Cine.

Más tarde comenzaron a llegar los invitados y actores, todos muy sonrientes por reencontrarse y departir con Del Toro, quien también se mostró feliz y a gusto con sus colegas boricuas.

Antes de partir del lugar cerca de las 10:15 p.m., el también ganador de un Oscar, intercambió impresiones durante un rato con varios estudiantes del curso de cine de Saint John's School. Luego se les sumó Bickford, quien también lució entusiasmada con las preguntas de los jóvenes.

Entre el elenco estaban Norman Santiago, quien desempeña una destacada actuación en ambas películas; Ricardo Álvarez, Luis Gonzaga, Néstor Rodulfo y Carlitos Ruiz. También asistieron Robert Carrady, presidente de Caribbean Cinemas; el ingeniero de sonido Antonio "Toño" Betancourt, la joven cineasta Mariem Pérez, el productor Luillo Ruiz, Rafael Albarrán, protagonista de "Party Time, The Movie"; y la actriz Guelmarí Oppenheimer, entre otros.

Dará voz a documental

De otra parte, en horas de la tarde, en entrevista con EL VOCERO, Del Toro señaló que antes de partir de la Isla le pondrá voz al cortometraje en alta definición "El Yunque: Journey into the Tropical Rainforest", realizado por María Falcón, que se exhibirá en el teatro de El Portal, en el Yunque.

"Tengo (tiempo) para poderlo hacer por lo menos en inglés, antes de irme", indicó. Por otro lado, señaló que si asistía este fin de semana a las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián "lo haría blindado (con su gorra, como de costumbre)".

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Approachable and content among his colleagues

After an afternoon of interviews with various media in the country last Tuesday, the actor Benicio del Toro took part in a private reception with the Puerto Rican cast and production team, who worked with him on the film "Che Part One" (The Argentine ) and "Che Part Two" (Guerrilla), in which he plays the revolutionary leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

The reception was held at Level 25 of the restaurant La Concha Hotel in Condado, after having enjoyed the first part of the film at the Caribbean Cinemas Plaza Las Americas. He not only mingled with the actors, he also greeted and took pictures with the public who noticed his presence on the outskirts of the room.

At about 9:00 pm, the first to arrive at the inn was Del Toro alongside Laura Bickford, producer of the films. In the lobby there were very few people, but they quickly recognized him and he went over to greet them and they took photos with him. Among these people was Mayra Matos, the current Miss Puerto Rico Universe, who was there for a photo shoot.

Already on the terrace of the restaurant, he posed for photographers in front of several posters of the film. Then he lit a cigar (Usually he says he came to this as a part of his portrayal of "Che"), ordered vodka with passion fruit juice and talked animatedly for a long time with Luis Riefkohl, the executive director of the Film Corporation.

Later, the invited guests and actors began to arrive, all very smiling and coming to meet with Del Toro, who too was happy and felt comfortable being among his fellow Puerto Ricans.

Before leaving the place at around 10:15 pm, he, also being an Oscar winner, for a while exchanged views with several students who visit classes at the Saint John's Film School. They were then joined by Bickford, who also seemed excited about the questions of the young people.

Among the attending cast were Norman Santiago, who plays his role throughout both films, Ricardo Alvarez, Luis Gonzaga, Néstor Rodulfo and Carlitos Ruiz. Also attending were Robert Carrady, the president of Caribbean Cinemas; the sound engineer Antonio "Toño" Betancourt, the young filmmaker Mariem Perez, the producer Luillo Ruiz, Rafael Albarrán, the star of "Party Time, The Movie" and the actress Guelmarí Oppenheimer, among others.

Giving his voice to a documentary

Additionally, in the afternoon, in an interview with El Vocero, Del Toro said that before leaving the island he will voice the film in high definition "El Yunque: Journey into the Tropical Rainforest," made by María Falcón, to be shown at the El Portal Theater in Yunque.

"I have (time) to be able to do it in English at least, before I leave," he said. On the other hand, he said that him attending this weekend's Festival de la Calle San Sebastián "will happen incognito (shielded by his trucker hat, as usual)."

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Che: The Argentine and Guerrilla

By Herald de Paris Contributor's Bureau on January 18, 2009

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By: Gabriela Benedit (Photos by Nikol Burgos) - Blame it on Gossip Girl. A weeklong quest to find the holy grail of shameful indulgence is humiliating enough to admit. But, hey, after a month-long vacation in Puerto Rico, one tires of sun-drenched beaches, rum cocktails and bronzed bods. Honestly. On our way to Borders to continue our descent into unabashed loserdom, me n'my co-G.G. junkie Nikol spotted some flashing lights by the local theater. We figured that there must be some hoity-toity event going on. Our first thought? Canapés. Alas, there was no food to be had, but we were met by something infinitely more delicious.

Benicio del Toro.

Several failed inquiries later, we were finally informed that he was on the island to promote his new vehicle, Che, and we were able to score a pair of tickets to the four-hour-long tandem feature followed by a question and answer session with Benny [I can call him that. We're tight] and producer Laura Bickford.

A film split in two, Che 1 & 2 chronicle two seminal epochs in the life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Argentine revolutionary, medic, poet, guerilla warrior… all-around Marxist Renaissance Man. Del Toro has already wrangled himself a Best Actor Award at Cannes for his portrayal of the socialist idol/angst-ridden teenage-firebrand fashion accessory.

Although marketed as a two-part film, the fact is that the tones, stories and editing make the films two very different animals. But when you think about it, the noun "che" is the "dawg" of Argentina. When understood as indicating solidarity and fraternity, it doesn't come as a surprise that neither film seems to focus as much on the character of Guevara as on the spirit of an oppressed people. The Argentine [chronicling the efforts of young Cuban rebels] offers hope whereas Guerrilla makes you want too look up into the heavens through tear muddled eyes, raise your fists and shout "WHY SO UNFAIR? HUH?." It's pretty dismal. In the best possible way. I promise. In both films, depictions of social political landscapes figure as prominently as the luscious Latin American backdrop of green, jungle-y goodness. The geography lends itself to a better understanding of the difficulties faced by the young, eager and armed men who in turn represented and fought against the oppression of a nation. But again, if you're into the whole uplifting, fist-pumping, rawk-on thing, skip Guerrilla. It was so bleak that at a certain point I found myself stepping out for a smoke break.

With the dialogue delivered almost exclusively in Spanish, it's understandable that an English-speaking audience would be put off by four hours of subtitles; however, it's definitely worth the effort. In the words of producer Laura Bickford, "I think Che's values are universal. Make the world a better place. Create a free society." If anything, knowing the story of an idealist who sought to make civil liberty, education and healthcare inalienable rights, desiring to spark change and liberate Latin America country by country. It may not have worked out very well [SPOILER ALERT: Homeboy gets capped before he can free Bolivia], but his story is beautiful and inspiring.

So we watched the movies. We laughed. We cried. We hungrily awaited Benicio's arrival for the Q&A. What a fox. It's clear that it's not simply Benicio's exceptional acting, but also his ridiculous charm that propelled him out of Puerto Rico and into the VIP lounges and hearts of millions [the gaggle of pseudo-intellectual middle-aged [and I quote] "I'm an actress, too"s included].

The thing itself was an utter clusterfuck; as if the heckling by a class from a Mennonite high school wasn't bad enough, we had a representative of theirs asking inane questions of the producer under the impression that she had directed the film [right after lengthy introduction wherein was established the direction by a dude named Stephen Soderberg], an ancient anti-Zionist rambling ad-nauseum about current affairs, and a militant anti-Marxist complaining about a not-radical-enough Che. All-in-all, the Q&A turned out to lack very many Qs, and ended up as a forum for people to express their adoration/abhorrence of Benicio/Che. Luckily, a cool and likely bombed-out-of-his-mind Benicio stood his ground and charmed (very nearly literally) the pants off me.


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