Home Authors Posts by Victor Noe

Victor Noe

48 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Latinx Movies in the Running for the Oscars

Oscars season is near, so of course, it’s appropriate to talk about the Latin American talent that got submitted for the Academy’s consideration and the possibility of being a nominee or even winning an award. 

Every country made a proposal, but only a few of them made it to the shortlist, and we still don’t know if they will get nominated, so here’s a brief list of highlights from this year if you’re an avid cinema enjoyer. 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: LA FIERA Y LA FIESTA (HOLY BEASTS)

Holy Beasts, directed by Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman, follows the story of Vera, an old actress that wants to pay homage to her late friend Jean-Luis Jorge, finishing one of his big projects while she still can. Following Vera, as she faces struggles and has to seek the help of people she’s no longer in contact with, yet still has one clear goal: finishing this project for someone she holds close to her heart is, to say the least, a fantastic experience.

The cast members are outstanding through and through, with music that perfectly matches the movie’s feeling and beautiful cinematography that makes everything glow more. At last, the film closes a chapter in Vera’s life, and as the spectator, it feels like a warm hug after getting to know the character so deeply.  

PANAMA: PLAZA CATEDRAL

Directed by Abner Benaim and starred by Ilse Salas and Fernando De Casta. We get to know the story of Alicia, who is trying to live a normal life while dealing with emotions that she has to hide after losing her son, but everything suddenly changes when a little boy shows up at her doorway with a bleeding wound.

The highlights of Plaza Catedral, without a doubt, are the performances, with the cast making every bit of the movie feel genuine, trapping the audience into feeling everything they go through together. “How far would you go to help a stranger?” is one of the essential questions Alicia has to answer, and you’ll have to watch to find out. 

VENEZUELA: UN DESTELLO INTERIOR (THE INNER GLOW)

In The Inner Glow, directed by Andrés Eduardo Rodriguez, we revolve around Silvia. Silvia is a janitor struggling with money and many family conflicts, having to take care of her little daughter Sara all by herself when she faces the biggest of threats that someone can face in Venezuela: a severe medical diagnosis. 

We get to know a desperate woman in a country with nearly no opportunity for impoverished people, pushing her to make desperate decisions.   

MEXICO: NOCHE DE FUEGO (PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN)

Prayers for the Stolen is a heart-wrenching movie about the innate fear of being a woman, directed by Tatiana Huezo, adapting the book by Jennifer Clement. The film is about a tiny community exposed to Narcos, where they would come and take every girl they thought it was pretty, and the girls would never come back. 

“In Mexico, the best thing that can happen to you is being born an ugly girl,” said reviewer Frida Lai. We see a mother trying to protect her child, cutting her hair, dressing her as a boy, everything to avoid attention since being considered cute in an environment like this would only take you away from your family.

You can watch it on Netflix, and yes, it’s a devastating story, but it’s also a true one and deserves recognition. We hope to see this one up on the nominee’s list.

Let’s hope that one of the Latin proposals snatches the Oscar this year, and if you have the chance, make sure to check these fantastic submissions!

Latin TV Shows To Stream – While We Spend More Time at Home During This Never Ending Pandemic

If you’re looking for some good Spanish-language TV shows to watch on a dull evening, we bring you some excellent TV shows to spend time with. Some of them are enough to keep you entertained for a long while if you’re into long series, so enjoy!

La Niña (The Girl)

La Niña is a Colombian production that follows the story of a little girl taken by the guerrilla. After many years of trauma and being separated from society, she scapes, trying to settle a new life and recover the normality that she could never have. But of course, there are challenges; scaping the guerrilla is not easy, and it has consequences. And, of course, recovering your sanity when compromised so many times is the biggest challenge to overcome.

You can stream The Girl on Netflix.

100 días para enamorarnos (100 Days to Fall in Love)

In this Mexican TV show, we closely watch Constanza and Remedios’s lives, two adult women who decide to end their respective marriages with their husbands. While Constanza puts a condition of 100 days before deciding if she’s ending her marriage definitively, Remedios’ plot takes a turn when her first love comes back into the picture.

It’s a fun watch for sure, and you can find it on Netflix as well!

El Juego de Llaves

We’re moving to an Amazon Prime original, this time shorter than the two previous on the list, starring renowned actors like Maite Perroni and Sebastian Zurita. The show is a lustful journey where four long-time couples decide to try and be swingers between them while exploring things like imposed monogamy, desiring someone while you’re with someone and exclusivity in long relationships. It’s a fun and short watch, definitely for the grown-ups, with only two seasons that add up to eighteen total episodes.

PobreNovio (#PoorBoyfriend)

A Chilean production that you can find on HBO Max, #PoorBoyfriend, is created by Alejandro Cabrera, starring Etienne Bobenrieth. The show’s about Santiago Garcia, a man that gets dipped on the day of his wedding, and someone happens to be recording when his now ex bride takes off in a motorcycle, leaving him standing there all alone.

When the video gets viral alongside the hashtag ‘Pobre Novio’ (Poor Boyfriend), Santiago quickly becomes famous, and suddenly many women are interested in him, gaining him a one-in-a-lifetime deal: being raffled to random women who want to marry him.

This one is a long ride, too, but it pays up with its exclusive charm!

If you were missing the classic Telenovela format instead of the new trend of making TV shows a lot shorter, this list is created especially for you!

Top 5 Latin Albums of 2021

This 2021 sure was an excellent year for music. We saw a fantastic display of talent, with different artists exploring different sounds and genres that they’ve never done before. As a result, we put together a list of some of the incredible albums we think are the best of the year.

1. Revelación – Selena Gomez

After dropping her album Rare, which was more bubblegum pop and dancey than fans expected after singles like Fetish and Bad Liar, fans understood that Selena was trying to close a chapter in her life. With tracks like Lose You To Love Me or Vulnerable, letting everyone know that she was now in A sweeter place before moving into this new project that many of her fans were anxiously expecting.

Back in the day, Selena made a Spanish version of her singles, like Un Año Sin Ver Llover, o Díces, when she was still working with Disney Channel, but she never fully jumped to do a whole project in Spanish, until Revelación.

Technically an EP, but it feels more than enough, with seven tracks that explore a lot of Latin sounds that are easy to listen to, great lyrics, enjoyable, and might give you an energy boost when you go through it.

2. KG0516 – Karol G

Karol G announced her newest album with that eclectic cover by David LaChapelle and an album trailer voiced by Kali Uchis, leaving people wondering what KG0516 would sound like. And saying it was a surprise would be an understatement.

Everyone would agree that this is the best album from Karol G; without a doubt, it has everything to be an incredible experience. You have some bangers like El Makinón and Bichota, and love songs like Contigo Voy a Muerte, even a corrido with more Mexican sounds in 200 Copas. She really checked every box with this one, and of course, she earned a Grammy nomination and a well-deserved one!

3. Sueños de Dalí – Paloma Mami

After releasing her hit singles Not Steady and Fingías, Paloma gained a fanbase, which was incredibly excited for a debut album from this promising young artist with this unique voice and a presence that’s so magnetic.

This 2021, Sueños de Dalí came around, in which Paloma showcases her beautiful and hypnotizing voice and rather simple trap beats to sign over, making some mesmerizing R&B tracks.

It’s not every day that we see Latin artists making R&B in Spanish, and Paloma Mami does it incredibly well, with only 22 years.

4. Vice Versa – Rauw Alejandro

Rauw Alejandro has been working nonstop on his career, and there’s no point in denying his talent when it comes to making the catchiest songs and some of the most interesting when it comes to the standard for urban artists.

And until Afrodisiaco, everything from Rauw Alejandro was expected to be reggaeton. Still, Vice Versa was a welcomed surprise, seeing him go to a more Latin pop sound mixing it with his reggaeton roots and execute it flawlessly, too, with tracks like Todo de ti, Cúrame, Aquel Nap ZzZz, and ¿Cuándo Fue? Tracks add a little plot twist to the genre and leave you craving more.

Overall, the album is a 10/10, just the right length, and I’m sure you’ll want to add some of the songs to your playlist after the first listen!

5. Besitos, cuidate – Princesa Alba

Another talented Chilean artist appearing on our list tonight is Princesa Alba, who you might not know yet, but it sure is an incredible discovery. At the beginning of her career, she had more of a trap vibe, maybe falling under the spectrum of what people call “neoperreo.” Since then, she’s been exploring different genres and growing as an artist, and now I can thoroughly say she has found her voice, and it’s a fantastic one.

This 2021 she released ‘besitos, cuidate’ an incredible Electropop record about female empowerment, going through a breakup, and getting over it, with tracks like nasty, acelero, and amor sin amor, that are so catchy and energetic that you want to get you on your feet and dance.

If for any reason, you decided to ignore any of these albums earlier in the year, we encourage you to check them out. We know you’ll be pleased.

Rebelde is Back on Netflix: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Miss It

After nearly 20 years of the first release, people are still asking for a reunion from RBD; we cannot deny the impact that Rebelde had on Television history as a Teen Telenovela, being the predecessor for many other Hispanic teen dramas, like Elite.

Not to mention that the Music group RBD still has over 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and their iconic song Salvame surpasses the 80 million plays, being released in 2004 and coming from a Telenevola production.

The traction they gained was unexpected, and so was how much they meant to the people who grew up watching the show, filling whole stadiums for the Music group concerts time and time again. Rebelde, simply, was a trailblazer.

Sadly, or luckily, for the fans of the show, what Netflix announced this 2021 wasn’t the awaited Reunion from the original cast, but rather a reboot TV show of the same name, following new characters but maintaining central plot relations to the original.

The cast looks promising, and as always, it is refreshing seeing Netflix give opportunities to new talents to showcase their abilities on such a platform. As with every teen drama, it’s expected that the Rebelde reboot will be a hit show.

But the old fans are not as pleased as one would think, with the show receiving a lot of hate even before the first trailer dropped or they knew anything other than the cast, claiming that they were tired of the reboots from every old franchise and that this was going to be awful.

Mainly because, as expected, the old show had a lot of problematic behaviors from the characters, to say the least, content that might be reduced or deleted from the show adaptation, given that the values have changed, and people are now less receptive when it comes to offensive and problematic behaviors in the media they consume.

And fans think removing such things will end with a soulless reboot that is nothing like the original content but the name. Maybe, though, that will be a good thing, using just the name but creating a whole new universe that sometimes reminds people of the original Rebelde.

So far, we can expect good music, lots of fights, drama, and betrayal from what we’ve seen in the trailers. And the wait until we find out if this will be either a masterpiece or a complete disaster is not that long, since the show is premiering early on 2022, on January 5th. Let’s hope it doesn’t let us down.

Meet Arca: The Venezuelan Producer that Will Change Music Forever

Music is art, and like every expression of art, some people will be uncomfortable looking at it, but some people will love it and understand it. Because, of course, art is supposed to evoke emotions, and the message will resonate with some but not with everyone.

And for many people, that’s Arca. The Grammy-nominated artist has been climbing her way to where she is right now, working with the Venezuelan group La Vida Boheme, on their Grammy-nominated album, to producing for Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Björk.

Last year, the Venezuelan artist dropped the first installment of her newest era: KiCk i, where she worked with artists like Rosalía, SOPHIE, and Björk.

The album received a general acclamation from critics and fans and a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic Album, being her most streamed and ‘mainstream’ album, gaining her a collaboration in the Euphoria HBO soundtrack, with her original song called ‘Mother.’ She recently worked with Lady Gaga in Ariana Grande on the Rain on Me Remix.

Arca has always talked about her experience as a trans person and everything about her queer experience, making music that might be disruptive and even noisy to some people, but this 2021, she proved to everyone her range when it comes to music.

She released four installments of the KiCk universe, finishing the era with really different albums between them. She dropped an album per day from November 30 to December 3, while everyone talked about her, thanks to her two vogue cover features. One for Vogue Latin America, and one for Vogue Mexico, sparking a conversation about transness, making music that’s not for everyone, and what she meant for her fans: a voice, liberation, representation, transgression.

With KiCk ii, she tapped more into her Latina side, making some reggaeton tracks a lot more danceable like the double single Prada/Rakata while keeping her experimental essence, with tracks like Muñecas, and even a ballad, featuring Sia. Transitioning into KiCk iii, she went back to the experimental sounds in her albums Mutant and Xen, a lot noisier and busier.

Closing with ‘Joya,’ it made a lot more sense when KiCk iiii came around the corner, with more distorted instruments like piano, bass, and electric guitars, running towards ‘ambient’ music, with equally beautiful lyrics to match the overall vibe.

Again, it served as an opening of the last installment: KiCk iiiii, where she jumped in full to the ambient vibe, making an album that feels like a warm hug, nostalgic but not necessarily sad, simply just moving and emotional.

With this project, she really went through it all, different genres and styles, different types of lyrics, and different feelings, proving to everyone that experimental music is not just “noises,” as some people like saying while making a statement.

Because as mentioned before, art is supposed to make people feel things, even if those feelings aren’t necessarily comfortable. It makes you reflect, even if you don’t want to think about it.

That’s why artists like Arca, with this transgressive point of view to her music and persona, deserve to have a spotlight—changing perceptions little by little.

Top 5 Latin Movies of 2021

Just like music, there are other forms of entertainment, and maybe the most common media are movies, so of course, we had to get together a small list of recommendations for you. If you’ve missed any of these titles because you’re living under the rocks or were in retirement far from society, you need to see them and live the experience while they’re still fresh.

1. In the Heights

Starting with a movie adaptation of a beloved Broadway musical, In the Heights premiered both on HBO max and theaters this year, receiving an overwhelmingly good critic for both the acting and the music made by Lin-Manuel Mirada. In this movie, we follow our main character, Usnavi, who tells a story about Washington Heights to four children, about love, fear, family, and the importance of following your dreams, no matter how far or weird or complicated they seem.

We met and fall in love with many different characters in Washington Heights, knowing their struggles, personal fears, and personal dreams. Everyone in this movie has something to offer, and every one of them gets to tell their side of the story so that you can relate.

2. Encanto

Encanto premiered recently, the newest animated film from

Walt Disney Pictures, this time being inspired in Colombian culture, with original music made by Lin-Manuel Miranda as well, following the story of Mirabel, a woman with no gift, in a family full of magical abilities. We follow her in her journey, learning to love herself with her self-perceived flaws, as she saves her family, that’s being threatened and can maybe lose it all at the end.

It is endearing, heartwarming, and full of representation for anyone who has lived the Latino experience, definitely worth watching it with your family or friends.

3. West Side Story

Another beloved Broadway musical that received a movie adaptation this year was West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler, who is said to star as Snow White in the future live-action from Disney

The movie follows Tony and Maria, that fall in love, and spark a fight between two gangs, to have power over the streets of Manhattan’s West Side. With a story worth a tear or two, maybe more, if you’re emotional. If you love musicals, West Side Story is a quality one, and you might love it too.

4. Eternals

After winning the Oscar for Best Director, Chloe Zhao went on to direct a new movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time, with a different approach to what we know as a superhero movie. Eternals is more about the hero’s journey and their stories than the action, explosions, and everything we know as a superhero movie to date.

With a renowned ensemble, with actors like Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, and Angelina Jolie, this is arguably one of the best movies in the MCU if you are looking for something fresh and out of the pattern from the last movies. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, that’s for sure, but if it is yours, it will become one of your favorite movies.

5. I Care A Lot

At the beginning of the year, back in February, Netflix announced a new movie starring Rosamund Pike and Eiza Gonzalez, with many other known actors, like Peter Dinklage, and people really didn’t have any expectations for this movie, but it turned out great.

The film received a lot of critical acclamation because of the movie’s weird charm: there’s not a hero to root for. Like in real life, people are not necessarily good every time. There are bad people in this world, and it was a strange reality check following Marla’s story, a scammer.  This movie makes you realize bad people can make great protagonists.

THE STORY BEHIND SKY MONROE’S MUSIC

Sky Monroe is much more than a singer, behind her music are several years of working behind the scenes in everything including music production. Born in Queens, NY, and raised in Miami, Sky Monroe comes from a Colombian household. They had to face several difficult years, as her family tried to establish back in Medellín, Colombia, but due to the political crisis that was taking place in the country, they had to move back to the states. 

Thanks to that experience, Sky developed a sensitivity towards composition, using music as her escape. 

 “Music became my therapy; my outlet and it was and still is the healthiest way to cope.” 

She developed a passion for music when she was 4 years old when she started singing. Luckily, she comes from a musical family that supported her decision of becoming a singer when she was 9 years old. During her brief time back in Colombia, her parents encouraged her musical studies, making her study classical music theory. 

When she came back to the states, she continued her way with music, participating in musical events at school, including an audition where she sang a Mariah Carey song in acapella.  At just 15 years of age, she was already writing and composing her own songs. Shortly after, she got the opportunity to start gravitating towards production, a field that not all artists are involved with, but it’s a great addition to a musician’s career. 

“As a producer and songwriter, I usually always contributed towards composition; this includes lyrics, music, melody and vocal production.”

Since then, she had the opportunity of working alongside major names in the industry like Federico Vindver, Pitbull (With whom she collabed’ in his album during 2019), and DJ Snake. As for right now, she’s signed with Universal Music Publishing Group, where she’s working on different projects as a producer, but also working in her very first EP “Revelación” which was set to be released during spring. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1wmiLEq-ROM

LATIN COMICS TO KEEP AN EYE ON #LOL

Comedy is perhaps one of the best ways of entertainment one can think of, and as comedy is usually rooted in reality and personal life experiences; is no surprise how many of us relate with Latino comedians. 

Take a look at the list we made and maybe you’ll find out some new faces to keep an eye on: 

JOANNA HAUSMANN

She’s a Venezuelan-American comedian and writer who started her career on YouTube, with her online show “Joanna rants”; where she discussed topics such as the difference between Spanish accents all across Latinamerica, the immigrations challenges, and stereotypes, all with her usual sense of humor. Nowadays she’s working as head-writer of Disney Channel’s show “Hamster & Gretel”. 


ANJELAH JOHNSON-REYES

Anjelah is the perfect example of how being yourself can lead you to succeed. In her own words, at the beginning of her career, she used to force herself into the stereotypical Latina character, exaggerating accents, etc. Nowadays she keeps her Latina part but shows more of her true self, sending the message that not all Latinos are the same.


FELIPE ESPARZA

After overcoming tough life situations and even substance abuse, Felipe Esparza has found a way to a better life through comedy. He currently hosts a podcast called “What’s up fool?” where he interviews literally every person he finds interesting. He’s now touring the U.S until November of this year. 


MATTEO LANE

Growing up Latino in the U.S has its own challenges, but growing up Italian-Mexican on a religious family and being gay, that’s a whole new level. That’s why Matteo’s comedy sparkles on its uniqueness, as he treats with humor the trials and tribulations of overcoming stereotypes and being at peace with himself and his queerness. He’s a breath of fresh air for the LGBTQ Latino community.

GET LOST IN AMBAR LUCID’S MUSIC

When someone thinks about Latin music, the first thing that comes to mind is reggaeton, salsa, merengue, or any kind of tropical, Caribbean fusion. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

The great thing about Latin music, and Latin American culture in general, is its variety. You can find many incredible sounds and rhythms in Latin music apart from the mainstream, Caribbean-inspired rhythms. Latin Pop is a genre that has been around for decades, and most giant artists within the Latino community fall into this category.  

In the most indie part of the Latin Pop spectrum, you can find Ambar Lucid. She’s a star on her way to the top, and she’s changing and breaking every single rule in the book. 

Ambar started her career uploading her own songs to SoundCloud. From those very first moments, she showed how easy it was for her to alternate between English and Spanish, something that’s becoming more popular as 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants are becoming pop stars. 

In those first songs, she used to play the guitar and record herself on voice notes; a self-made artist in every single step. She played with indie-pop until she found psych-rock, which “Changed the game” for her. 

In early songs like “A letter to my younger self”, she explored using her own experiences to build her storytelling. This song in particular was her first hit. She used it to cope with his father’s deportation. 

By now, she has built not only a solid fandom and what’s better, an aesthetic universe around her music, which you can clearly see in the official video of her single “Get lost in the music”. 

She’s also celebrating the release of her first EP, with the same name as her first single. 

Still, the biggest opportunity she’s had is now available on Netflix, as Ambar got to be featured on the extra successful Spanish series “Elite” with not one, but two songs on its soundtrack. You can listen to “Fantasmas” and “Shades of Blue”. 

With the return of live music events, she’s confirmed for the Ruido Festival in Chicago, during the month of August, where she will share the stage with big names in the industry like the Argentinian band “Los Fabulosos Cadillacs” and the Venezuelan “Los Amigos Invisibles”. 

PAHUA: THE BEGINNING OF A SOLO CAREER

Paulina Sotomayor is an already established name in the Mexican music industry. 

Known as a DJ, singer, and songwriter, she has mostly worked alongside her brother in their band “Sotomayor” with which they have toured in Latin America, United States, and Europe. 

As a DJ, she mixes together electronic sounds with traditional Latin rhythms, and after a long career, she finally decides to come up with her own solo project. 

Pahua is a project in which she combines different genres, creating her own identity within Latin alternative sounds. She plays with electronic, downtempo, lo-fi beats, and Latin rhythms, as well as femininity, empowerment, nature, inner force, and self-love as their topics. 

Last year, she released her first single “Vayayó” which is the perfect mix between traditional Latin sounds with electronic music, giving you a sound that’s both catchy and easy to dance; you can see yourself enjoying a summer party streaming this song. 

The stunning video was filmed in Xochimilco, Mexico City and now counts with more than 100K views on YouTube. 

Her latest single “Caramelo” also came with the release of her first EP “Ofrenda”. 

“Caramelo” offers a Pop feeling mixed with lo-fi beats, in which the relationship with oneself is the main theme. The video was actually filmed in Pahua’s house during the lockdown and has a very similar aesthetic to the first one. You can spot that nature is a great source of inspiration for her work. 

Her EP “Ofrenda” released in February, and it was followed by an EP of remixes released in April. 

According to Pahua: 

“Ofrenda is the beginning of a cycle based on self-discovery, which shows my feminine side. Although this EP sounds organic, it was created from the new technological processes to which we have had to adapt in these pandemic times.”