The renovation of our website brought with it new learning opportunities, as we have new programmes that will help you improve your Spanish.
One of these is the Spanish film & literature Workshops, a space where we will discuss important books and films of the Hispanic culture.
The list of film and literary works we have available is extensive, and little by little, we will present them to you here in our blog.
Today we bring you one of the films that will be part of our series of workshops, called Diarios de motocicletas (The Motorcycle Diaries). We’ll tell you a little bit about this piece so that you’ll be encouraged to join us in the workshop.
Ready? Lights, Camera, Action!
Diarios de motocicletas (The Motorcycle Diaries)
This biographical film tells a story based on Che Guevara’s diaries during his travels with Alberto Granado.
The plot revolves around the journey they made through South America in 1952. This experience planted a thought in Guevara, who upon seeing the poverty of the indigenous peasants reflected on life itself and its injustices.
These unfortunate situations of the peasants serve as an apprenticeship for the main character. During his journey, he meets different characters along the way who lead him to live bittersweet experiences, some sadder and a few happy ones.
Guevara and Granado’s experiences gave them a deep attachment to the Latin American identity, changing forever their beliefs and the way they saw the world.
The film was directed by Walter Salles, while Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna brought the main characters to life.
Of course, the film won multiple awards. One of these was the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2005. The musical piece was called “Al otro lado del río” composed by Jorge Drexler.
It was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won a BAFTA award, among 20 other nominations and awards.
Walter Salles
The acclaimed director of Terre Estrangeira was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 12, 1956. Like many great artists, his beginnings were far from art since, before entering the world of cinema, he graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro as an economist.
He later found his true vocation and ended up pursuing a master’s degree in audiovisual studies at the University of California.
Salles’ directing style is very characteristic, this is because themes such as exile and the search for identity are the main characters of his works. He proved this with the film that brought him fame, Terra Estrangeira, and, of course, Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries).
The director has received many awards in his career, including the Audience Award at the San Sebastian Festival in Spain. He also came close to winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film for his work in Central Station.
His last film was On the road in 2011.
Gael García Bernal
The Mexican has not only developed as an exceptional actor, but he has also ventured into producing and directing. However, it is still his impeccable acting that has made him recognized worldwide.
Thanks to his work in Mozart in the Jungle, Bernal won a Golden Globe Award. In addition, of all the films he has been a part of, six have been nominated for an Oscar.
Babel, Amores perros, El crimen del padre Amaro and Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries) are among his most important film projects. But his talent does not end there, as he lent his voice to the famous Disney animated film, Coco. In this opportunity, he gave life to the character of Hector.
On the other hand, his directorial debut was in Déficit, a film shot in 2006.
Rodrigo de la Serna
From Brazil and Mexico, we go to Argentina, as Rodrigo de la Serna is originally from Buenos Aires. The actor was born on April 18, 1976, in the southern country.
Serna not only stands out as an actor, but he also has a history in Argentine music. The performance that brought him the most prestige in his career was his role in Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries), which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Awards.
Llámame Francisco, a biographical film about Pope Francis, also scores as a relevant production in which he participated as the main character.
Until 2021 Rodrigo de la Serna worked in La casa de papel playing Palermo. This has been one of his latest works, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.
Now…
Did you pay attention to this article? Let’s put the knowledge acquired today to the test.
Would you like to prepare for the Pearson Edexcel Spanish A-Level exam with us?
Spanish Express offers different Spanish A-Level programmes for adolescents and adults as part of our language tuition services.
We provide an online learning experience for students across the globe with our Spanish A-Level Private Tuition.
You can prepare for the Pearson Edexcel Spanish A level with us and take the exam for the Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Spanish in our London exam centre!
On the other side, our Spanish Express’ Spanish film & literature Ultimate Workshops can be offered to individual students and Sixth Form Colleges, where a single or a series of bespoke workshops can be organised for an A-Level group.
With these workshops, you will be very well prepared and ready to take the Pearson Edexcel Paper 2: Written response to works and translation in Spanish.
Please contact us for a free consultation whether you need help with Spanish individual private tuition, the Spanish academic year programme, or simply general information about Spanish Film & Literature workshops or the Spanish Homestay Immersion Programmes in Spain.
Get to know this and many more film and literary works with our Spanish film & literature Workshops!
Did you find this film interesting? Well, this is just the beginning!
We have prepared for you a set of film and literary works specially chosen not only for you to learn more about the Spanish language, but also to get to know the Hispanic culture in depth.
Enter our Spanish film & literature Workshop section so you can take a look at all the books and films that will be part of the series of the workshops.
You’ll find more than 20 film and literary works available! You choose the one you want to know the most, we will take care of the rest.
With this workshop, you’ll enjoy these benefits:
🙋 Strengthen your linguistic competence with relevant grammar and vocabulary.
📚 Increase confidence in your knowledge of film and literature, and essay writing.
📝 Learn the checklist of everything examiners look for when giving top marks.
📃 Establish a stronger understanding of the different features of texts, which exam questions are often based on.
💻 Densely informative sessions that are kept lively with tailored activities throughout the course.
📑 2 essays marked and graded by our qualified teacher-examiners.
Would you like to come along? If so, don’t forget the popcorn, we’ll be waiting for you to start the show!
Ginnette Di Damaso
Spanish Express Blogger
