'El Enemigo' examines the morality of revenge

"El Enemigo" (The Enemy) is one of the movies competing for the Guadalajara International Film Festival's  Best Ibero-American Fiction Feature Film this year.

The feature film by Venezuelan director Luis Alberto Lamata is a harsh, realistic take on the relations between the poor and the law in Venezuela's capital, Caracas. Most of the drama unfolds in the corridors of one of the city's hospitals as mother Antonieta Sánchez (Lourdes Valera) awaits news of her son Odulio's (Dario Soto) surgery after he is brought in with multiple bullet wounds.

Meanwhile, upstairs, a young girl, Elisa (Daniela Alvarado), lies in a coma after having been caught in the crossfire in a gunfight between Odulio and a man he was sent to kill. Her father, Benigno Robles (Carlos Cruz), is a local district attorney and throughout the film, which in parts feels more like a piece of theater than a movie, struggles with his respect for the law and sympathy for Odulio's mother as his only daughter lies between life and death.

In the same vein as films such as "Tropa de Elite" (Elite Troop) and "Cidade de Deus" (City of God), we see the personal dramas and struggles of the characters unfold against a background of extreme violence where the law is more theory than reality. A gripping film with rounded central characters, "El Enemigo" questions the relationship between justice and the law.

See the trailer for the movie in the video above.

-- Deborah Bonello in Guadalajara, Mexico.

U.K.'s Barbican to be transformed by Venezuela's maestro, Dudamel

The Guardian reports on how the Barbican, Europe's largest performing arts center, will reveal a new program of work that includes a stellar list of names, including that of Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

Instead of being a venue for one-off visits by orchestras, the Barbican said it wants to develop more lasting relationships with organizations that it today names as international associates. One of the most eye-catching is the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led as it will be by arguably the most exciting and dynamic conductor working today, the 28-year-old Dudamel, reports Mark Brown.

As Reed Johnson reported in November, Dudamel is the most famous graduate from Venezuela's 35-year-old classical music program El Sistema -- "a program that many regard as a model not only for music instruction but for helping children develop into productive, responsible citizens."

You can see El Sistema in action in the video below.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Internet use grows in Latin America

More affordable computers and an expanding broadband network are two of the factors helping to push Internet use in Latin America, according to a survey conducted by Pyramid Research for Google.

The Miami Herald reports that the recent expansion of Internet users in Latin America has been dramatic.

In 2007, for example, Colombia added 5.4 million Internet users, or about 12% of its population of 45 million -- an 80% increase in the number of Colombia's Internet users that year.

Brazil added 7.4 million Internet users in 2007 (17% growth), Mexico more than 2.2 million (an 11% increase) and Venezuela 1.58 million (38% growth).

Read the full report through the link above.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Friends of opportunity

The Economist writes this morning, in relation to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's Latin America tour:

To some in the United States, this flurry of outside interest in a region that they considered their “backyard” is threatening. They see it is a sign that under President George Bush America has lost influence in the region. In fact, Latin America’s international ties have long been more diverse than caricature allows, but they are becoming even more so as the world changes. For some South American countries, Europe has always been at least as important as a trade and investment partner as the United States. Trade with Japan and the Middle East grew in the 1970s, while the Soviet Union sold arms to Peru as well as sustaining communist Cuba.

It is Mr Chávez’s search for allies in his rhetorical and political battle against the “empire”, as he likes to call the United States, that pricked the interest of Russia and Iran. For Russia, its Caribbean naval jaunt is a symbolic riposte to America’s plan to place missile batteries in Poland and to its dispatch of naval vessels to distribute aid in Georgia after Russia’s incursion in August. The same goes for its recent revival of ties with Cuba.

Click here to read more of "Friends of Opportunity."

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Russia seeking inroads among Latin American nations

Chris Kraul and Patrick J. McDonnell report from Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday to boost economic and political ties, his latest stop on a Latin American tour coinciding with President-elect Barack Obama's preparations to take office.

Along with earlier visits to Brazil and Peru, the trip to Caracas reflects a strategy to re-engage a region that Russia largely has ignored since the fall of the Soviet Union. Venezuela has purchased more than $4.4 billion in arms from Russia, which in turn has committed huge sums for energy exploration in Venezuela.

Medvedev's red-carpet welcome at Caracas' Maiquetia airport followed Tuesday's arrival of four Russian warships, including the nuclear-powered Peter the Great missile cruiser, in the Venezuelan port of La Guaira. It was the most significant appearance of Russian military assets in the hemisphere since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

The Russian ships are to participate in joint military exercises with Venezuelan vessels and aircraft starting next week. Medvedev and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will review the Russian ships today.

Read more of "Russia seeking inroads among Latin American nations" here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Hugo Chavez foes claim symbolic victories in Venezuela

The Times' Chris Kraul reports:

Despite losing most races, opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claimed symbolic victories in Sunday's elections, saying the capture of Caracas City Hall and governorships of the nation's three most populous states will lessen Chavez's chances of abolishing term limits.

At a news conference Monday, Chavez, for his part, said the balloting, in which his candidates swept a clear majority of governorships, was a "victory for the revolution." He announced that his allies won 265 mayoral races, or 81%, versus 62 contests won by opposition candidates.

Controversy swirled in Barinas state, where Chavez's brother Adan was declared the winner of the governor's race by the National Electoral Council, although his opponent, Julio Cesar Reyes, said thousands of Barinas votes remained unaccounted for. Reyes urged his followers to "stay in the streets" to contest the election, whose results showed Adan Chavez ahead by 15,000 votes.

Read more of "Chavez foes claim symbolic victories in Venezuela" here.

--Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Zulia Gov. Manuel Rosales, left, celebrates with Gov.-elect Pablo Perez in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Rosales was elected Maracaibo’s mayor. Credit: Reinaldo D'Santiago / Associated Press

Review: Israel Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel in O.C.

The Times' Mark Swed reviews the young Venezuelan conductor and soon-to-be head of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel on the Culture Monster blog:

When the Israel Philharmonic last came to Southern California, security was tight. Protesters opposed to the Israeli government picketed Walt Disney Concert Hall and one got inside, and the audience waited until bomb-sniffing dogs gave the all-clear. At one of the programs, Lorin Maazel conducted Mendelssohn’s sunny Fourth Symphony, known as the “Italian.” The mood was tense and the performance wasn’t sunny, it was merely dutiful. That was February 2007.

Sunday afternoon, the Israelis returned to Southern California, this time to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, courtesy of the Philharmonic Society. There was, again, the “Italian,” but this time no protests, no dogs. And this time, the sun shined.

Gustavo Dudamel’s back in town. His Orange County debut Sunday ushered in what will be two undoubtedly hyperactive weeks of concerts: He was concluding a tour with the Israel Philharmonic at Disney Hall on Monday and is staying for two weeks with his future band, the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Read more of "Review: Israel Philharmonic with Dudamel in O.C." here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Gustavo Dudamel with the Israel Philharmonic. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Hugo Chavez's candidates leading in Venezuela elections

Mery Mogollon and Chris Kraul report:

Turnout was heavy Sunday in Venezuelan state and local elections, which were seen as a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's decade in office and could be a decisive factor in whether he attempts to abolish term limits and extend his powers.

Late Sunday, the National Electoral Council reported that Chavez's gubernatorial candidates were leading in 17 of 22 states, two of which, Tachira and Carabobo, were too close to call. Chavez's party appeared set to lose the Caracas mayoralty, however.

A turnout of 65% set a modern record for state and local elections, the commission said. None of the results were final.

Chavez's socialist government has been facing inflation, high crime and falling oil prices, but he remains highly popular in this mineral-rich and polarized country. His gubernatorial and mayoral candidates were expected to win solid, if reduced, majorities in the nation's statehouses and city halls.

Nearly 17 million Venezuelans were eligible to vote in the balloting for 327 mayoralties and 22 governorships, and polls stayed open past the 4 p.m. deadline. Currently, Chavez's allies hold 20 governorships and nearly three-quarters of the city halls.

Read more of "Hugo Chavez's candidates leading in Venezuela elections" here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: President Hugo Chavez’s supporters in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. His candidates were expected to win solid, if reduced, majorities in the nation’s statehouses and city halls. Credit: Ariana Cubillos / Associated Press

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel is riding a wave of Dudamania

Reed Johnson reports:

The new global poster boy for classical music and his wife are salsa-stepping across the ballroom of the Alba Hotel. Calm, precise and seemingly always sure of their next move, Gustavo Dudamel and Eloisa Maturen grin at each other and the dozens of other couples around them as they execute perfect copas and "spot turns."

Barely two hours earlier, Dudamel, the 27-year-old conducting prodigy who will take over as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in September, was beaming and waving to a packed auditorium after leading the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra through a thunderous performance of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony. The concert last summer, marking the orchestra's 30th anniversary, was a rousingly nostalgic occasion, with Dudamel's elderly artistic mentor, Jose Antonio Abreu, joining his protege on stage amid a fusillade of flashing cellphone cameras, air kisses and lusty cheers.

Dudamel's seamless transition from virtuoso black-suited maestro to goodtime party guy speaks volumes about why many in the classical music world believe the L.A. Phil has scored the coup of the decade by signing him to a five-year contract. When the charismatic South American takes over from Esa-Pekka Salonen, who is stepping down after 17 years at the podium to further his composing career, he will bring a rare combination of youth and experience, gravitas and exuberance, old-school European repertory knowledge and a New World willingness to break with fusty practices when necessary.

Read the rest of "Conductor Gustavo Dudamel is riding a wave of Dudamania" here.

-- Deborah Bonello

Image: Dudamel talks with reporters in New York this month.

Credit: Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press

In Venezuela, learning as Dudamel did

Reed Johnson reports:

The Don Bosco Communal Center looks much like any other social services agency building in any hardscrabble barrio anywhere in Latin America.

But step inside and you may hear the opening notes of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 spilling from a second-floor rehearsal room filled with 15- and 16-year-old string players. Or youthful fingers plucking a traditional Venezuelan folk tune on a harp, accompanied by a soft percussive rattle.

In the poor hillside neighborhood of Chapellin and at nearly 250 other locales throughout this nation, tens of thousands of young Venezuelans are learning to play classical music and to make art a permanent cornerstone of their lives. They're the latest recruits of El Sistema, or the System, a 34-year-old program that many regard as a model not only for music instruction but also for helping children develop into productive, responsible citizens.

Read more of "In Venezuela, learning as Dudamel did" here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: A performer with the youth orchestra. Credit: Susana Gonzalez / For The Times