Hola CineLocos, es Father Geek aqui con Coffin Joe Jr. for another round of our Tuesday Latin-AICN cine news column. Make sure to check out Joe's link to the great poster artist Benício down below, its real Eye Candy.

First, I have a report from one of our Cuates in South Texas all about a festival of special interest to Latino film lovers who live within a couple of hundred miles of South Padre Island, Texas. The 8th Annual CineSol Latino Film Festival premiere weekend will be June 1-3, 2001 on South Padre Island and the festival will continue with community screenings throughout the month of June.

The CineSol Latino Film Festival showcases the best of Latino Film and Video in a traveling four week festival that literally makes its way through South Texas. Held in the Magic Rio Grande Valley of Texas, CineSol begins with a Premiere Weekend Splash on beautiful South Padre Island on the Gulf of Mexico, where filmmakers converge and interact with the audience.

OPENING NIGHT: FRIDAY, JUNE 1ST:

8:00pm The Blue Diner/ La Fonda Azul - Written And Produced By Natatcha Estébanez Written and Directed By Jan Egleson One of the few fully bilingual American independent films, this dramatic and hilarious story celebrates how a Puerto Rican mother and daughter confront a lost father, lost language, and lost love. For more information about the film, visit www.bluediner.com

The Blue Diner Team of Filmmakers Natatsha Estébanez and Jan Egleson will be in attendance at the CineSol South Texas Premiere of their film.

Also in attendance will be the CineSol 2001 Rayo De Luz recipient, Miriam Colón, who gives a riveting performance in The Blue Diner. She will be honored on Opening Night with this very special award that is given for outstanding achievement on an international level. CineSol is truly honored to present Miriam Colón with this year's Rayo De Luz Award.

Miss Colón's latest films are ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and starring Matt Damon, the unanimously acclaimed LONE STAR, written, directed and produced by John Sayles, Sydney Pollack's SABRINA, with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond, and THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS, starring Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and Jeremy Irons. She has also performed opposite Raul Julia and José Ferrer in ISABEL LA NEGRA, Al Pacino in SCARFACE, and Marlon Brando in both ONE EYED JACKS and THE APPALOOSA. Ms. Colón is the Artistic Director and Founder of the acclaimed Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre in New York City.

SATURDAY JUNE 2ND HIGHLIGHTS:

7:30 PM, "Blossoms of Fire" A documentary film about the legendary people of Juchitlan, Oaxaca, Mexico. 16mm 74 min. Color. Spanish and Zapotec with English Subtitles. Produced, directed and edited by Maureen Gosling who will be in attendance at her screening.

1:00 PM, "It's Not Unusual" Written and Directed by Kevin Estrada, it's about Max Luna, the youngest of two sons, who dreams of following in the footsteps of his heroes- Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Elvis. But in the Luna Family, tradition plays an important role. Like every Luna before him, it is now time for him to work at the family garage. While trying to impress his father with his talent, Max discovers that heroes can be found where you least expect them. Filmmaker Kevin Estrada will be in attendance at his screening.

SUNDAY JUNE 3RD HIGHLIGHTS:

6:00 PM, "Accordion Dreams", which is produced and directed by Hector Galán, and narrated by Austin singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa. "Accordion Dreams" captures an exhilarating musical style that is rapidly gaining fans worldwide. This program looks at today's young rebel accordionists who have expanded this musical style to the fringes of rock, blues, and pop, while paying homage to its Norte Mexico pioneers.

Check their website By Just Clicking Here for the complete schedule, or contact:

Virginia Haynie Gause, Systems Librarian,

The University of Texas - Pan American 1201 W. University Drive Edinburg, TX 78539-2999

Telephone: (956) 381-2303, or FAX: (956) 318-5396

Or just e-mail: vgause@panam.edu

Sounds like a fun weekend of wind, surf, music, and film! Father Geek back to simply say... Here's Coffin Joe Jr. and the rest of our Latin-AICN column for this week...

Hello Father Geek, everybody, spooky Coffin Joe Jr. here for another week of Latin-AICN, sorry about the slight delay.

Have you guys bought your "Amores Perros" soundtrack album? No? Well, stop what you´re doing right now and go get the damn thing. It is full of delicious Latin pop/rock en español songs, crafted by some of the finest bands of the genre. The track "Corazón", by the trio of cute girls, Titan, is pure joy for your ears.

Highly recommended by your creepy pal Joe Jr.

Here´s this week´s news, go ahead, dig in creepy friends.

US

-The latest Jennifer Lopez vehicle, the supernatural drama "Angel Eyes" directed by Mexican Luis Mandoki, was number 4 this last weekend at the U.S. box office, with roughly US$ 9.225.575, according to studio estimates. The Warner Bros. pic opened in 2375 theatres. Other Latin releases include the Miramax documentary "Calle 54", at number 62 with US$ 23.904, playing in 12 theatres and the Mexican sensation "Amores Perros" at 23 with US$ 224.857, playing in 145 theatres in its 8th week of release.

MEXICO

-Legendary Mexican actor/director/writer/producer Alfonso Arau ("Like Water for Chocolate") has written and directed a new version of "The Magnificent Ambersons" as television mini-series. The project is currently in post-production, getting the final touches before its release. The impressive cast has names like Madeleine Stowe as Isabelle Amberson, Gretchen Mol as Lucy Morgan, James Cromwell as Major Amberson, Jennifer Tilly plays Aunt Fanny and Bruce Greenwood as Eugene Morgan. The budget is US$ 16 million, and it was shot in in Dublin, Ireland.

BRAZIL

-Director Cláudio Assis will make his feature film debut with "Amarelo Manga", with principal photography starting August 15th. After directing the short film "Texas Hotel", which got him attention at the local short film festival circuit, his first movie will be sort of a continuation of the story of the short, with basically the same characters, scenarios and locations, but the feature will have a larger scope. The story takes place in a seedy hotel in downtown Recife, over one day, dealing with the death of the owner of the place.

The cast includes Mateus Nachtergaele ("Central Station") playing the transvestite Dunga, Chico Diaz ("Belly Up") is the butcher named Wellington, actress Dira Paes plays the religious Kika Canibal, and Aramis Trindade will portray Rabecão the local mortician.

Valter Carvalho is the director of photography; he previously worked with director Assis in "Texas Hotel". Director Assis was a producer on "Perfumed Ball", before he made the leap to directing with two other short films, "Texas Hotel" and now "Amarelo Manga".

The movie´s budget is around R$ 1 million (about US$ 500.000) and all of it will be shot in Recife.

-If you enjoy classic vintage movie posters, do I have a treat for your eyes. A local newspaper, "Jornal da Tarde", ran an article about a forgotten master: illustrator Benício. Visit Benício´s website at: This Location.

There you will find old Brazilian film posters and ad material, all painted material by the legendary local artist simply named Benício (actually his full name is José Luiz Benício da Fonseca). Check it out, it´s pretty cool.

-Actress Christine Fernandes stars in three movies, each being in different steps of production. She has a small role as an employee of a marital agency in "Possible Loves", which won an award in Sundance, and is already in theatres down here in Brazil with Murilo Benício ("Woman on Top") and Carolina Ferraz starring; Fernandes is also in "Duas Vezes com Helena", where she plays the crazy Lara; and in the big production "Xangô de Baker Street" with Joaquim de Almeida ("Desperado") as Sherlock Holmes(!?) and Maria de Medeiros ("Pulp Fiction"), based on the book by Jô Soares, she is a nun who gets murdered. Both "Duas Vezes com Helena" and "Xangô de Baker Street" are finishing post-production and will be released in thetres down here shortly.

-Check out the latest issue of "Fangoria" magazine (the one with Imhotep on the cover, with a report on "Ginger Snaps" as well) for an article talking about the release of the "COFFIN JOE" DVDs, with comments from Joe himself, and his biographer André Barcinski, talking about how the DVDs came together and about the documentary about Joe, which won a special award at Sundance earlier this year.

I´m done for the week.

Coffin Joe Jr. says: bye.