Video Cortaditos: A Collaboration with José Torres-Tama

I still remember the first time I saw José Torres-Tama perform at LSU back in the late 90’s. I was probably about 19-20 and was soaking up everything I could about theater and performance art when, sitting next to Dr. Michael Bowman, I got to see this comic-poet-priest emblazon the stage with wild visual and verbal imagery while ranting about a collage of subjects such as consumerism, immigration, religion and race. Years later I would get to share the stage with José, film his work, create projections for his shows, and very recently we collaborated on the creation of these “Video Cortaditos” for his "Speaking Truth to Perverse Power" series. For this project he gave me just a couple photos, some original music by BA3, and the freedom to create something to bring them visually to life. A cortadito, for those who don’t know, is a small shot of strong, Cuban coffee that will wake you up.

This series is supported in part by a 2020 National Performance Network (NPN) Documentary & Storytelling Fund awarded in March to Torres-Tama.

You can learn more about José’s work at www.torrestama.com.

Credits:

Text: José Torres-Tama

SoundScapes: BA3

Video Design: Bruce France

Photo Image: Craig Morse.