“Cumbia callera" Makes Its Debut at LALIFF

The award-winning Mexican motion picture will be released on DVD
on September 23rd in the United States and Puerto Rico

Miami, FL, September 8, 2008 – Venevision International, an entertainment company part of the Cisneros Group, announced the U.S. premiere of the celebrated Mexican film “Cumbia Callera,” winner of a number of internationally recognized awards.  The debut will take place this coming Saturday, September 13th, at 9:00 PM (PST) at the Egyptian Theater as part of the 12th edition of the renowned Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF).

A wisp of plot, sexy leads and lots of music genially float “Cumbia Connection” [Cumbia Callera] – Variety

Following the premiere at LALIFF, the DVD of “Cumbia Callera” will hit stores in the United States and Puerto Rico on September 23rd.

This innovative Mexican production by Rene U. Villarreal recently won the award as Best Film in the Perspective section of the 30th edition of the Moscow International Film Festival.  This only adds to the honor of ‘Tatu Tumpa’ as the Best First Work, bestowed on “Cumbia Callera” during the 10th edition of the Ibero-American Film Festival of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

These distinguished recognitions, according to Villarreal, who also wrote the original screenplay and directed the motion picture, are not only for him, “they are mainly for all those who made it possible for ‘Cumbia Callera’ to exist, beginning with the starring cast, of course, Fernanda Garcia Castañeda, Oliver Cantu, Andul Zambrano, and Celso Piña,” he pointed out during a interview recently published in a distinguished Mexican publication.

Filmed in the colony of Independence, located in the center of Monterrey, Mexico, which is better known as the `la Colombia regiomontana’ sector, “Cumbia Callera” is a particular and unique urban film in the sense that it is not a typical musical in which the cast performs song-and-dance routines, rather it’s a passionate and erotic story centered in a subculture known as “cholombianos’ and revealed through the lyrics and rhythms of songs in the cadence of ‘cumbias’ and ‘vallenatos,’ which are popular in this zone.

“Cumbia Callera” is a love story, which centers on ‘La Cori’ (played by Fernanda García Castañeda).  ‘La Cori,’ a teenager of abrasive and savage beauty, finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between ‘El Neto (Oliver Cantú) and ‘El Guipiri’ (Andul Zambrano).  ‘El Neto,’ a young middle-class filmmaker, becomes fascinated with ‘La Cori’ and, without her knowledge, follows her around; filming her beautiful body’s every move.  Little by little, his obsession brings him closer her essence, but also brings him face-to-face with his rival, ‘El Guipiri’ – ‘La Cori’s lover.  The confrontation between ‘El Neto’ and “El Guipiri’ caused by their love for the same young woman, and the attraction between the three teenagers, seduced by the mysterious magic of the music and dance to the rhythm of ‘Colombia’ of Monterrey, create “Cumbia Callera.”

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CUMBIA CALLERA – ROMANCE/DRAMA/MUSICAL – MEXICO

Awards: ‘Tatú Tumpá’ as Best First Work – Ibero-American Film Festival of Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Best Film – Perspective – Moscow International Film Festival

Starring Fernanda Garcia Castañeda, Oliver Cantu, Andul Zambrano, and Celso Piña

Original Screenplay, Director and Producer: Rene U. Villarreal

www.venevisioninternational.com