thesmithian: …a documentary directed by Katie Dellamaggiore that follows the chess team at…a New York junior high school that has become a superpower at national tournaments. Because the school has, as the principal explains, a poverty rate of about 70 to 75 percent, it would be easy for this film to be a very obvious, very shallow story in which the moral is that even kids from the worst possible circumstances can succeed. That’s not what it’s about. These are kids who are, in many ways, profoundly blessed… more. High-res

thesmithian:

…a documentary directed by Katie Dellamaggiore that follows the chess team at…a New York junior high school that has become a superpower at national tournaments. Because the school has, as the principal explains, a poverty rate of about 70 to 75 percent, it would be easy for this film to be a very obvious, very shallow story in which the moral is that even kids from the worst possible circumstances can succeed. That’s not what it’s about. These are kids who are, in many ways, profoundly blessed…

more.

(via racialicious)

Chavela Vargas. La Llorona.

From the soundtrack to Frida, starring Salma Hayek, and featuring heart breaking scenes from the film, including Vargas singing the song to Hayek. Vargas reportedly had a love affair with the real Frida Kahlo when she was young. Anti-establishment and publicly identifying as homosexual, Vargas took a bold stance against the status quo of the music industry. Vargas defied stereotypes of what women singers should look and sound, by sculpting her unique vocal talents around traits typically associated with masculinity. Known as the rough voice of tenderness (“la voz áspera de la ternura”), Vargas embodied art both as passion and protest.  

Vargas died on the 5th of August 2012, RIP.

Image via Van Guardia.