By Our Little Roses Film Crew
When the crew arrived in San Pedro Sula this past weekend to start filming its fourth leg of production, the first gringo we spotted after we pulled into the home wasn't Padre Spencer this time around. Putzing around like he'd lived here forever was visiting inaugural poet Richard Blanco, the latest character to be featured in the film. Blanco, who was recently appointed as Obama's Inaugural Poet, is a close friend of Spencers. Together they are co-editing a book of poems by the girls.
Not only is Blanco a gifted, well-celebrated poet, we learned. But his origins (Cuban-American), vulnerability (he's not afraid to cry in front of the girls) and sense of humor (subtle, witty and usually buried in there is a cross-cultural lesson) facilitated a natural bridge between him and the girls. That sense of connection was key for developing his relationship with Astrid, an 18-year-old who is preparing to recite Los Pobres, by Roberto Sosa, at a heavily publicized event on Dec. 12. Needless to say, she's in knots. And also needless to say, Blanco - who recently read one of his poems to hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered at the Capitol and millions more on their sofas at home - is pretty much "the dude"to prep a young girl for her first public poetry reading.
We don't want to give away too many highlights from their meeting, since there is a film to protect here. However, Blanco did share with her a trick to public speaking that was quite revealing. He told her, "When I stand up before a large crowd, I leave Richard Blanco behind in that chair and become a different person." So, we-the-crew along with Astrid, both discovered to our mutual surprise that the cool, composed man who addressed the nation from the National Mall was indeed just like you or I or Astrid might be: posting a facade of calm courage for the masses, while internally if not blacked out completely, in almost a dreamlike state.
This trip already has been really powerful and intimate. With the swarms of girls now so familiar, our handful of primary characters (now close friends), our dear Mr. Spencer getting ready to conclude his 1-year tenure at Our Little Roses, we are all a bit overcome by emotion. The crew stays up late into the night discussing and digesting each days stories, and vehemently debating what we should cover the following day. And during the few hours of night-time sleep, we dream production. In the morning, we debrief, dump coffee down our throats and start yet another 15-hour day.
This is why it's taken us 6 days to get around to writing our first blog. Apologies for the delay. Stay tuned for more photos, stories and - if you haven't yet, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
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| Richard Blanco interview |
Not only is Blanco a gifted, well-celebrated poet, we learned. But his origins (Cuban-American), vulnerability (he's not afraid to cry in front of the girls) and sense of humor (subtle, witty and usually buried in there is a cross-cultural lesson) facilitated a natural bridge between him and the girls. That sense of connection was key for developing his relationship with Astrid, an 18-year-old who is preparing to recite Los Pobres, by Roberto Sosa, at a heavily publicized event on Dec. 12. Needless to say, she's in knots. And also needless to say, Blanco - who recently read one of his poems to hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered at the Capitol and millions more on their sofas at home - is pretty much "the dude"to prep a young girl for her first public poetry reading.
We don't want to give away too many highlights from their meeting, since there is a film to protect here. However, Blanco did share with her a trick to public speaking that was quite revealing. He told her, "When I stand up before a large crowd, I leave Richard Blanco behind in that chair and become a different person." So, we-the-crew along with Astrid, both discovered to our mutual surprise that the cool, composed man who addressed the nation from the National Mall was indeed just like you or I or Astrid might be: posting a facade of calm courage for the masses, while internally if not blacked out completely, in almost a dreamlike state.
This trip already has been really powerful and intimate. With the swarms of girls now so familiar, our handful of primary characters (now close friends), our dear Mr. Spencer getting ready to conclude his 1-year tenure at Our Little Roses, we are all a bit overcome by emotion. The crew stays up late into the night discussing and digesting each days stories, and vehemently debating what we should cover the following day. And during the few hours of night-time sleep, we dream production. In the morning, we debrief, dump coffee down our throats and start yet another 15-hour day.
This is why it's taken us 6 days to get around to writing our first blog. Apologies for the delay. Stay tuned for more photos, stories and - if you haven't yet, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
