Documentary: “The Beauty of the Fight” by John Urbano
DOCUMENTARY: “THE BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT”
THE BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT is a documentary created by director John Urbano, which captures the essence of two of the most colorful, vivid and dynamic neighborhoods in Panama: El Chorrillo and Barraza. In THE BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT the viewer is transported into the lives of its residents and their long, arduous and constant struggle to keep their homes or simply to survive.
THE BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT is a view of life of residents who have made this neighborhood an interesting cultural fabric. Their lives through political battles as the U.S. invasion “Just Cause”, historical urban and zoning changes, makes them victims of an area that has historically been neglected.
In his book of photography THE BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT, photographer and director John Urbano explores, with intimate images and devastating effects of the historical realities of Barraza and El Chorrillo, which suffered heavy losses when U.S. forces invaded in 1989 in order to capture General Manuel Noriega. Now this neighborhood is close to extinction due to commercial development. With a very nimble camera work and under the protection of military police the filmmaker entered the Red Zone to capture for posterity not only the daily struggle, but also the dignity, joy, and awareness of its inhabitants.
The boxers, cock fighters, gang members, kids, small business owners, family members, community leaders, and visionaries working in the difficulties of everyday life to keep their homes and face the loss of loved ones due to conflicts of the street, while also expressing the inevitable wait for all the people who are unwitting victims of political and economic forces. Not only does the film gives voice to the people of this district, but also explores the vagaries of the documentation of a community destined to fall in the past.
John Urbano was born and raised in Rensselaer, Indiana and studied Illustration and Advertising in Columbus University of Art and Design. John’s career has taken him to over 20 countries.
In 2004, while on assignment in Panama, a friend John, took him to Barraza, a poor community full of color and life. Unfortunately, life in these areas is being dismantled by the government, house by house, street by street, to make way for skyscrapers. John felt that the district Barraza had only a few years before their extinction, so he set out to capture the beauty, culture, history, and the danger that exists in these areas daily. All of this makes this small community in the heart of Panama City, in a place like no other place where THE BEAUTY OF THE FIGHT comes alive in every moment of every day. John Urbano’s documentary The beauty of the fight has been accepted in twenty-five film festivals in 7 countries in North, Central and South America.
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The above review highlights exactly why I have seriously mixed emotions about this film. On one hand, I am very thankful for anyone who puts their time, money and talent toward bringing awareness to the issues that face the poor of the old quarter of Panama City (where I live). There is no question that John Urbano has artistic gifts and that he is trying to be helpful.
A friend brought me the coffee table book, which was highly compelling, and I very much wanted to like the film. The book has eye-opening images of the hardship and beauty that define El Chorillo and Barraza. It creates a bond between the reader and the people of El Chorillo, hopefully compelling the reader to take the next step to look for the root causes of the conditions in the neighborhood (and maybe even to help).
The film, unfortunately, is more ambitious. It draws conclusions about the causes of the current situation and the threats facing people in El Chorillo. It does this by pulling in those two trusty standby villains: the United States and Big Money.
By drawing conclusions the film assumes the documentarian’s responsibility to honor the viewer’s trust by researching, investigating and presenting reasoned conclusions. Drawing hasty conclusions with such a powerful medium is dangerous–you end up with people like the reviewer who wrote the above article accepting them without question.
The reason this strikes a chord is that Panama right now is struggling to pull itself out of a dangerous combination of corruption, governmental ineptitude and civic passiveness. The real fight in Panama is for accountability on all levels, from rich to poor, public to private. We see the fight every day in our papers and we have a sense that, little by little, people are becoming more responsible for their own actions, though it is hard not to feel that we are still on the razor’s edge and could find ourselves spiraling toward the left or right at any moment. Simplistic suggestions like the one that a poor neighborhood’s problems are caused by the US invasion are not only wrong, they are dangerous, because they are fodder for those established interests who prefer to distract and enrage the public to hide their own continuing misdeeds.
The US has done horrible things all over Latin America, and was certainly no saint in Panama, but on the whole, most Panamanians agree that Panama has benefited by its relationship with the US. Yes, people in Chorillo suffered from the invasion, and it very well could have been possible to restore democracy in Panama with less force (though this is arguable given the civil war the US caused in Iraq as a result of not committing enough troops initially), but to portray the invasion as the primary cause of Chorillo’s problems provides a handy smoke screen for the true villains–corrupt politicians–so that they can continue to spend their time stealing instead of working for the people. Discussing the causes of El Chorillo’s social problems without touching those themes is irresponsible at best and intentionally misleading at worst.
The fact that the reviewer says explicitly what the film hints at (“this neighborhood is close to extinction due to commercial development”) shows clearly the power of the documentary as a medium to influence opinion. The problem is that it is simply not the case that El Chorillo is being dismantled to “make way for skyscrapers.” That is in fact happening in other parts of Panama City and it is certainly something to be guarded against in El Chorillo because of its proximity to the ocean, but as it stands now, there is basically zero private (or even public) investment in the neighborhood.
The film correctly points out that the Ministry of Housing (MIVI) is taking down houses that it deems unsafe and moving the residents to wherever it happens to have handy at the moment, which is often poorly built and located. MIVI is right to protect the lives of people by condemning rotted, wooden houses that cannot be saved, but they have not taken the next step to rebuild adequate new housing in the same place, in the same style, for the same residents. So the film is correct that the remaining social fabric of the neighborhood is being destroyed, but incorrect as to the cause and motive, and therefore not helpful in finding solutions.
I understand that it makes a better story to blame “political and economic forces,” but by not holding the mirror to the face of the real culprits, Beauty of the Fight unwittingly gives them cover and perpetuates the problem. I am sure that this was not Mr. Urbano’s intention, but it is unfortunately the result.
Penn State University, Isthmus University and others have spent many years studying the problems of El Chorillo in depth and proposing wise, thoughtful solutions to various administrations to no avail. It is heartbreaking to hear the frustrations of the professors and students who have worked so hard trying to convince politicians to save the neighborhood, and it is equally heartbreaking to lose this golden opportunity to finally bring the real causes public.
I thank Mr. Urbano for his genuine passion for the district, and urge him to talk to some of the people who have looked critically at the issues facing El Chorillo and work to help bring those issues to light in a more constructive manner. With his film making talent and their research, he might be able to really do something to help.
Saw an interesting documentary about Why We fight that you defenately shouldn´t miss, check it out here: Why We Fight Documentary