Spinetta, the large

Early in the afternoon of February 8, Luis Alberto Spinetta stopped the world.

And it is inevitable for me to write today about Spinetta in this weekly editorial dedicated to the audiovisual world, because Luis Alberto scored with his incandescent presence, sublime talent and generous friendship, key moments in my journey through the thin highways of the moving image and synchronized sound.

Luis Spinetta was, is, a cosmonaut artist. While stars of the show looking to be loved by the public, in the case of Louis, was the public who wished to be loved by him, almost demanding a match with the avalanche of often passionate affection that people enshrined. And Louis loved them, lavishing in poetry, music, voice, words, pictures, laughter and even silent and invisible actions. The times I had to walk the streets with him, I saw almost every step that his fans not only came to show their admiration, they demanded love as a lover.

I met him when I was a teenager early on shaky legs, blew with the Beatles, ‘Easy Rider’ and a novice with my camera shot on 8mm film. I decided to take the stage in which Almendra had just introduced its first Long Play, on the cover of Man’s Tear, taking me his autograph and a few words stuttered. Ten years passed over phrases and scenarios until one afternoon in a sound that made Milton Nascimento in the Stadium Obras, Luis Alberto approached me when I was with Jorge Pistocchi to announce the gift of a portable video professional for our fledgling Center for Experimental Video Imaginary Express. The year was 1978, with all that that implies.

That video camera and backpack ¾ inch emerged thousand tricks, juggling and learning, today some historical characters starring in bizarre arguments scrawled on a pizza box or just being, being who they were before the camera. We talked about John Lennon, Andy Warhol and a polluted planet.

More years passed, travel, exile and universities. Fresh from different coordinates of the outside world, filmmakers and videographers, with Ralph Rothschild we embarked again on a new journey. Spinetta met us at his house and the three began to draw in the air a script for a film that would speak of the “Cosmos Spinetteano”, intoxicated with the images of the same name by Carl Sagan series.

During filming, between takes we spent hours talking. Luis was always willing to talk about physics-race I came, and the graphic artist MC Escher, who he was like me and baptized me with the last name in a while. In those days very extensive feature film that was born was to be called at first “Spinetta, the long” and eventually was reflected as “Spinetta, the video.” This movie made me a creditor of one of the greatest honors I received in my life, Luis Spinetta said: “You were the one who showed me mourn the Man of the Tear.” The year was 1986.

Anecdotally is that “Spinetta, the Video” was the first film produced in Argentina video that was shown publicly for once selling INCAA tickets, then the National Film Institute, where it only accessed the films in 35 mm.

On Saturday February 11 at 8.00 pm. INCAA digital TV will broadcast the film “Spinetta, the Video” as a tribute to Luis Alberto Spinetta.