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Note: On the weekend when the United States celebrates the exploits of Christopher Columbus there is increasing debate as to whether this is a person who should be celebrated. Seattle and Minneapolis have both abandoned Columbus Day in favor of focusing on Indigenous peoples. This brief movie is based on the diary of one of those who was on the voyage with Columbus when he “discovered” the new world. It is a harsh reality and brutal reality to face therefore view discretion is advised.
A brief dramatization of Bartolomé de Las Casas’ testimonial account of the Spanish Conquest of the New World. This was an exercise for me and my children in remembering the slaughter which our indigenous Caribbean ancestors endured. My father’s grandmother, Clemencia Figueroa, was pure-blooded Siboney (native tribe of Eastern Cuba). She died a victim of Cuba’s War of Independence from Spain. It was also an exercise in memory for the lead actress in the film, Dolann Adams, who is more than half Native American — Choctaw and Blackfoot on her dad’s side and Cherokee and Apache on her mom’s side.
Full Title: The Legacy of Christopher Columbus, A Short Account in Technicolor: Memory One of Ceiba de Cuba, De Sus Raíces
World Premiere: 2011 Reel Rasquache Art & Film Festival, Regency Academy 6 Cinemas, Pasadena, CA. Official Selection, Program 10 Featured Short, Sunday, May 15, 6:00 pm, 2011
Festival sponsored by Sony Pictures, The Walt Disney Company, Latin Heat Entertainment and California State University Los Angeles.
Running Time: 6:50 mins
Written, directed, filmed and edited by
LILI BERNARD
Afro-Cuban Batás Drums solo composed
and performed by
MELENA
All quotes taken from the book
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
Written in 1545 by
BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS
DOLANN MARIE ADAMS
as the Siboney Mother
ZION BERNARD FERGUSON
as the Siboney Baby Girl
JOSHUA BERNARD FERGUSON
as Native Boy 1
URIEL BERNARD FERGUSON
as Native Boy 2
ELIAS BERNARD FERGUSON
as Native Girl and Elegua
ISAIAH BERNARD FERGUSON
as Native Boy 3
RAFAEL BERNARD FERGUSON
as Native Teenage Boy
CASEY HUGHES
as the Conquistador
RUBEN HORNILLO RODRIGUEZ
as the voice of Bartolomé de Las Casa
LILI BERNARD
introductory narration
MICKEY BERNARD FERGUSON
as the Wolf
Filmed on location in Los Angeles and Malibu, California
No one was hurt, injured or mistreated in any way during the filming of this work.
produced by
LILI BERNARD
in honor of the
ANCESTORS