Product Details

• Actors: Carlos Fuentes
• Directors: Peter Newington
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Homevision
• VHS Release Date: June 16, 2000
• Run Time: 59 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6303154484
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,440 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Future generations will certainly draw comparisons between the Renaissance and the 20th century. The Renaissance brought Spain's discovery of, and profit from, the New World--starting a 500-year-long course of radical, rapid change. Unfinished Business, the last part of Carlos Fuentes's five-part series, The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World, looks at the 20th century and how it has brought the New World back in touch with the Old--technology and transportation have made the world smaller, more mobile, closer. But prosperity has been difficult to propagate. Plagued with unemployment and social unrest, Latin America has cosmopolitan societies with a virtually disenfranchised agrarian class. The United States is increasingly bound to its southern Spanish-speaking neighbors as millions of illegal immigrants make their way north of the Rio Grande--Fuentes remarks, "They are looking for the Gringo hold but also bringing the Latino gold." By the year 2020 by some estimates, 30 percent of United States residents will speak Spanish as their first language. The multiplicity of cultures, art, music, dance, and family ties has already left its indelible mark on North America. What the next 500 years have in store will certainly surprise as much as the past 500 years have. Part 5 in some ways concludes Fuentes's well-researched, excellently photographed journey; in other ways, Unfinished Business leaves us with as many questions as when we began. --Erik Macki

Product Description

Spain, Latin America, the Hispanic communities in the United States--all have undergone enormous changes in this century. Within the lifetime of those born now, half the population of the United States will be Spanish speaking. Every year, half a million brave the border patrols to enter the United States illegally. "They are looking for the Gringo gold, but also bringing the Latino gold," Carlos Fuentes observes. Hispanic immigrants contribute a wealth of traditions: diverse cultural creativity in art, music, and dance, respect for family ties--distinct hallmarks of the Spanish-speaking world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Educative and charming, May 26, 2010

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L. Corral - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Buried Mirror - Reflections on Spain and the New World, Vol. 1 - The Virgin and The Bull [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Mr. Carlos Fuentes has indeed a lot of talents. Besides being one of the most prolific and published authors in the Spanish language, he is an excellent and I must say surprisingly entertaining program host. As far as I know this is the first of a series of 5 programs he made for the television and this is the VHS version. DVDs unfortunately haven't been produced yet. And that is one of the main problems with this release: the picture quality is not so good. The main theme and scope of the program though is very interesting because it describes in a very illuminating and entertaining fashion the relationship and history of the Spanish and Portuguese speaking peoples. This is no easy task, but Mr. Fuentes embraces it with an ease and charm that makes you feel engaged and interested. He travels with us to Europe and America and describes situations and events related to custom and history while they are actually happening. One wonders why Mr. Fuentes hasn't become an knowledge program leader in culture programs? The program was done for some time ago so it is a little bet outdated, specially when he shows us the impact of bullfighting in history. In my opinion he draws to much attention to an activity that in our times is dwindling badly. We have to admit that at least in Mexico and Spain this activity is becoming obsolete and is being irrefutably replaced by other activities like football.
I think this release is outstanding and I have tried to get hold on the other VHS in the series to no avail, For reasons out of my understanding, Amazon will not let us buy these for residents in Norway. So I must allow myself to have 2 wishes: 1. That the programs will be made in BlueRay versions and 2. That it will be possible to buy them in Europe. Then I would gladly keep buying and enjoying them.