Assistant Professor Cynthia Cazañas Garín’s film “Fábrica de Arte Américas” highlights the unifying effect art has across cultures. A collaboration between Cazañas, the Biennial of the Americas, and the Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media, the film captures the experience of bringing interdisciplinary artist X Alfonso’s Fábrica de Arte Cubano to Denver during the Cities Summit of the Americas in 2023.  

The film will air during Rocky Mountain PBS’ primetime spot on Sunday, February 25, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. MST.  

“Fábrica de Arte Américas” translates to American Art Factory, and those who experience the exhibition, whether it be the original in Cuba, or the one that happened in Denver last year, can appreciate the use of the word factory for the sense of scale it implies. The exhibition is an exhilarating mixture of dance, music, and design and showcases the work of over 100 artists.  

During the City Summit of the Americas last year, “Fábrica de Arte Américas” spanned five days (April 26-30) and included musical performances, dance and theater, film, and fashion shows. Artists from Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, and other Latin American nations traveled to participate in the exhibition, which was held in the Slate Denver Warehouses.  

The exhibition is the brainchild of artist X Alfonso, a native of Cuba.  His work encompasses music and performance art. In Cuba, the Fábrica de Arte Cubano resides in a former olive oil factory that was converted into a space where visitors can enjoy live music and visual art.  

“Fabrica is kind of a planet that you come in and enjoy new things and try new things and feel new things in all ways from the people around you, to the public that’s there, the artists that you cross paths with and you live something new,” says X Alfonso in Cazañas’ film. 

Cazañas’ work chronicling the process of bringing the exhibition to Denver encompassed interviews with artists, state leaders like U.S. Senator and former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper and Colorado governor Jared Polis, and leaders of the Biennial of the Americas, the organization responsible for organizing the Cities Summit in Denver.  

As a faculty member in the College of Arts & Media (CAM) of CU Denver, Cazañas took the opportunity the film project presented to allow some of her Film & Television students the chance to work on set. Student Sean Wada (’23) operated a camera, and student Said Cisneros-Toledo captured sound for the film. Cazañas’ husband and fellow CAM faculty member, Pablo A. Perez, also served as cinematographer.

The film marks Cazañas’ first time having a project featured on PBS. She hopes national distribution for the film is possible as one of the purposes of it is to make people aware of Denver and what kind of art is produced here. “I think it’s a very unique quality of Denver that you can see in the Biennial [of the Americas] and in the work the government of Colorado is doing to bring great art and artists to the city,” Cazañas says. 

"Fábrica de Arte Américas" Film Credits

Director/Producer: Cynthia Cazañas Garín 

Executive Producer: Shepard Nevel 

Cinematographer: Pablo A Perez 

Editor: Jessica Cazañas Garin 

Direct Sound: Said Cisneros-Toledo & Lisa Stoen

Camera Operators: Sean Wada & Pablo A Perez

Poster Designer: Nelson Ponce