Weavers (2 min. 1999) Directed, shot, and edited by Lester Alfonso for his sister’s import/export startup company Karavan.
I didn’t know anything about copyright laws (nor did I probably care) so when I heard this track from an old jazz compilation box-set, I flashed immediately onto the footage that I shot in the Philippines of the blanket weavers. After many years of waiting, I got a loan in the year 1999 and purchased my first “home” desktop editing system for about $20,000. I installed the system in the basement of my house in Toronto at the time and when it was all hooked up ready-to-go, I sat down and let myself just “give’r!”
Around the same time, my sister Cherril was launching an import/export company startup called “Karavan” which inspired me to use this video as early branding for her. YouTube was in its infancy. A lower quality file has already been uploaded to my originalplastic YouTube account 12 years ago!
This throwback looks better and despite not owning the copyright to this song, I present it here to make the case in my story of the original inspiration. This footage came from a trip to shoot my award-winning personal film called Trying to Be Some Kind of Hero about the search for my missing American grandfather.
I would later ask Jesse Hanna to provide an original score for the official release of Hero and this version using this track called Tanga by Machito and his Afro-Cuban Orchestra, from the album Yo Soy La Rumba released in 1965 got pushed into a dusty YouTube corner.
Editing chops. As soon as I got the tools, I was able to be the editing artist I never knew I wanted to be. More soon so stay tuned! —LA
P.S. If you’re liking these daily posts, perhaps you can consider becoming a monthly donor for a year or making a one-time contribution. It would seriously help a lot. Your money goes directly into supporting an artist committed to continually become the best version of himself. Thank you so much! Much love, LA
For more: https://lesteralfonso.com