Where can I find film examples of English spoken with a Columbian accent?

April 9, 2008 8:18 PM

Where can I find examples of characters in film speaking English with a Columbian accent? I'm also looking for plays in English with Columbian characters.

I'm in a Dialects class, and I need to study Columbian accented English in particular, apart from all other Spanish-language accents. Some examples from films would help me get the sound down, and could also help spice up my presentation.
In addition, I'm looking for stage plays in English, or translated from Spanish that feature Columbian characters.
Any help is greatly appreciated, as my Google-fu fails me epically on this. (No, Bad Google! I don't want films about Pre-Columbian cultures!)

posted by raygan to media & arts (14 comments total)

Do you mean Colombian? That might help your google fu.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:24 PM on April 9 [1 favorite]

Joaquim de Almeida as Felix Cortez in Clear and Present Danger.
posted by entropic at 8:28 PM on April 9

Robert Blumenfeld has written "Accents, a Manual for Actors", which comes with a CD. The downside is that his expertise is primarily British accents, and some of his other accents come off as really really corny.
posted by Comrade_robot at 8:30 PM on April 9

This is a good site for comparative accents using the same statement read in English by natives of most countries in the world. This is the South America page.
posted by Neiltupper at 9:00 PM on April 9

Youtube has a couple of English-language interviews with Shakira, a Colombian Spanish speaker. You may be able to find similar clips with other English-speaking Colombian celebrities, although I can't think of any names off the top of my head.
posted by nomis at 9:04 PM on April 9

Following on nomis's sugestion, here's an interview in English with Colombian singer Juanes.

And yes, it's Colombian, not Columbian. :)
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:25 PM on April 9

Proof of Life with Russell Crowe is set in Colombia, where he deals with local law enforcement to free a hostage.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:49 PM on April 9

Here is a list of movies depicting Colombia. I've seen most of the ones in English and in every case the actors playing Colombians are not really Colombian, so the accent isn't accurate.

The ones in Spanish might be a better bet. As I recall, most of them (especially Maria Full of Grace) have a few scenes in English where you get the Colombian actors speaking with an authentic accent. The list doesn't include Paraiso Travel, but it's new so I don't know if it's been released outside Colombia yet

You can probably find a few interviews in English with the president (Alvaro Uribe Velez) on youtube; he has a pretty thick accent.
posted by juva at 12:39 AM on April 10

You might also be able to find interviews with the Colombian racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

As for films: Paraiso Travel is a movie I really enjoyed about Colombians going to the USA. I think most of it is in Spanish though but there are a few scenes where the characters speak English.
posted by Gomez_in_the_South at 12:56 AM on April 10

If you have 3 hours and don't mind some blood and guts, I believe Scarface has some Colombians at the end. I don't know how accurate the accents are, but one of my favorite lines of the movie is Tony Montana's "I don't like f-in Colombians."
posted by j1950 at 4:04 AM on April 10

oh...Love in the Time of Cholera, based on the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The film is in English but the story is set in Colombia and all the characters are Colombian. There's a mix of Colombian and non-Colombian actors so you can compare the accents.
posted by juva at 6:20 AM on April 10

If you can manage to find a copy of the Numb3rs episode 'Assassin' (2.18, IIRC) there's a character, Gabriel Ruiz, who's supposedly a Colombian exile living in L.A.

Not sure how accurate the accent will be, since the actor playing Ruiz is Cuban-American, but it's worth a shot if you can find it.
posted by Tamanna at 6:25 AM on April 10

Licence to Kill featured an ostensibly Colombian drug lord.
posted by Burhanistan at 6:51 AM on April 10

Aren't there scenes in Maria Full of Grace where she speaks English?
posted by ethnomethodologist at 8:22 AM on April 10