Santo Domingo, November 17, 2011

“Soi Cumbio” at the Telecommunications Cultural Center Resonates with Young People

The rain didn’t dampen at the Telecommunications Cultural Center on Thursday night when the short films began to role in this museum-auditorium. People came to see the Argentine film, “Soi Cumbio” by director Andrea Yannino, part of the 5th edition of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF).

The documentary tells the story of Agustina Vivero, a “flogger” (from photo log) with millions of followers. In Argentina, being or following a flogger, created a very particular and peculiar version of a social network, capable of leaving profound marks on a generation of teenagers who were raised in the digital culture with computers and cell phones that offered them a world of possibilities. Among all those pixels, the voice of Cumbio broke through to become a recognizable personality.

The film also points out how modern technology in creative hands can have outstanding results and widespread effect.

The young flogger, who calls herself Cumbio, resonates with millions of other young people who follow her and who are part of her network of teenagers who share the anguish, loneliness and isolation that often comes with being a teenager. Many live through their fotologs or other types of social networks.

Following the screening of the documentary, the audience stayed to talk with Cumbio and film director Yannino, both of whom told the viewers that what they saw in the movie was totally true.

“It is incredible what began to happen after we started filming,” said the director, Andrea Yannino. “After doing several interviews of young people with the idea of doing a more general but still undecided documentary about teenagers, I met Agustina and decided to do a story about her, the famous Argentine ‘flogger’.”

Once the filming started, Agustina’s life began to change under the spotlight of fame. Her blog blossomed with hundreds of thousands of visitors and followers, she did a book tour and some modeling gigs during this period.

Film Lovers at the  Telecommunications Cultural Center
The audience praised the high quality of the film and appreciated the chance to talk with the film’s director and Cumbio.  
Elizabeth Rodríguez was among those at the film screening; it was her first visit to the Telecommunications Cultural Center. She was clearly impressed.

“I knew about the Festival from a poster I had seen so I started to look into what all the activities were. Then I saw there were screenings at the Telecommunications Cultural Center and decided to come because I’m always walking around this area and figured I should take the chance to get to know the place.”