Descansos is a 2009 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 neo-realist

Neorealism (art)

In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...

 film written and directed by Chris Roybal, his second feature film and first to be released. The drama features, in neo-realist fashion, an ensemble cast of professional and non-professional actors.

The drama consists of eight vignettes

Vignette (literature)

In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object...

 that take you across Northern New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. Following several different characters dealing with love and loss for people who are soon to die or already have died, the film spans Albuquerque, Santa Fe

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

, Nambe

Nambé

Nambé is an eight-metal alloy whose major component is aluminum. It was developed in 1953 by Martin Eden, a former metallurgist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory....

, Espanola

Española, New Mexico

Española also known as Espanola , is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, in the United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Española was founded in 1880 as a railroad village, incorporated as a city in 1925. The city is situated in...

, Taos

Taos

Taos can meanPlaces*Taos Pueblo, a Native American pueblo, Tua-tah*Taos dialect, a dialect of the Tiwa language*Taos County, New Mexico, United States*Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico...

, and finally ending at the sacred Santuario de Chimayo.

The film premiered at the National Hispanic Cultural Center

National Hispanic Cultural Center

The National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico is an establishment for preserving and promoting the culture of the Spanish-speaking world...

 on February 6, 2009.

Cast

Among intermittent scenes of The Man (Frederick Aragon) setting down a descanso

Descanso

Descanso may refer to:* Descanso * Descanso , a genus of jumping spider* Descanso, California, an unincorporated community in the United States* Descanso, Santa Catarina, a town and municipality in Brasil...

for each vignette, the eight stories in the picture include:

Marcelina:

• Steven Martinez as Archie
• Sylvia Sarmiento as Marcelina

Samantha:

• Alex Cosby as Max
• Amelia Ampuero as Samantha
• Rober Gumm as Stem's Customer

Lina:

• Genia Michaela as Deb
• Lenore Armijo as Lina
• Rachel Hroncich as Kimberly

Sue:

• Eduardo Flores as Gil
• Diego Deane as Juan (Prisoner 060586)

Eva:

• Navajo Nguyen as Eva
• Ryan Angell as Dillon
• Angeleah Cuevas as Other Girl

Bella:

• Bernardo Gallegos as Nick
• Maggie Fine as Carmella
• Francisco Sandoval as Baby

Grandma:

• Everette Scott Ortiz as Zack
• Eppie Guillen as Grandpa
• Regina Sanchez as Grandma

Jessica:

• Nichole Otero as Jessica
• David Busse as Jack
• Michael Manzanares as Teenage Boy
• Amber J. Chenault as Teenage Girl

External links

• DESCANSOS Motion Picture at createspace.