With a renewed excitement surrounding the beloved and classic West Side Story, New Canaan Library is pleased to welcome renowned West Side Story scholar Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz, who will discuss his trajectory and connection with the acclaimed film and its history – from his childhood in Puerto Rico to his best-selling book. The live webinar will take place on Tuesday, January 18 AT 7 PM EST; register at newcanaanlibrary.org for Zoom sign in.
Detailing his meticulous research, writing process, historical and theoretical findings, and his involvement with the Steven Spielberg remake, Acevedo-Muñoz offers a perspective that is both personal and academic. Acevedo-Muñoz puts the film and its content—controversial among Puerto Rican academic circles—in a new light, offering fresh perspectives on a piece of American popular culture we all think we know.
Ernesto R. Acevedo-Muñoz (B.A. University of Puerto Rico, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa) is Professor of Cinema Studies and Chair of the Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a film historian whose works and publications have ranged from the cinemas of Spain and Latin America to Hollywood film genres, to the works of directors Luis Buñuel, Pedro Almodóvar, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stanley Kubrick. He is the author of the books Buñuel and Mexico: The Crisis of National Cinema (University of California Press), Pedro Almodóvar (British Film Institute), and West Side Story as Cinema: The Making and Impact of an American Masterpiece (University Press of Kansas). Born, raised, and educated in Puerto Rico, his work on West Side Story has been recognized with appearances and interviews on NPR’s “The Takeaway,” NBC Latino, and other national and regional media outlets. He is a member of the “Community Advisory Board” for Steven Spielberg’s “reimagined” version of West Side Story, and as such was a consultant on that film.