Rentavillas Travel Blog

South America’s scenic wonders provide the location for many films, TV programs and documentaries and South American filmakers, actors and actresses are famous world-wide.

Some of the film festivals for adults and children, with genres, dates, locations and other pertinent information include:

-Latino Film Festival: Presented by the National Portrait Gallery with the Hispanic Heritage Month Planning Committee, Smithsonian Office of Education.

-Nosotros American Latino Film Festival: The goal of the festival is to provide an opportunity to display the artistic creativity of the broad spectrum of American Latinos by showcasing films that share their life experiences, traditions, and culture.

-South America Film Festivals.

Hispanic Film and Television
Resources concerning Latinos/Hispanics in the Film and Television industry.

Movies Unlimited
Collection of videos and DVDs include travelogues to Peru, Costa Rica, the Galapagos, Andes and Amazon.

Planet Earth: Visions of the Earth from Space
“The groundbreaking PLANET EARTH series continues with SOUTH AMERICA, featuring over an hour of amazing footage taken from miles above the Earth and presented in pristine video quality. The music played over the images is in traditional South American styles and is performed by Inti-Illimani.”

Welcome to Nosotros.org
Nosotros was founded in 1970 by Ricardo Montalbán to improve the image of Latinos in the Entertainment Industry; promote employment in front of and behind the camera, and to provide educational opportunities for Hispanics in the Performing Arts.

Famous Actors and Actresses
These actors and actresses, of Latin American descent, are known of their talents in films, plays and television programs.
Anthony Quinn (Mexico), Benicio Del Toro (Puerto Rico), Cantinflas (Mexico), Cantinflas (Mexico), Catalina Sandino Moreno (Colombia), Desi Arnaz (Cuba), Dolores Del Rio (Mexico), Fernando Lamas (Argentina), Gael García Bernal (Mexico), Pedro Armendariz, Jr. (Mexico), Raul Julia (Puerto Rico), Ricardo Montalban (Mexico), Rodrigo De la Serna (Argentina), Rubén Blades (Panama), Sonia Braga (Brazil).

Mention wildlife in South America and people think immediately of the brightly plumaged birds such as this Scarlet macaw found in Suriname. They might remember the Andean llamas, the turtles, marine iguanas and others in the Galapagos, the penguins of the Patagonia regions or any of the thousands of exotic species found in this spectacular continent.

There are also many species not as well known or near extinction. You’ll see a few of them here but for more information on the hundreds of fish animals and birds please browse through Wildlife. You’ll also find photographs on the sections devoted to the individual countries on the left of this page under Subjects.

One of the attractions of the Amazon are the river dolphins known as botos or pink dolphins. Though there are other species of dolphins living in South American rivers, this is the only one living entirely in freshwater. The only other place a freshwater dolphin can be found is in Asia.

Marine dolphins living in seawater are found in coastal waters and estuaries from Colombia to Brazil; the Amazon River and rivers of northwestern South America. The Franciscana or La Plata River dolphin lives in the estuary of the La Plata River and coastal waters of Brazil Uruguay and Argentina. A smaller dolphin in the Amazon the tucuxi seems to have both a river and a marine form.

All these dolphins are in danger of man-made dams pollution and fishing.

The Carades enyo is only one of a multitude of butterflies you’ll thrill to walk among the butterflies of Venezuela.

Spectacled Bears are the only ones found in South America where it is the largest carnivore and the second largest land mammal next to the tapir. This is a rare and endangered species. Its range extends along the slopes of the Andes mountains in Venezuela Columbia Ecuador Peru and Bolivia. Small pockets of a few spectacled bears may also live in southern Panama and northern Argentina on the respective northern and southern limits of the Andean mountain range.

Its preferred habitat is the moist tropical forest which exists between the desert scrub present at lower elevations and the alpine meadows at the higher elevations within the Andes. The shaggy fur coat of the spectacled bear is black. However they have distinctive white or light tawny markings around the eyes which have been said to make these bears look like they are wearing glasses. The white or tawny patterning is unique for each animal and can often extend down onto the chest.

Ddendryphantines Gastromicans are the neotropical genus of Jumping Spiders of Ecuador.

The Mountain Tapir or woolly mountain tapir Tapirus pinchaque still survives in the high Andes of Colombia Ecuador and Peru. They are already extinct in parts of their former range due to agriculture poaching and habitat destruction. Intense efforts are being made to save this species vital to the well-being of the Andean ecosystem.

Many of the South American countries are waging battles to preserve the flora and fauna of their region but it is a difficult matter.