By Pablo J. Sáinz
In the film Seoul Searching, Esteban Ahn portrays a Korean-Mexican teen.
Ahn had no problem relating to his character, since Ahn is an actor and musician of Korean descent who grew up in the Canary Islands, Spain.
That fusion between Korean and Latino culture helped Ahn relate to his character in Seoul Searching, which screens Nov. 8th as part of the 16th San Diego Asian Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 5-14, at the UltraStar Mission Valley.
“I was able to identify with the character because he looks Korean but since he grew up in Mexico, he feels closer to Latino culture than to Korean customs,” Ahn said from South Korea. “When I got this part, I thought how this character has experience many of the same things I experienced as a teenager.”
Seoul Searching, in English and Korean, with English subtitles, is all about finding your identity, your place in society, even when you come from a different culture. It specifically tells the stories of several Korean-American teenagers who meet at a summer camp. It is there that the character of Sergio, a Mexi-Korean teen portrayed by Ahn, accepts his Korean roots.
“I sometimes felt like Sergio: I felt I was wearing a Korean mask, with a Latino heart,” Ahn said.
In addition to Seoul Searching, the 16th San Diego Asian Film Festival offers Latinos a diversity of films where they can learn more about Asian culture, something that is closer to home than Latinos might think, said Brian Hu, artistic director of Pacific Arts Movement, the organization behind the film festival.
“Latinos and Asians in the United States are probably the most similar in terms of values (food, family, and culture are ever-important) and entertainment (we regularly consume non-English film and TV, and we love our stars and melodrama),” he said. “The San Diego Asian Film Festival always welcomes the opportunity to share its programming with its Latino neighbors because we truly believe that as the future face of San Diego, we must embrace our similarities and shared values.”
Seoul Searching: Nov. 8. The film screens as part of the 16th San Diego Asian Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 5 through the 14, at UltraStar Cinemas, Mission Valley. 6 p.m. $15. festival.sdaff.org/2015.
Live Shows
Latin Fridays: Every Friday. DJs play the best of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata. Blue Agave Nightclub, 6608 Mission Gorge Rd., San Diego. Free before 10 p.m. Open until 4 a.m. (619) 521-3194.
México… Vive su folklor: Sunday, Nov. 1. Tierra Caliente Academy of Arts presents a show of traditional Mexican music and ballet folklórico. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. 4 p.m. $15 to $20. Artcenter.org.
Argentine Tango Social: Every third Monday of the month. This milonga takes you all the way to Buenos Aires and back. Centro Cultural de la Raza, Balboa Park. 8:30 p.m. $10. centroculturaldelaraza.com.
Salsa: Every Wednesday. The best salsa bands, dance lessons, and puro sabor, with Walter Meneses, at Sevilla Nightclub, 353 5th Ave., San Diego. October 21 features Afrofruko Orquestra and DJ Mambo. 9 p.m. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. cafesevilla.com.
Exhibitions
Eureka!: Now open. This exhibition celebrates California’s creativity, including Collective Magpie’s binational Globos installation at The New Children’s Museum, 200 West Island Ave., Downtown San Diego. $12. thinkplaycreate.org.
Transpoiesis: Through Nov. 4. Artist Jose Hugo Sanchez’ huge prints recreate iconic border images along with a series of student-created work. San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery, 7250 Mesa College Dr., D101, San Diego. Mondays and Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 8 p.m. Closed Fridays, weekends, and holidays. sdmesa.edu/art-gallery.
Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed: Through Jan. 3. Learn more about our Mayan ancestors through art. San Diego Natural History Museum, Balboa Park. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. $9 to $16. sdnhm.org/maya.
Movies
The Hunt for Pancho Villa: Wednesday, Nov. 4. Digital Gym Cinema (2921 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego) will screen this documentary by San Diego director Paul Espinosa. 7 p.m. Free. digitalgym.org.