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His adventure sought to cover the 23,000 kilometers that separate Argentine Patagonia from Alaska with one objective: to carry out his charitable project of bringing cinema to the most disadvantaged populations on the route. It has its own name: Cinema Panaventura . The long route, in addition, was going to be made by Débora Álvarez and Carlos Martínez, Asturian and Cantabrian, she in a motorhome (which like the project also has a name: La Cobra ) and he, by bicycle. It was too much for Debora to be pedaling all day.

But the coronavirus crisis came and the Spanish couple made up of this sociologist and this photographer and documentary filmmaker are trapped in Chile, one of the countries currently hit hardest by the pandemic. They do not know when the borders will be opened and to be able to continue their feat. Something similar happened to the Argentine Martín Echegaray, but his trip was disrupted when he was about to reach the end. This is the story of the Spanish adventurers.

How did your adventure start? Carlos: For years, I had fantasized about cycling one of the longest roads in the world, the Pan-American route, which crosses the entire American continent for almost 30,000 kilometers. "I want to travel from Alaska to Ushuaia" was one of the first phrases that Débora heard when we met. He had just quit his job and started preparing for the adventure . Our relationship grew and grew so much that we decided to undertake the journey together. We changed the trip a little and, since we are digital nomads, we decided to join La Cobra, our 1979 van. Carlos travels on his bike and Débora drives the van, which has become our home on wheels. When does the solidarity project? Carlos: We started to think about the possibility of adding some good reason to the trip. We wanted to offer something along our way, to be able to share with the people and places that we were visiting. We love cinema, so it occurred to us that we could take films to schools and other public spaces in remote places in Latin America. In this way, Cinema Panaventura is inspired by the project of our friends from the Cinecicleta , who traveled through Africa carrying cinema on a bicycle.

Débora and Carlos in Tierra de Fuego.

When did you start the journey? Carlos: In October 2019. We wanted to go from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia . What we did not imagine is that it would take us three months to do this part. Patagonia and all the people and places we met caught us and the trip dragged on. In addition, along the way it has been transformed into a social intervention project with which we visit schools, plan and do workshops. We want to teach students how to use the audiovisual tools at their disposal, especially mobile, to campaign on social networks and short films with the aim of promoting social and environmental activism. Where did the arrival of the coronavirus catch you? Débora: We left Ushuaia in late February heading north. We reached an agreement with the Government of Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina to visit its rural schools. From there Carlos traveled by bike. When we had arrived at one of the last schools we were advised to cross to Chile because the rumor began to be heard that they were going to close the borders. We arrived at Punta Arenas , the southernmost in the country. In the first month and a half, mandatory confinement was decreed, but we were lucky that Noe and Pato, two Chilean travelers, welcomed us at La Casa de la Buena Onda.

One of the screenings of Cinema Panaventura.

Where are you now and how are you carrying the crisis? Deborah . At first we lived through the crisis with a lot of frustration because we were starting our journey and we stopped short. Also, when you are traveling, the uncertainty multiplies. We were also afraid for our families and the situation in our country. Now we are taking advantage of this time working on the project, developing the methodology that we use in schools well and obtaining financing to be able to continue with it over time. Where do you take your traveling cinema model? Débora and Carlos: Our traveling cinema visits schools and some public spaces such as squares or libraries. We started at the Escuela Hogar de Chipauquil, a remote area of ​​Somuncurá, which is a place that is accessed after two hours of gravel walking. We thought that La Cobra did not arrive, but it traveled slowly - but surely - through these landscapes, rather typical of a Wild West movie . Since then, on our trip along Route 3, which runs along the Atlantic coast , we have screened in more than 20 spaces, mainly schools in Argentine Patagonia.

Moment of the motorhome route.

How do you welcome the people you visit Cinema Panavisión? Débora and Carlos : The experience is being a gift for us. Schools always open their doors to us , the principals welcome us and the students enthusiastic. They are very surprised that two Spaniards come to their schools with an old van, a projector and a lot of movies. There are not many cultural initiatives in this part of the world, so they love it. In our portfolio we carry films that show values ​​of environmental education and classic cinema , donated by different foundations and Spanish and Argentine film festivals. Which film has triumphed the most? Débora : We remember with special affection the projection of Puerto Pirámides (Argentina), the only small town on the Valdés Peninsula, a Unesco World Natural Heritage Site. We screened after school and some parents came. When we finished, a man approached us and said that he had not sat down to watch a movie for 20 years. He said he had enjoyed it very much and gave us a hug. One of those hugs that stay well inside you.

Débora, with the Patagonian glaciers in the background.

What anecdotes have you lived since you started the route? Débora and Carlos: The best memories have to do with children, who in this part of the world are particularly spontaneous. They bombard us with questions and are especially curious about our private lives . In Puerto del Este, they asked us so many questions that they decided to buy us candy to compensate for the bombing. They came loaded with two dozen each and they almost forced us to eat them all and compare them with the sweets from Spain. They wanted to know if we noticed differences. What anecdotes have you lived since you started the route? Débora : Arriving in Porvenir (Chile) just before getting across the ferry to Punta Arenas, Carlos broke his bicycle. Since I was in the middle of nowhere, the only thing that happened on the way was a three-deck truck loaded with sheep . They put the bicycle in the middle of the sheep and got on with the gentlemen, whom he understood almost nothing because in this part the Chilean accent is very closed. They managed to reach La Cobra and I was amazed when a sheep trailer gestured for it to stop, the door opened and Carlos jumped up. As they were in a hurry, the truck went whistling to Porvenir and they took the bike, so when we got to the town we had to do a little research until we managed to find it - poor sheep - at the municipal slaughterhouse.

Interior of 'Cobra', the motorhome of the two adventurers.

What landscapes do you highlight of the adventure to encourage people to go? Carlos: Also, we have been very lucky because we have seen incredible animals. In Caleta Valdés (Puerto Pirámides, Argentina) we get to see killer whales. We get up at five in the morning and enjoy a lookout. A little further south we come to a completely unspoilt beach. We skipped several gates and half an hour later we shared a morning with seals, elephants and sea lions . At first they looked at us suspiciously and scoffed at us to leave, but as they saw that we were harmless, they let us get closer. Seventy kilometers later, in Camarones , we saw Magellanic penguins . We were alone in the Cabo dos Bahías penguin colony and we really enjoyed ourselves. What plans do you have until the borders are opened? Débora and Carlos: The region of Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic in which we find ourselves is a natural peninsula, so the only way to continue the trip for us is to cross into Argentina. Since the borders are closed for now, we cannot move, so our plan is to stay here until the situation changes. Our idea is to follow the trip as soon as possible. Since we don't know when we will be able, we are waiting, patiently, for that moment to arrive so that we can continue bringing cinema for the love of art to schools in Latin America.

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