MONTEVIDEO - Three Latin Americans could walk away with an Oscar on Sunday, two of them for the film ”Motorcycle Diaries”, about the youth of legendary Argentine-Cuban revolutionary Ernesto ”Ché” Guevara.

Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler is competing for the Academy Award for best original song, for ”Al otro lado del río”, which forms part of the film's soundtrack.

The other Latin Americans with a chance at taking home a statuette are Puerto Rican playwright José Rivera, the author of the movie's screenplay, and Colombian actress Catalina Sandina Moreno, nominated for best actress for ”Maria Full of Grace” about a young woman who becomes a ”drug mule” smuggling heroin into the United States.

Drexler talked to IPS by phone from Los Angeles, where the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award ceremony takes place Sunday. ”The nomination made me so happy. I think it's very important that this is the first song in Spanish performed in the ceremony,” he said.

Several Latin American songwriters have been nominated since that category was created in 1934, but their songs have never been played during the ceremony.

”Motorcycle Diaries” tells the story of an eight-month journey across South America that Guevara made in 1952, when he was 23, along with his friend Alberto Granado, a 29-year-old biochemist.

What really hit Guevara on the trip was the grinding poverty he came into direct contact with for the first time, which contributed to his political awakening.

”It's a metaphor for a personal journey in which someone is faced with different ethical options. It's a trip that changes the traveller, and forces him to take risks,” said Drexler, who added that he himself was changed by the film.

In an open letter, the Uruguayan musician complained about the way the Academy decided not to have him perform his song on Sunday, which will be played by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas and Mexican guitarrist Carlos Santana instead, both of whom are famous in the United States, where Drexler is basically unknown.

He is, however, increasingly well-known in Spain and Latin America.

”The producers lacked even minimum good manners. They never asked me anything. They never even contacted me to inform me of their decision,” said Drexler, who added that the only thing he received was a DVD from the Academy asking the nominees to keep their victory speeches short.

Nevertheless, Drexler said he had already benefited from the nomination, alluding to the recent release in the United States of his album ”Eco”, which includes ”Al otro lado del río”.

His song is competing with ”Accidentally In Love” from ”Shrek 2”, ”Believe” from ”The Polar Express”, ”Look To Your Path” from the French film ”The Chorus”, and ”Learn To Be Lonely” from ”The Phantom of the Opera”.

Drexler said he was proud to have participated in ”Motorcycle Diaries” and to have been put in touch with so many Latin American artists and creators.

”What I most liked about the film is that it focuses on Guevara as a human being, rather than on political aspects -- on the decisions that we have to make in our lives,” he said.

In the movie, produced by Hollywood actor and director Robert Redford, Guevara is played by Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, who previously starred in the Mexican films ”Amores Perros” (2000), ”Y tu mamá también” (2001) and ”El crimen del padre Amaro” (2002), and in Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's ”La Mala Educacion” (2004).

”Motorcycle Diaries”, a U.S.-Argentine-Peruvian-Chilean co-production, was directed by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles, perhaps best-known for ”Central do Brasil” (Central Station - 1998), and edited by another Brazilian, Daniel Rezende, whose work shone in ”Cidade de Deus” (City of God - 2002).

A number of Argentine actors also appear in ”Motorcycle Diaries”, including Rodrigo de la Serna, who gives a much-praised performance as Granado.

The original soundtrack was by Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who has won two Latin Grammies and produced the Bajo Fondo Tango Club, a fusion of electrotango, pop and rock.

The screenplay, which Rivera based on Guevara's journals and a book by Granado, is nominated for the award for best adapted screenplay.

But it will not be easy for it to win the prize, as in that category it is up against films like ”Sideways” and ”Million Dollar Baby”, both of which have also been nominated for best film.

On Feb. 12, ”Motorcycle Diaries” picked up two BAFTAs (British Academy Film Awards), for best film not in the English language and best soundtrack. It had been nominated in seven categories, including best film.

The film, which won praise in Cannes and received a standing ovation at the Sundance film festival, has become the top Spanish-language box-office hit in the United States, bringing in nearly 14 million dollars since its release in that country early this year.

The black and white portrait shots of ordinary Latin Americans by French cinematographer Eric Gautier, shown at the end of the film, have an impact on viewers, just as the harsh reality they depict moved Guevara, who went on to become one of the 20th century's leading revolutionaries.

© 2005 IPS - Inter Press Service

###