WVPBS finally broadcast its documentary on the making of Luis Argeo’s “AsturianUS” on Thursday night, October 18th, as part of its “Outlook” show. It also broadcast the entire film at 10 PM. You can see the full story on the making of the film on You Tube -  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Luis+Argeo%22.

I still don’t know about access to the entire feature-length documentary. Hopefully copies will be placed in the WV State Archives and some of the local public libraries so future generations will be able to see it.

Luis  Argeo celebrated his 32 birthday on Saturday, May 12th, not in Madrid, Spain, but in South Charleston, WV. He had flown the day before from Madrid via Frankfurt to Charleston to introduce his new 52 minute film about the history of his fellow Asturians leaving northern Spain to move to West Virginia and Pennsylvania. As it turns out, he makes his living by writing travel books - and free-lance writing for newspapers in Madrid and Asturias.

Luis spent two months last summer traveling in Finland, preparing for his next travel book. Most recently he published  travel books on Sardinia, Corsica, Slovenia, and Switzerland.   Just a few months before, his publisher released his  book on travel in  Jordan and Syria . Check out the Spanish travel club that publishes his guides at the Anaya Travel Club.

After we picked him up at Yeager Airport on Friday at 7 PM, we took him to the Town Center’s Taste of Crete. We don’t have a Spanish restaurant - and “Taste of Crete” is my favorite Charleston restaurant along with Sahara which was closed. On Saturday Luis ate at the Main Tin, enjoying their great Chinese buffet.

Luis is a graduate of the “second oldest university in Europe,” the University of Salamanca,where he received his degree in journalism. I don’t know if he studied filmmaking there, but he did a fine job editing, creating the soundtrack, etc. for his film “AsturiasUS.” He lives in a small apartment in downtown Madrid, but obviously spends a lot of time traveling. His girlfriend works in the film industry as a script supervisor. His parents still live in Asturias, his father about to retire. 

WVU Press published an autobiographical story about one Spanish-American growing up in WV, “Pinnick Kinnick Hill: An American Story.” You may want to read it if you are interested in this subject. Access to “AsturianUS” will be limited for the foreseeable future.

Here is a link to a discussion group online of Asturians-Americans with some postings by Luis and his WV friends….

About the pictures - the first one on the left shows Luis drinnking from a bottle of a Danish liquor that Lars Von Trier sent to me a few years ago for working with him on “Dear Wendy.” The next pict shows Luis with my friend and his fellow filmmaker Ken Hechler outside his Charleston apt. The wide picture shows Luis attending a WV Labor History Assoc. board meeting. The last picture on the right shows Luis visiting Frog Creek Books at The Charleston Farmers Market. He wanted to buy a copy of “Matewan” but they were sold out so he bought a DVD of “Correct Change.” Frog Creek Books is the ONLY place in the world anyone can buy a DVD of WV’s best indie feature film.

The black t-shirt he has on says “Mondo Sonoro”which is a popular Spanish rock magazine that he also writes for. He reminds me a lot of Michael Lipton, the past editor of Graffiti magazine. I don’t know if he is a musician, but I know he is a filmmaker - and also writes a lot for many different publications, as Lipton has.

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