Camila Moreno presents new live music film Las Ruinas del Oro (The Golden Ruins)

Chilean singer Camila Moreno has released her first ‘concert’ movie, although the truth is that it’s not really a concert at all. Las Ruinas del Oro (The Golden Ruins) was filmed in the Cajon del Maipo valley, a winding river basin which stretches into the Andes from the southern tip of Santiago. For residents of the capital, it makes for an appealing getaway from the belching, smog-shrouded urban warfare of daily existence.

In spite of millions living just beyond the valley gateway, it’s still possible to find that yearned-for seclusion, in places such as Las Melosas. Having thrown all their instruments in the back of a van, it was here that Camila and her band came to make the film. The atmospheric setting is the ruins of the title, which in the 1930 was a German mining camp, before being expropriated by the state during the Second World War. In the 70s and 80s, it was used as a detention and torture centre under the military dictatorship.

These days there are thankfully no gestapo goons hanging around, making it a fine spot to bring your guitar, your friends and play a bunch of tunes. Camila and co stick largely to material from last year’s excellent Panal, her second album to date, with the added bonus of a new song, the bluesy ‘Suficiente’. Amid the indie folksiness, we are treated to several sweeping shots of the valley, some scenes of our heroes in various states of exploration, and some bees, well, buzzing.

Overall, we’d say it’s a great thirty minutes of footage, directed by Simón Vargas. The editing between band and location works a treat, giving the impression of Camila’s harmonious vocals bouncing back off the mountains, while the sound is unmistakably live. The Beatles might have played on the roof of Apple headquarters in Central London and The Sex Pistols played on the Thames, but Camila Moreno gets to play the Andes in summertime: it’s another benefit of living in South America, we suppose. YOu can watch the film in its entirety here.

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