Javier Mariscal talks about creating the animation feature film Chico & Rita

Javier Mariscal, Spain’s most famous and successful designer and author of Drawing Life, has joined forces with Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque) to create the inspired and inspiring animated feature film Chico & Rita.  Phaidon.com caught up with Mariscal to hear more about how he made this animated love story come to life and how being dyslexic makes him think in another way – best communicated by drawing.

Chico & Rita celebrates the music and culture of Cuba and follows Chico - a gifted piano player with big dreams - and Rita a beautiful singer – from Havana to New York and Las Vegas.  With an original and vibrant soundtrack by the Cuban composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita taps in to a definitive moment in the evolution of jazz music that will carry you away.

Chico & Rita is released in the UK on 19 November 2010

Charlotte Eder