Mexican Cinema Series

As part of the Mexican Independence celebration, Teatro Santa Ana at the Biblioteca Publica presents three great films this week, two movies representative of the Golden Age and one of the New Age.

"The outburst of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema took place in 1943. The 70 movies filmed that year proved cinema had become a true industry in Mexico. Europe and the US were busy in the war, which had freed Mexican cinema from the European influence and greatly diminished the American one. Mexican directors made their greatest effort that year; (Atencion San Miguel)".

Mexican Film Series

María Candelaria (1943) - Directed by Emilio “Indio” Fernández
Starring Dolores del Río (of Hollywood fame) and Pedro Armendáriz
"The story of a young flower seller of Xochimilco, who is harassed by the villagers of her community for being the daughter of a prostitute. The film examines both racism against Indians in Mexico and social ostracism in the forties (Atencion San Miguel)."

Thu, Sep 17, 2pm
Fri, Sep 18, 7pm
Spanish with English subtitles



Nosotros los Pobres
(We, the Poor) Directed in 1947 by Ismael Rodríguez
"It depicts the sorrows and difficulties of humble carpenter Pepe el Toro (Infante) and a vision of the people in the poor neighborhoods of Mexico City during the forties. Two glories of the Mexican stage and screen, Carmen Montejo and Katy Jurado (Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress in 1954 for The Broken Lance) accompany Infante in this unforgettable film, seen by generations of Mexicans (Atencion San Miguel)."

Fri, Sep 18, 4pm
Spanish with English subtitles

Voces Inocentes - Directed in 2004 by Luis Mandoki
(Innocent Voices)

Jesus Ibarra of Atencion San Miguel describes this film as a "touching story of Chava, an 11-year-old boy who lives in a small village in the middle of the civil war in El Salvador. During the eighties, the government army in El Salvador recruited 12-year-old boys, taking them out of schools. Chava has only one year left of innocence, one year before he is also enrolled by the army to fight against rebels. The issue of child recruitment is a central subject in the movie. Director Mandoki said, “Nowadays, more than 300,000 kids are recruited by armies all around the world. This is one of the reasons I had for telling this story (Atencion San Miguel).”

Thu, Sep 17, 7pm
Fri, Sep 18, 1pm
Spanish with English subtitles