tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272089884562374302024-03-13T13:30:01.954-07:00Alejandra Espasande BouzaAlejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-27837346342792026642022-02-12T12:30:00.001-08:002022-02-13T09:53:41.343-08:00The Value of Defeat: In the Words of Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975)<p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDdq1KQinQ-b39laC6axMsa2UvTAA50EZZ2ELxz2ponCuL2IWBnxgaHhfc2s27bXF78Ra-wtp8sgIheOUihbsIH-7I7o79VtEqxtRP9f0I75VYzQ8JLdfFtz4_3FVMsQJx6oYmn-pw6TJSfAokm8--KT64yycxJgAluwtGyZve8ybMsfeshWNYGhpWIQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1034" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDdq1KQinQ-b39laC6axMsa2UvTAA50EZZ2ELxz2ponCuL2IWBnxgaHhfc2s27bXF78Ra-wtp8sgIheOUihbsIH-7I7o79VtEqxtRP9f0I75VYzQ8JLdfFtz4_3FVMsQJx6oYmn-pw6TJSfAokm8--KT64yycxJgAluwtGyZve8ybMsfeshWNYGhpWIQ=w320-h237" title="Mama Roma (1962)" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div></div><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The Academy Museum is about to launch a wonderful film series about Italian filmmaker PIER PAOLO PASOLINI (1922-1975). Aside from his cinematic work which includes the masterpiece MAMA ROMA (1962), a brilliant portrait about the struggles of a former prostitute (played by Anna Magnani) who raises her son under precarious circumstances, Pasolini was also an intellectual w</span><span>ho pondered about existential matters, including the pressure of success and how it defines a person's value.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In his words:</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"I think it is necessary to educate the new generations about the value of defeat, about how to deal with it, and about the humanity that emerges from it. In building an identity capable of embracing a common destiny in which it is possible to fail and start over without your value and dignity being affected.</i></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I'm not being a social climber, in not passing over the body of others to arrive first in this world of vulgar and dishonest winners, of false and opportunistic prevaricators, of important people who occupy power, who hide the present, not to mention the future, of all the neurotics of success, of appearing, of becoming.</i></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Faced with this anthropology of the winner by far I prefer the one who loses. It is an exercise that seems good to me and that reconciles me with myself. I am a man who prefers to lose than win with unfair and cruel ways. Serious fault of mine, I know.</i></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The best thing is that I have the insolence to defend this guilt, and consider it almost a virtue</i>."</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">For more information about the film series <i>Carnal Knowledge: The Films of Pier Paolo Pasolini</i> (February 17 - March 12), visit: </span><a data-attribute-index="5" href="https://lnkd.in/gZc_UgHs" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-link-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); position: relative; text-decoration: var(--artdeco-reset-link-text-decoration-none); touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);" target="_blank">https://lnkd.in/gZc_UgHs</a></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-81408394169493175372020-09-11T11:23:00.003-07:002021-09-11T09:19:36.125-07:009/11 Week - Memories from a Camerawoman's Perspective<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">by Alejandra Espasande Bouza</span></p><p><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">During the events of 9/11, I was a recent graduate from the USC film school and following the advice of one professor, I started working at my city's local television station. I was the only camerawoman, as it usually happens in this field. </span></span></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">I was so affected by the news that I did not work any assignments until a week after the tragic event when my producer sent me with a crew to record interviews with members of Hawthorne's local mosque which had received threats of violence. </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">When we arrived at the mosque there was a police car guarding the entrance, and as I entered you could sense the tension in everyone's faces, mine included! </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">I began to record interviews in the lobby with the male leaders of the mosque who began to talk about how theirs was a religion of peace and how they did not align with extremism.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">I felt that by recording the segment we were doing something good that would hopefully apease the hate that some had manifested in the community. When we were done with the interviews, we needed to record B-roll of people during their prayer sessions so that we could edit the whole segment.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">Suddenly, their faces got more tense and I heard them tell the producer "Women are not allowed in the men's praying room." Since I am very practical, and respectful of other religions, I did not to take it personally and waited in the background with my camera.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">I don't know what was said but after a few more minutes of talk a breakthrough happened. Realizing the importance to show themselves to the community, they came to the conclusion that an exception had to be made and that the camerawoman (me!) could be allowed to enter the men's praying room to record.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">What a moment of diplomacy! I took off my shoes and very respectfully entered the two praying rooms. As you can imagine, when I entered the men's praying room, some of them twisted their head to look at me, and I felt like I was making history <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="🙂" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4c/1/16/1f642.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span> in a good way. </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: #dddd99; font-family: arial;">It was a day I will never forget. Trying to help show a community's best and having that community meet us half way to make it happen.</span></div></div></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0Hawthorne, CA, USA33.9164032 -118.35257485.6061693638211523 -153.5088248 62.226637036178843 -83.1963248tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-79216677010921287762012-04-23T20:46:00.001-07:002012-04-23T20:54:57.483-07:00Call me darling<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vZYfAac-LqU?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This video is my entry into the Eye Film Institute Netherlands "Celluloid Remix 2" contest. It employs archival moving images and music from the Images for the Future "Bits and Pieces Collection." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"Call me darling" is a yearning for the loved one who may return to stay, return to go away, or never return at all. The music is the English version of a 1931 German song titled "Sag mir Darling" composed by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: normal;">Bert Reisfeld, Mart Fryberg & Rolf Marbot. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: monospace, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; white-space: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-26774853371167680172012-02-23T23:50:00.007-08:002013-06-23T20:19:14.621-07:00Crank it!by Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This video is my entry in th</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">e Getty Images - Mishmash Video-Remix contest 2012. It</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is a tribute to the forgotten pioneer Hollywood cinematographers who captured the moving images of the silent film era. In turn, these images serve as a reminder of the intrinsic beauty and charm of silent cinema, and the importance of its preservation. To that end, and in the tradition of this historic film period, no narration is employed. Apart from film stars of the time, the video showcases scenes that represent main themes of this film period: slapstick, adventure, horror and romance.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', fantasy; font-size: medium; line-height: 14px;">Sit back and enjoy the beauty of these moving images edited to the rhythm of Antonio Vivaldi.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Featured actors include: Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Clara Bow, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton, Harry Gribbon, Harold Lloyd, Mary Philbin, Lon Chaney and Roscoe Arbuckle.</span></span></span></div>
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Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-82642383866362716262011-11-30T22:36:00.001-08:002012-01-10T00:19:01.127-08:00Los Ángeles recuerda a Jorge Negrete<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;">Por Alejandra Espasande Bouza</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For the English version of this article visit: </span></span><a href="http://latinola.com/story.php?story=10170"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">http://latinola.com/story.php?story=10170</span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McXQYdRvJOA/TwvpTBd91ZI/AAAAAAAAAJk/8UStlxjlQX4/s1600/Jorge-Negrete55-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McXQYdRvJOA/TwvpTBd91ZI/AAAAAAAAAJk/8UStlxjlQX4/s320/Jorge-Negrete55-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695902666761033106" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">El d</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ía</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> sabado 5 de diciembre de 1953, la ciudad de Los </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Á</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ngeles se convirti</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> en el epicentro de una gran tragedia en el mundo del entretenimiento en español, cuando la estrella del cine mexicano Jorge Negrete inesperadamente falleci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó durante lo que debi</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó haber sido</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> su debut en el Teatro Million Dollar.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">El porque este evento fue marcado con tal tragedia se debe, entre otras cosas, al talento del artista, al sentido de dignidad con que caracterizaba sus interpretaciones, las cuales presentaban en la pantalla de cine la imagen positiva de un hombre mexicano, modelo bienvenido por la audiencia hispanohablate. Tambi</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n fue un hombre de honor; un lider sindical que crey</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> en los derechos de los actores mexicanos, y cuya apariencia, pero mas importante aún, cuya voz, le gan</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> la admiraci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n tanto del publico femenino como del masculino.</span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Jorge Negrete (1911-1953)</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno naci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> hace un siglo, el 30 de noviembre de 1901, en la ciudad de Guanajuato (M</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">xico). El joven Negrete se cri</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> bajo la disciplina de un Colegio Militar, un estilo de vida que conpagin</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> con una lenta incursion en el mundo del entretenimiento. El 6 de junio de 1948, un reportero del peri</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">dico español ABC, le pregunt</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> a Negrete sobre dicha </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">poca. Negrete, quien se estaba hospedando en un hotel de Madrid, en compañ</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a de su madre, dijo que su años de educaci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n militar llegaron a su fin en 1935 cuando una beca que hab</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a ganado, para profundizar sus estudio militares en España, le fue quitada de manera arbitraria. “De la noche a la ma</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ñ</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ana, result</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> que, pese a mi </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">xito, el designado para hacer el viaje fue otro compa</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ñ</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ero, que ni tan siquiera hab</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a figurado entre los concursantes,” explico el actor. </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Tras un esfuerzo fallido en formar parte de la emergente industria del cine mexicano, un desmoralizado Negrete - cuya voz hab</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a sido entrenada por el maestro José Eduardo Pierso - march</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> a Nueva York donde trabaj</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> en la radio. Durante esta etapa consigui</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> un papel en el cortometraje “Noches Cubanas” (1937), de la Warner Bros. La pel</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cula cont</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> con la m</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ú</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">sica del compositor cubano Eliseo Grenet, con quien Negrete trabaj</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> en un club nocturno llamado “El Yumur</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í.”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Es durante esta epoca, en las palabras de Negrete” “me avis</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> un director cubano que iba a hacer una pel</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cula en M</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">jico, por si quer</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a ser el protagonista. Acept</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> y empec</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> mi carrera.” El director cubano fue Ram</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n Pe</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n, y la pel</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cula fue “La Madrina del Diablo” (1937), basada en una novela de Pe</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n, que emparej</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> a Negrete con la actriz </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">María Fernanda Ibáñez, hija de la actriz Sara Garc</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a. </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Nuevas oportunidades le llegaron, incluyendo una parte en </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">“Juntos, Pero no Revueltos “ (1939), donde trabaj</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> con su futura esposa, la actriz Elisa Christy. La pareja contrajo matrimonio el 20 de marzo de 1938 en la ciudad de Miami, y se mud</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> a Nueva York donde Negrete continu</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> trabajando en la radio y en club nocturnos, mientras Elisa trabaj</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> como bailarina.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Tuvieron una niña llamada Diana y aunque Jorge segu</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a trabajando en pel</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">culas mexicanas, la pareja fij</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> su residencia en Nueva York. Es entonces que su amigo Grenet le ofrece la oportunidad de interpretar sus composiciones en Cuba. El periodista Gonzalo De Palacio escribi</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> al respecto: “En La Habana nos brindaron</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">contrato inmediato para Grenet. Vacilaban en hacer lo mismo con Negrete. Temian que no gustase. Tuvimos que mostrar el rollo de “Perjura,” donde el canta el numero musical del t</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">tulo para que accediesen y firmasen la contratacci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n de ambos artistas.” Negrete se present</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> al publico cubano con la interpretaci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n de “La Virgen Morena,” musical compuesto por Grenet, el cual seg</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ún De Palacio</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> obtuvo un gran </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">xito.</span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Durante esa epoca, Hollywood le ofreció participar en una producion en Technicolor de Hal Roach titulada “Fiesta” (1941), donde trabajó con el actor español Antonio Moreno.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, fantasy;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UU9DHUk4Ne4/TwvuYZfkasI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/XcO-Vlnp5lM/s1600/392155_2684869678951_1172662599_33038465_517978869_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UU9DHUk4Ne4/TwvuYZfkasI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/XcO-Vlnp5lM/s320/392155_2684869678951_1172662599_33038465_517978869_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695908256667691714" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px; " /></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Jorge y Gloria Mar</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">El matrimonio con Christy no dur</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> y Negrete comenz</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> una relaci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n con la actriz Gloria Mar</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n, con la cual trabaj</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">en más de diez p</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">el</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">culas; una de las m</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">á</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">s representativas fue “Historia de un Gran Amor” (1942), dirigida por Julio Bracho. Aunque nunca se casaron, el romance fue documentado en cartas de amor que fueron publicadas.Trabajar con Mar</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n fue una prioridad que Negrete manifest</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cuando fue incapaz de que ella lograra el papel protag</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">nico en</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">“El Peñón de las L</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">á</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">grimas” (1944). Su actitud fue causa de tensiones durante el rodaje con Mar</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ía Félix, </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">la actriz que s</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> logro el papel, y quien apenas daba comienzo a su carrera. En ese entonces, era imposible adivinar que el destino unir</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a a ambos actores en matrimonio. Si alguna vez hubo un matrimonio mas perfecto para los admiradores del cine mexicano, fue la uni</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ón</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> de Jorge y Mar</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a, la cual se realiz</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó el 18 de octubre de 1952.</span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Si a Jorge se le puede recordar por una interpretación en especial, sería la de “Charro.” No hubo otro int</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">rprete que pudiera competir con su personificaci</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n de bravura, hombr</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a y encanto, sin mencionar su buena apariencia, y la belleza de su voz operatica. Con el tiempo, Negrerte se convertir</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a en una cara familiar, pero tambi</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n en un </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cono del cine mexicano. Esto se manifesto en pel</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">culas como “</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">¡</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ay, Jalisco No te Rajes!” (1941), “</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">All</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">á</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> en el Rancho Grande” (1949),</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> y “Dos Tipos de Cuidado” (1953), donde comparti</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> escena con Pedro Infante, otro peso fuerte del cine mexicano.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;tab-stops:124.0pt"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ademas de haber trabajado en importantes pel</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">culas de su pa</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">s, Negrete logr</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ganarse la admiraci</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n de audiencias en paises tan distantes como Argentina y Espa</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ñ</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a. Su pose militar le sirvi</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">o en las interpretaciones de personajes fuertes, pero tambi</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n le fue </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ú</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">til cuando lider</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> negociaciones en pro de los derechos de los actores mexicanos, por medio de su participaci</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n con el </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">S.T.P.C. (</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sindicato de </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Trabajadores</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> de la Producción Cinematográfica</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">), y la ANDA (A</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">sociación Nacional de Actores</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">).</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Negrete in Los </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Á</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ngeles</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">La ciudad de Los </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ángeles contaba con una gran población hispanohablante la cual acudía con frecuancia a las películas, y a las presentaciones de artistas, organizadas por el empresario Frank Fouce en su cadena de teatros locales. Tal era la demanda por el cine mexicano que el lobby de uno de sus teatros, el Teatro Mason, fue adornado con imágenes de estrellas de cine, incluyendo la de Negrete.</span></span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Otra evidencia del peso de Negrete fue manifestada en 1946 cuando el periodista Armando del Moral eligi</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> una foto del actor como portada del primer n</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ú</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">mero de </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">La Revista Cine Grafica;</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> una publicación en español, basada en L.A., dedicada a promover el cine mexicano en los EE.UU.</span></span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">En Los </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ángeles Negrete había realizado por lo menos dos presentaciones, una en el Teatro México, y otra en el Teatro Mayan, realizada en 1951. En 1953 Fouce le contrató para que realizara su debut en el Teatro Million Dollar. Negrete aceptó y llegó </span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">al aeropuerto de Los Ángeles el s</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">á</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">bado 21 de noviembre de 1953, donde</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">le aguardaba</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Al de la Rosa, manager del Teatro Million Dollar, el agente Joe Herrera, Luis Shalhov Burch, Berta Razo y las mú</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">sica del trio </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Las Aguilillas.</span></span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="ES"><o:p><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">El fotógrafo Dave Saldaña, empleado del servicio periodístico Orbe, de Armando del Moral, se encontraba lejos de saber que las fotografías que tom</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> de la llegada de Negrete a Los </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Á</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ngeles, ser</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">an las </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ú</span></span></span><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ltimas del actor con vida. </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Tras su llegada, Negrete se aloj</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> en el Hotel Roosevelt donde habr</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a de quedarse hasta el lunes 23 de noviembre, cuando comenzar</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">í</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">a sus presentaciones. Horas despues, cuando el actor cay</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> enfermo de gravedad, Anita Fouce se encarg</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">de que Negrete fuera transportado al hospital Cedars Sinai. Su esposo Frank Fouce, y su hijo Frank Louis, se encontraban ausentes de Los </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Á</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ngeles. El lunes una carta escrita por Negrete explicando su condici</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">n, fue expuesta en la entrada del Teatro Million Dollar para la lectura de su p</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">úblico</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Frank Fouce regres</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> de M</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">xico para acompañar al actor. Cuando el estado de Negrete empeor</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, otros comenzaron a llegar incluyendo a su madre, y su esposa Maria Felix, quien vol</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">desde Francia. A pesar de todos los esfuerzos realizados el actor falleci</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ó</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> el 5 de diciembre.</span></span></span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">La audiencia que esperaba con entusiasmo sus presentaciones, tuvo la oportunidad de darle un último adiós en un velorio que la familia organizó. Desde las 8pm hasta la medianoche, mas de diez mil personas desfilaron por su féretro en el mortuario </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Cunningham and O'Connor.</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">La periodista </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Elena de la Torre opinó que la comunidad hispanohablante de Los Ángeles no había pasado tal dolor desde el suicidio de la actriz Lupe Vélez, en 1944. De La Torre quien estuvo presente en el velorio, escribió:</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">“Con la viuda, Maria Felix; con la mam</span></span></span></i></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">á</span></span></span><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, señora Emilia Moreno; con los hermanos Consuelo y David, y con el m</span></span></span></i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">dico, Jos</span></span></span></i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span></span></span><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">e Kaim, quedaron tan solo en la funeraria el actor espa</span></span></span></i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ñ</span></span></span><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ol Antonio Moreno, el empresario Francisco Fouce; Hector Espinola, David Salda</span></span></span></i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ñ</span></span></span><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">na, Nanette Noriega, la esposa de Tito Guizar; Leticia Cardenas, Al de la Rosa, Esperanza Baur, la ex esposa de John Wayne </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span lang="ES"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">y tres periodistas hispanos: Armando del Moral, Miguel de Zarraga Jr., y la cronistas que esto escribe”. </span></span></span></i><span lang="ES"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></i></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">María Félix y Frank Fouce, volaron en compania de la familia del actor en un avin costeado por Fouce, que traslado a la familia y el cuerpo del actor a Mexico donde toda una nacion esperaba la llegada del cuerpo de uno de los mas grandes idolos del mundo hispanohablante.</span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">En Los </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Á</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ngeles, la vida y obra de Negrete esta siendo recordada y celebrada en una exposici</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ón de fotografias que ilustran la vida del actor, y sus últimos días en Los Ángeles. La muestra, producida por el Cervantes Center of Arts & Letters, con apoyo del Restaurante Chinchen Itza, y el Consulado de M</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">é</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, fantasy;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">xico, se estará presentando en El Mercado La Paloma hasta el 31 de diciembre. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Para mas informacion, o si esta interesado en un tour de la misma contacte: </span></span><a href="http://www.cervantescenter.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">www.cervantescenter.org</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> / www.mercadolapaloma.com</span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></p></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-70778088206431796412011-05-21T16:43:00.000-07:002011-05-21T16:52:32.176-07:00A voice from Gdańskby Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br /><br /><iframe width="300" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GjcrCk9eauc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I employed archival footage to document the historic transition of communist Poland into democracy, as seen from the perspective of the Gdańsk strikes, and the Solidarity movement of Lech Wałęsa. It is dedicated to the memory of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko. Archival footage courtesy of the Polish and the French National Audiovisual Institutes (NInA & INA), Video Studio Gdańsk. Produced for Dock's Docs Remix. A project of the European Culture Congress Cultural Programme Polish EU Presidency 2011.<br /></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-7604402309848761762010-09-17T20:32:00.000-07:002010-09-18T08:09:03.018-07:00The rebirth of Jacob "Jack" Garfein<div><br /></div><div>by Alejandra Espasande Bouza</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/TJQ2Ji9KhSI/AAAAAAAAAHk/f0vECJbpV60/s1600/45724_1547661569459_1172662599_31565723_7129004_n.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/TJQ2Ji9KhSI/AAAAAAAAAHk/f0vECJbpV60/s320/45724_1547661569459_1172662599_31565723_7129004_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518094981065770274" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">I first met Jack Garfein on May 10 of 1988 at Madrid's Filmoteca Espa<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>ñ</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">ola, originally loated at C/ Princesa 1, where I had the opportunity to watch "Something Wild" (1957) and "The Strange One" (1961). Ever since, I have never forgotten the strong impression his films left on me. His films are a unique contribution to American cinema, and his personal experiences, a lesson of endurance and hope.</span></span></span></i></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">“Fate has always been unkind to Jack Garfein, but providence has always come to his rescue.” Henry Miller</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, fantasy;">On May 11, 1946 a fifteen-year-old boy named Jacob Garfein, one of the first holocaust child survivors to arrive in New York, attended a Mother’s Day celebration in honor of Mrs. David M. Levy, Chairman and benefactor of the National Women’s Division of the United Jewish Appeal Drive. The New York Times note read: “Jacob, a red-cheeked, red-headed boy who lost his mother, father and sister in German concentration camps - two of them in a crematorium- and who recalls how he had to help bury fifteen to eighteen corpses a day in Belsen, gave the flowers in a simple tribute of thanks from the Jewish children who are still alive in Europe.”</span></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Before the war, Jacob, best known as actor, stage director and filmmaker, Jack Garfein, had experienced a peaceful childhood in his native Czechoslovakia where he lived with his mother Blanka Spiegel, his father, Zionist leader Herman Garfein, and his little sister Hadasa...</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">To continue reading click the </span></span><a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/film/article/the_rebirth_of_holocaust_survivor_jacob_jack_garfein_20100914/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">Jewish Journal version.</span></span></span></a></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-48744787757291617562010-08-11T21:52:00.000-07:002010-08-24T20:49:47.169-07:00Allegro non moltoby Alejandra Espasande Bouza <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:monospace, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12;"><object height="300" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CL4PFnfJHm0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CL4PFnfJHm0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object></span></div><br />This video is my take at conveying the importance of preserving moving images without resorting to employing voice over. The images speak for themselves with music by Antonio Vivaldi. It features archival moving images from the following films courtesy of EYE Film Institute Netherlands: <div><br /></div><div><div><div>Glas-Industrie in Leerdam (1918) </div><div><br />Koninklijke Stearine Kaarsenfabriek Gouda (1918)<br /><br /></div><div>Staatsmijnen in Limburg (1919)<br /><br /></div><div>Liefdesintriges (1920)<br /><br /></div><div>Rotterdam binnenstad (1920)<br /><br /></div><div>Nederland vooruit! (1921)<br /><br /></div><div>Van steenkool tot gas (1924)<br /><br /></div><div>Rotterdam en z'n havens (1925)<br /><br /></div><div>Naar buiten! (1925)<br /><br /></div><div>Met de Fokker VII en de eerste<br />luchtmail naar Marseille (1926)<br /><br /></div><div>Fabriek in vogelvlucht (1927)<br /><br /></div><div>Een doordeweekse dag (1932)<br /></div></div></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-60178693717863052152010-07-18T13:03:00.000-07:002011-01-16T19:45:34.279-08:00Fundacion Carmen Toscano: The role of a family-run archive in preserving a nation’s visual memory<div> </div><div>by Alejandra Espasande Bouza</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/THyTUBd77FI/AAAAAAAAAGs/nw-692DaEy4/s320/DSC00115.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511442016195308626" /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Michael Friend and Octavio Moreno Toscano. Los Angeles, July 2, 2010. Photo by Fabricio Espasande.<br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In 2010 the nation of Mexico will commemorate two centuries of its independence from Spain, and a century of its revolution. In consequence, the government has established, at a Federal and regional level, different funding sources that are being, and will be, invested in the organization of cultural projects related to these historic dates. Among the projects considered for funding if any should receive extra consideration it is the preservation of the films held at the Fundacion Toscano Film Archive, and the restoration of the documentary film “Memories of a Mexican (1950)” directed by Carmen Toscano from footage archived by her father, filmmaker Salvador Toscano Barragan. </span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This essay documents the film preservation efforts of filmmaker Salvador Toscano. It will shed life in a family’s work toward the preservation of moving images that have been, and are being, lost due to the decay of time, but most importantly, the lack of the necessary funding to safeguard one of the most important historic moving image archives, the Fundacion Toscano film Archive. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The birth of Mexican Cinema: The arrival of Le Cinématographe Lumière </span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495356222911052018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/TENtXnzYePI/AAAAAAAAAEc/QbQgISpKiIg/s200/photo_1_2.jpg" border="0" /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Gabriel Veyre (1871-1936)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">French man Gabriel Veyre arrived in Latin America as a representative of the Lumière brothers bringing with him Le Cinématographe. He arrived in Mexico in 1896 where he was soon filming President Porfirio Diaz, a leader who early on understood the power of the new invention. Veyre operated both as exhibitor of the Lumière Films through presentations he organized throughout Mexico, and as filmmaker, shooting scenes of Mexico that he was soon to showcase throughout the many cities that he was to visit during his life. That same year Veyre was invited to the Chapultepec </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">palace to present a screening of his films, those from the Lumière catalog as well as those he had filmed in Mexico. As illustrated by the film program, the showcase took place on Thursday, August 27 of 1896, and it was presented as a screening by the Cinematógrafo Lumière and dedicated by C.F. Bon Bernard and Gabriel Veyre, on behalf of August and Louis Lumière, to the President of the Mexican Republic, General Porfirio Diaz. The film that opened the showcase was composed of scenes shot of President Porfirio by Gabriel Veyre, and titled “The President of the Republic back horse riding in the Chapultepec forest” (1896). </span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In 1897 a young engineer named Salvador Toscano Barragan purchased one of the Lumière cameras and changed the course of his professional life. The arrival of the camera marked the end of a promising engineering career that led the young and inexperienced Toscano into the adventure of filming and exhibiting films throughout Mexico. This enterprise gained him a place in the history books where he was coined “The father of Mexican Cinema.” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495355880453577074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/TENtDsDKGXI/AAAAAAAAAEU/LDZUzFMZQ1s/s200/ToscanoPortrait.jpg" border="0" /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Salvador Toscano (1872-1947)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">SALVADOR TOSCANO BARRAGAN</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> was born in 1872 in Zapotlan, (Mexico). In 1896 he opened a movie theater named “Cinematografo Lumière,” located in the 17th block of Jesus Maria Street, at close distance from the National Palace. Through a number of business associations he went on to showcase film programs in cities throughout Mexico and the US. Toscano spent many weeks on the road where he developed an ongoing correspondence with his mother to whom he shared the headaches and pleasures of the life of an itinerant film exhibitor. Fortunately, these letters were preserved and published by the Toscano Film Archive in collaboration with the Filmoteca UNAM. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div><br /></div></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Excerpts of letters from Salvador Toscano to his mother </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In the following letter, dated August 26, 1900, Toscano shares details about his U.S. film exhibition itinerary. From Galveston he was to visit Saint Louis, Chicago and New York: “The Cinematografo [Lumiere Film Camera] is not such a good investment around here, nonetheless it makes enough to keep going. The Americans had never seen such a thing. They are quiet taken with the “vistas” [films], but still, the people here do not spend as much as in Mexico.”<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The letters apart from documenting the tenderness of a mother and son relationship, give insight into the business relationship the two shared. Many of the letters would be indications to Refugio detailing what to do regarding sending an “express” film print to an exhibitor that was awaiting for it, on to how to run the finances of the business. In spite of the gradual success of the film business, Refugio pressed her son to make use of his studies and return to engineering. This request Salvador addressed in a letter: “Regarding your desires that I return to engineering, I give you my assurance; but not until I cancel all my debts.” </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Documentary films VS. Fiction films</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Toscano’s decision to find a more profitable profession was due to the fact that by 1912 “the competition of movie theaters was fierce to the point that entry fees were ridiculously reduced.” This accounted for his selling of the Salon Pathe, one of the many locations he had acquired to run film exhibitions.<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">That same year Salvador began working on one of many engineering projects that would curtail any future opportunities to return, full time, to the business of filmmaking and exhibition. In due time documentary cinema would lose favor with the audiences that found new perspectives in the production of fiction films, and their accompanying film stars. As explained by historian Angel Miquel: “non-fiction films experienced a transformation. In 1917 several film companies began the production of fiction films, in consequence the documentary film would fall back (…) Some documentary filmmakers, such as Rosas and Ocañas, would go into the production of fiction films, but many others, like the Alva brothers, Echaniz, Toscano, Abitia, etc., were not interested or incapable to jump into the making of fiction films. The future of documentary cinema would fall into the productions made by private newsreel firms, or Government funded projects.”</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The decision was not welcomed by Carlos Noriega Hope, one of Mexico’s most noteworthy of film critics. The following quote by Noriega Hope was rescued by historian Angel Miquel in his Toscano biography: “Unfortunately, destiny took him away from the field that he was to pioneer and today, instead of being a rich film magnate, his days and evenings are spent in front of a desk in the business of paperwork. Maybe at times, Salvador Toscano in remembrance of his past life comes to feel nostalgia and a certain load for his current life.”</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Fortunately, in his spare time, Salvador did return, though never full time, to several projects related to filming, and the editing of already shot footage for the making of documentaries. During this time Salvador began the meticulous process of preserving his film collection, made up by his films and those that he purchased or were donated by his film colleagues. He had assembled a collection of great materials with the intention of producing a documentary of the Mexican revolution. Unfortunately, Toscano would not live long enough to accomplish it.<br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Memories of a Mexican: from newsreels to National Film Treasure </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></div></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495357808807548738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/TENuz7ukl0I/AAAAAAAAAEk/R-X4EHBVPo8/s200/CarmenToscanoMod.jpg" border="0" /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Carmen Toscano (1910-1988)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One can only imagine an aging Toscano contemplating the vastness of his archive with the uncertainty of who would continue its preservation. The answer was delivered by his daughter Carmen Toscano who picked on her father’s footsteps following his death 1947. The passing of Toscano placed the responsibility of securing the survival of the film archive to Carmen and the whole Toscano family. The documentary film about the Mexican Revolution would be made by his daughter. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div></span></span></div><div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Memories of a Mexican (1950) was Carmen Toscano’s greatest accomplishment and tribute to her father’s legacy in filmmaking and film preservation. For the making of this film Carmen classified, organized and selected over fifty thousand feet of footage shot from 1897 to 1929. In order for the footage to adapt to sound speed Carmen arranged to make prints with a number of duplicated frames to match the 24 fps. Also, during her father’s lifetime, from 1942 to 1945, Carmen brought footage to Los Angeles' film labs in order to process optical work.<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">She succeeded in assembling her father’s materials into a documentary film that was guided by a fictional narration, based on a script she wrote after the film was edited, and a very detailed sound design that captured in 110 minutes the scope of Salvador Toscano’s film treasure. The historic value of Memories of a Mexican (1950) was recognized by the Mexican Government when it was awarded the unusual honor of being named a “National Film Treasure.”<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The documentary film features moving images of the protagonists of the Mexican revolution: President Porfirio Diaz, Francisco I. Madero, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon, amongst others. The film also showcases rare glimpses of Mexican historic moments that include the “Celebrations of Mexico’s Independence” (1908), the “Tragic ten days” (1913), “The invasion of Veracruz” (1914), and moments in the life of everyday people.<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The film premiered in 1950 at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Theater with an audience that included the likes of painters Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, philosopher Jose Vasconcelos and actor Pedro Infante. In 1954 it was exhibited at the Cannes film festival and in many other venues. In 2008 a print of Memories of a Mexican was featured at the first International Preservation Film Festival in Prague and at Los Angeles' Million Dollar Theater.</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:monospace, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/brtbXXxCAY0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/brtbXXxCAY0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object></span> <br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">This clip was edited by Fabricio Espasande</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Fundacion Toscano</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For some time the Cineteca Nacional held the Toscano film archive without taking any steps for its preservation other than its storage. Due to this lack of action, the family took measures and recouped the archive. Luckily, this was done on time to avoid the fire that was to account for the loss of lives and that of thousands of films. As stated by Octavio Moreno Toscano, son of Carmen, and grandson of Salvador: “When the Cineteca Nacional exploded the Toscano archive was saved because the government did not want it. It was saved by not being there.”</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Toscano Foundation was officially established in 1992 with the purpose of preserving the Salvador Toscano Historic Film Archive and the film archives donated by Jesus H. Abitia, Alberto Licerio, Ezequiel Colin Garces, Concepcion Tafoya, and archives documenting the Mexican Presidency. As a result the Carmen Toscano Foundation has established itself as a film archive specialized in preserving newsreels and documentary films related to Mexican history. The Foundation, in collaboration with the Cineteca, has also instated the tradition of recognizing the legacy of prominent Mexicans in the arts by establishing the “Salvador Toscano Medal,” the first of which was given in 1983 to Joselito and Roberto Rodriguez, inventors of the Rodriguez Sound System.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Funding</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As a nonprofit film archive, one of the main sources of funding has come from donations but also from the Foundation’s commercial department in charge of licensing footage and the production of CD’s/DVD’s/books that help meet part of the expenses. In 1996 the archive launched a DVD of “Memories of a Mexican that included the extras options of English subtitles and, as part of its menu, a timeline of the Mexican revolution helpful to those less familiar with the historic events and personalities presented in the documentary. Due to ravages of film piracy, the archive is very protective of the copies it distributes. In fact one of the less “expected” sources of funding comes from court actions that have been taken against individuals and corporations that have made use of the archive’s moving images without clearing the rights. <br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The freedom of an independent film archive </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The archive’s independence gives freedom to its board members to voice opinions and make suggestions too politically conflictive for other such institutions that are partly or fully depended on government funding (i.e. Filmoteca UNAM / Cineteca). Such was the case when Octavio Moreno Toscano voiced a suggestion, perhaps too controversial to be attained but, a daring step in such a politically censored society. The suggestion had to do with the massacre of Tlatelolco, a dark chapter in Mexico’s history wherein a large number of people were murdered by the police in an effort to halt marches against the 1968 Olympic Games. Moreno Toscano, who himself had attended the March that fateful October 2nd of 1968, made the following remarks regarding the possible existence of footage that documented the massacre: “The footage can be in many archives, like the National Film Archive (Archivo General de la Nación), or private film archives, like that of the former President. What we offer is our headquarters which are neutral, non-governmental and aloof from conflictive passions, in order to preserve them temporarily for their study. If this man [Garcia Pineda] has decided to speak up, the moment has come for that footage to come out. We guarantee the security of those films, until proper copies can be made for their safe keep.” </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It is yet to be seen if the Tlatelolco footage ever sees the light of day. Still the liberty of expression of Octavio Moreno Toscano is something difficult to have in a country where censorship still plays a major role thus the convenience of running an independent institution.<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The future of the Fundacion Toscano Archive</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The lack of proper cataloging measures during the lifetime of Salvador Toscano, has made it difficult for historians to identify the authorship of some of the “newsreels,” held in the archive. Still, based on information provided by primary sources: letters, documents, film programs, posters, photographs, held at the Toscano Archive, historians Aurelio de los Reyes and Angel Miquel, among others, have been able to determined a precise list of Toscano’s film work.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The primary sources held at the archive are invaluable in understanding the vastness of an archive with many reels yet to be appraised. This point was pin pointed by Dr. Veronica Zarate Toscano, granddaughter of Salvador: “We have many reels that need to be rescued. We have introduced other images that are not included in the documentary film, like the funeral of Zapata or footage of gum exploits in Quitana Roo, or images from a trip of Francisco Madero. Though these images have been saved there is a lot of material that needs to be rescued. It is in cans inside a vault at “Los Barandales,” the country house that serves as the archives headquarters.“<br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On the skirts of the commemorations of the bicentenary of the Mexican independence, and that of the centenary of its complex revolution, the Toscano Film Archive is getting ready to re-launch “Memoirs of a Mexican” with a new DVD version that will be subtitled in English, French and German. Apart from that, the Larousse publishing house will present an edition aimed at documenting the Mexican revolution that will feature over three hundred photographs from the Toscano Archive, and the insight of noteworthy historians Enrique Krauze and Josefina Vazquez.<br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There is much to be done, like in many other film archives, the Fundacion Toscano Film Archive faces a race against time. Within its holdings many are the scenes yet to be resuscitated. Proper funding is key to the realization of this endeavor, that of saving the moving images that were taken over a century ago. This will indeed entail major fundraising work.<br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Considering the internal conflicts the Mexican nation is experiencing, in contrast with the historic celebrations that is soon to commemorate, it will be unavoidable for the nation to reflect upon its place in history by contrasting its present to its past. That past is a glance away, stored in the Fundacion Toscano film vault, the survival or disappearance of these moving images will be that nation’s sole responsibility. <br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></div></div></div></div></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-27591385675580513182010-02-26T21:28:00.000-08:002010-02-27T19:12:43.191-08:00Remembering Miroslava Stern Becka (1926-1955)by Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br /><br /><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qmZ9-VJmh8k&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qmZ9-VJmh8k&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; font-size:13px;"><span style=" ;font-size:85%;">Originally published on February 22 of 2006 by LatinoLA.com</span><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><a href="http://latinola.com/story.php?story=3234">http://latinola.com/story.php?story=3234</a></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Dedicated to Ivo Stern Becka and Paola Stern</span></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">This coming Sunday, February 26, Czech-born actress Miroslava Stern Becka would've turned eighty-years-old, that is, had her life not taken the tragic turn it did back in 1955 when - to the astonishment of her fans - the actress committed suicide, abruptly concluding a reputable career in the Mexican film industry, and an emerging one in Hollywood. What better occasion, than that of her birthday, to celebrate Miroslava's important contribution to the world of cinema.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">To understand the life and myth of Miroslava Stern Becka is to delve into her early years when Mexico welcomed into its shores refugees from a war-stricken Europe, such as the family of Dr. Stern, who arrived in 1941 after a brief stay in Belgium, Finland and Sweden.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">In Mexico, Dr. Stern was able to establish his medical practice allowing a comfortable lifestyle for his wife Miroslava Becka and their children, Miroslava and Ivo. By 1945 the family was well-immersed in the social circles of the Mexican upper class, and as such, joined the prestigious Churubusco Country Club, where what began as a social affair, Miroslava's participation in a beauty contest, would catapult her into stardom.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">The contest was known as the Black and White ball, and from all the contestants; Miroslava was chosen the crowning queen. In the midst of the much coveted social spotlight, Miroslava married Jesus Jaime Obregon, a young man from a well-to-do family. Unfortunately, the marriage was not meant to last due to the couples' 'very' irreconcilable differences. The painful divorce was overshadowed by her mother's death.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">It was under these circumstances that Miroslava accepted an offer from film producer Salvador Elizondo Pani. Her film debut began in January of 1946 with her participation in Tragic weddings/Bodas tragicas. In the film, a Mauricio Magdaleno adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello, Miroslava played the role of Desdemona, co-starring with actors Roberto Silva and Ernesto Alonso. What continued were a series of films where the new comer was given the opportunity to work with major actors such as: Arturo de Cordoba, Mario Moreno 'Cantinflas', Luis Aguilar, Pedro Armendariz and Pedro Infante.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">There was something unique about Miroslava that set her apart from the very start, an exceptional beauty combined with a talent for impersonating an array of characterizations that ranged from the refined good girl to the femme fatale, to characters she came to embody best, those with mysterious qualities like that of Elena, a haunting spirit in the 1948 film An Adventure in the Night/Una Aventura en la Noche, or that of Tasia, the embodiment of death in the 1951 film Death in Love/La Muerte Enamorada.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">If Miroslava's entry in the Mexican film industry had been a success, by 1950 a promising film career in Hollywood had already began to shape with her participation in The Brave Bulls, a Columbia Pictures production directed by Robert Rossen, where Miroslava starred next to Mel Ferrer and Anthony Queen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/S4i6RIOSxHI/AAAAAAAAADY/HVj_wu43HWk/s1600-h/712-1-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/S4i6RIOSxHI/AAAAAAAAADY/HVj_wu43HWk/s320/712-1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442804953105220722" /></a>To top it off, that same year Miroslava was featured in the July 10 cover of Life magazine, wearing a black Andalusian hat and a bullfighter's shirt. The magazine stated, 'After turning down more than 40 candidates, he [Robert Rossen] found something to his liking in Miroslava, an actress born in Czechoslovakia.'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">As film offers kept on coming, the actress fled to Cuba in 1953 to film Stronger than love/Mas fuerte que el amor, next to Spanish heart throb Jorge Mistral. During her stay, the actress met the man that would be considered one of her most passionate flames, Spanish playboy matador Luis Miguel Dominguin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;">By 1954 Miroslava's career was recognized with a nomination for an Ariel -Mexico's Film Academy Award - in the category of best supporting actress, for her performance in The three perfect wives/Las tres perfectas casadas. </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:18.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jJ2lkViSLEc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jJ2lkViSLEc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:18.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in 1954, the actress was paired with singer sensation Pedro Infante to star in Escuela para vagabundos/School for vagabonds, a romantic comedy that presented a well-structured story with top notch musical interludes. The film which opened in January of 1955 was a box office success, running for nine consecutive weeks.<br /></div></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">That same month, when at the prime of her career, Miroslava was hired by filmmaker Luis Buñuel to work in the film The Criminal Life of Archivaldo de la Cruz. The film centered in the life of Archivaldo, played by Ernesto Alonso, an eccentric bourgeois man whose frustrating efforts to murder women drive the plot. Among Archivaldo's potential victims Buñuel casted actress Rita Macedo, who impersonated a feisty and salacious femme fatale; actress Ariadna Welter who played a virginal gold-digger; and Miroslava was given the role of the upbeat and wholesome Lavinia.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:18.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;"><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dpsHyAXflbk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dpsHyAXflbk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One scene of this film has always been associated with Miroslava's death. In an interview for Somos magazine actor Ernesto Alonso reminisced: 'We had a ten year friendship until 1955, when her death hit me really hard. The Criminal Life of Archivaldo de la Cruz (A.K.A. Crime Rehearsal) became a film of intense symbolism in my life. In it I cremated a mannequin that looked just like Miroslava and Buñuel wanted her to witness it. She got desperate and commented that she wished to be cremated after her death. Ten days after shooting the scene she committed suicide.'<br /></div></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">In spite of the actresses' tragic death - on March 10, 1955 ' to the very present, her loyal audience has never failed to remember. Last year the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles hosted a tribute with the showcase of the film Miroslava (1992), based on a short story by novelist Guadalupe Loaeza. The director of the film, Alejandro Pelayo was present for a Q&A session with the audience.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">Regarding the many theories around her suicide Pelayo - who did an exhaustive research into her life for the film - considered that Miroslava's suicide might have been detonated by what the film reflects: 'the melancholic feeling of loneliness, of nostalgia for her country, and her lack of love. She had a series of unfortunate love encounters,' explained Pelayo who also shared a fateful childhood moment: 'I was around ten-years-old and lived eight blocks from the house of Miroslava, in the same neighborhood, named Colonia Anzures, her house was in a street named Kepler, I lived on Shakespeare. When I heard the news of her suicide I took my bicycle and rode to her house to look at the scene, it was cordoned and crammed with police presence. It remained forever ingrained in me, never would I imagine that decades later I would direct a film about her.'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">During the event Pavel Pochyly, Cultural director of the Czech Consulate, expressed his thanks to the nation of Mexico, and in special to Alejandro Pelayo, for documenting the life of the Czech actress, expressing: 'During the Nazi take over of Czechoslovakia the history of those who crossed the border was dissolved. It is thanks to other nations, and to other people, that we can learn about them,' concluded Pochyly making reference to the ignorance of many Czechs about the existence of the actress.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;line-height: 18pt; "><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;">Instead of lingering in the tragic trying to fathom the reasons behind her suicide, often blamed upon a break-up with Luis Miguel Dominguin, it is best to place aside that ominous Bu'uelesque scene to remember her not just as a beautiful actress, but as an underestimated actress whose chameleonic film persona left a collection of truly remarkable performances. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; ">In the end, Miroslava's film legacy will live in the memory of her Latin American audiences, and why not, in the memory of her future Czech audiences, for once they discover her, as they did that magical night at the Czech Consulate, they will come to appreciate the accomplishments attained by one of their brethren, a fragile and talented girl from Prague.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;">Originally published in 2006</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-41610578239460511942010-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:002019-07-30T10:10:32.551-07:00The ¨Triumph¨ of Timeby Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;">Originally published on September 12 of 2002 by the Jewish Journal.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.6px;">https://jewishjournal.com/opinion/6628/</span><br />
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<em>"Actress Leni Riefenstahl, friend and favorite of Adolph Hitler, convinced a denazification court for the second time today that her career during the Third Reich was artistic rather than political." </em></div>
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<em></em><em>Los Angeles Examiner -- April 22, 1952 </em><br />
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Fifty years later, this past Aug. 22, [2002] German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl chose the occasion of her 100th birthday to advertise the release of her new documentary film, "Impressions Under Water." What for Riefenstahl represents the achievement of her body's fight against time, for her critics it represents yet another effort to reinvent the legacy of the artist's tainted past. In regard to "Underwater Impressions," Riefenstahl recently commented: </div>
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<em>"My film shows the beauty of the underwater world. I hope it will touch the viewer's conscience, as it illustrates just what the world will lose when nothing is done to stop the destruction of our oceans. I once said that I am fascinated by the beautiful and the living. I seek harmony, and under water, I have found it."</em><br />
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But how can an artist, whose life ethic was marked by her commitment to the Nazi regime, pretend to lecture the world about having a conscience, and then proceed to talk about her fascination with beauty and the living, when it was through the beauty of her visuals that Frau Riefenstahl immortalized the inhuman cult of the Third Reich?<br />
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Riefenstahl has always had a talent for showcasing beauty. At first, beauty was embodied in her dancing, which took her all over European stages, including performances for the prestigious Max Reinhard's theater company. </div>
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Beauty followed her entrance in the world of mountain-climbing films, where she acted under the direction of Dr. Arnold Fanck. The mountain films were a mix of the Alps' imposing beauty with that of Riefenstahl's characters, exemplified in "The Blue Light" (1932), the actress' directorial debut that centered on the story of a naïve girl named Junta (played by Riefenstahl) and her obsession for the blue light of Mount Cristallo.<br />
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Then, Riefenstahl chose a new career path, one that would place her talent at the service of politics -- a career financed by the Führer's admiration and interest in propagating the ideal of the Nazi state. The most notorious, "Triumph of the Will," a documentary film about Nuremberg's 1934 Nazi rally, organized from Sept. 5-20, showed Riefenstahl's capacity for beauty, earning her Germany's Festival of the Nation Award and France's Diplome du Grand Prix.<br />
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Ironically, time later, in 1939, France took a stand against fascism by creating -- through Philippe Erlanger, a member of the Association Française d'Action Artistique -- the Cannes Film Festival in response to a decision by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's Venice Film Festival to award "The Olympiad" (1938), a Riefenstahl documentary about the German Olympic Games, the year's best film award.<br />
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In November of that same year, Riefenstahl arrived in Los Angeles with the intention of finding a distributor for "The Olympiad." The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, headed by screenwriters Donald Odgen Stewart and Dorothy Parker, organized a strong campaign to boycott the efforts of an artist whose ties with the Nazi regime were more than enough to discredit her talent for beauty.<br />
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At the same time, the outrage over Kristallnacht infuriated the exiled Jewish community that found in Riefenstahl a representative of the Third Reich in America. On Nov. 29, 1939, an advertisement was published in Daily Variety, which said:<br />
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<em>"Today, Leni Riefenstahl, head of the Nazi film industry, has arrived in Hollywood. There is no room in Hollywood for Leni Riefenstahl. In this moment when hundreds of thousands of our brethren await certain death, close your doors to all Nazi agents.¨</em><br />
<em><br />"Let the world know there is no room in Hollywood for a Nazi agent. Sign the petition for an economic embargo against Germany."</em><br />
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When Riefenstahl departed Los Angeles, she said, " I hope next time it will be different when I come, yes?" And yes was the answer given to her in August 1997 by the Cinecom Society of Cinephiles in the form of a tribute ceremony organized in the secrecy of Glendale's Red Lion Hotel. Kevin John Charbeneau, Cinecom' s president, described the event as a tribute to "a dancer, a choreographer, an actress, a cinematographer and a director."<br />
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But not everybody shared Charbeneau's view. In 1975, when Riefenstahl produced a pictorial book on Africa's Nuba tribe, two major efforts were made to thwart her comeback. Susan Sontag wrote an essay, "Fascinating Fascism," that analyzed what the film critic considered the undertones of the Nazi ideology embodied in Riefenstahl's "The Last of the Nuba."<br />
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In the essay, Sontag wrote, "In celebrating a society where the exhibition of physical skill and courage and the victory of the stronger man over the weaker are, as she sees it, the unifying symbols of the communal culture -- where success in fighting is the 'main' aspiration of a man's life -- Riefenstahl seems hardly to have modified the ideas of her Nazi films."<br />
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The second major attack on her came from the investigative work of World War II B-17 pilot Glenn B. Infield's "Leni Riefenstahl: The Fallen Film Goddess," a well-documented book about Riefenstahl's close ties with the Third Reich. The chapter, "The War Years," records the tragedies that befell artists such as Joachim Gottschalk and Kurt Gerron, whose decisions not to follow the Nazis caused their downfalls.<br />
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Jean Renoir's "La Grande Illusion" (1937), Charles Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" (1940), Manolo Alonso's "I Am Hitler" (1942), George Pal's "Tulips Shall Grow" (1942) and Alain Resnais' "Night and Fog" (1955) are, what philosopher Albert Camus defined as the work of artists who, by definition, cannot put themselves at the service of those who make history, but at the service of those who suffer it.<br />
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No matter what Riefenstahl does in her remaining days, it will be impossible for the "artist" to erase the actions of the past. If her desire is that of being accepted, she should start by humbly disappearing from public life in respect for those that suffered the horror of the political machine that she helped promote and immortalize.<br />
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On the eve of the 68th anniversary of the making of "Triumph of the Will," it would be ideal, and necessary, for the sake of society and its future to reevaluate the roles of our often-overprotected "artists.'</div>
Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-11042146541906473422009-12-05T10:56:00.001-08:002009-12-05T10:56:46.358-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(100, 95, 94); font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><object width="300" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7522292&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7522292&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7522292">Entrega de Premios Nacionales (1950)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/memoriadecuba">Memoria de Cuba</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(100, 95, 94); font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(100, 95, 94); font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Interesting Cuban newsreel </span></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-15704240028013509092009-11-26T20:18:00.001-08:002009-11-27T04:00:28.849-08:00The legacy of Avery Clayton<object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lkZcxuZ2zLQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lkZcxuZ2zLQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br />Avery Clayton director of the <a href="http://www.wsbrec.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">Mayme Clayton Library and Museum</span> </a>passed away today. A great loss for our city. He was a visionary who worked hard to bring into shape the establishment of one of the most important Afro-American repositories in the U.S. <div><br />This repository of books, documents, correspondence, photographs and films, had been built for decades by his mother <a href="http://www.wsbrec.org/press/biography.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">Mayme Agnew Clayton</span></a>, a librarian who understood the importance rescuing Afro-American history by way of amassing such a unique and impressive collection.<br /><br />It is very sad to see such a vibrant person pass away at such a young age. I am left with his optimism, and exemplary talent for bringing dreams into reality.<br /><br />May he rest in peace and may his family continue the legacy of Agnew Clayton.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more info. about Avery's life story <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201723.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">click here.</span></a></div><div><br /><br /></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-2792564425667920482009-10-21T04:34:00.000-07:002010-02-04T04:27:24.554-08:00Con el Pin Pin Pin de San Agustinby Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br /><br /><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEhJG9MoVcM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEhJG9MoVcM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />What visual referents do you find when you visit the Chinatown area in L.A.? This is my perspective. A two minute documentary sketch recorded on Oct. 11, 2009.<br /><br />It was made for a film class taught by the great Marina Goldovskaya. I employed a very unique music piece. A mixture of Cuban Chinese trumpet "corneta" and drums, rooted in the carnivals celebrated in the city of Santiago de Cuba (Cuba). This theme is titled "Con su Pin Pin Pin,"performed by the Comparsa San Agustin. Enjoy!Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-22133423662385124322008-12-15T22:47:00.000-08:002008-12-15T22:50:27.031-08:00We're all at faultBy Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br /> <br />On Wednesday, December 26th of 2001, a day most American kids spent playing with their toys, Leslie Zepeda, the eleven-year-old daughter of Julia and Benito, was no exception. Earlier that day, she had gone to visit her neighboring friend Kenia Salinas, bringing with her the large, and beautiful, blonde doll she had gotten for Christmas. <br /><br />Soon after, Kenia's mother, Nelida Avellaneda, and a friend, Jose Aguilar, took the girls to the mall where they would spend most of the evening. It was at around eight-thirty p.m., when about to be dropped off at her house, that Leslie remembered her doll. She had left it at Kenia's house. Not planning to let a day pass without the gift she had grown so attached to, Leslie requested to go back to pick it up. Since both lived a few houses apart it was just a matter of turning around and backing into the driveway. <br /><br />Sadly the doll never got to her. Right after getting to the driveway a shoot-out between alleged gang members ensued in front of the house, causing a stray bullet to wound Kenia, and another to end Leslie's life. <br /><br />On Saturday, December 29th, at Hawthorne's Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Julia and Benito Zepeda gave their final farewell to Leslie with a funeral Mass at the end of which the casket received the blessing of the priest. Walking right behind, one of her sisters followed the somber procession holding Leslie's doll. <br /><br />There's not much we can say or do to appease the pain of the Zepeda family, because there's absolutely nothing we can do or say to bring their daughter back to life. We have two choices: We can add Leslie's story to our memories of tragic events, and go "back to normal," or we can take action to prevent further happenings like this one to repeat. <br /><br />In Hawthorne, Leslie's death brought about some action on the part of a group of her neighbors that came together to form the Eucalyptus Neighborhood Association -- an effort to control the level of delinquency in the area, and plans to honor her memory culminated in a Memorial Fund that carries her name. If any positive came out of this tragedy it was the pulling together of the community and its city officials. But organizations and fundraisings are not enough of a solution. <br /><br />There are an overwhelming series of social problems that we have yet to confront. <br />If we come to think of the person that shot the gun, we have to consider that this person has also grown up under our social system and that somewhere and somehow society failed. As a society we failed to offer Leslie the right to a full and blooming life, and conversely, we failed to prevent another life from developing into a host of violence that only serves to destroy, and cause tragedy to families like the Zepeda's. <br /><br />Can we look at our children and know which ones will be the victims and which the victimizers. Of course we can't. But how can we prevent them from going into the wrong paths. Yes, we have the schools with all their special programs but what can we do if some of our children have to go back home to an environment plagued with poverty, crime, violence, and drugs. <br /><br />Why do we as a city have to wait for this irreversible tragedy to bring light to an issue that is the very cancer of our society? Why live in denial? Why let it drag on and on? Why ignore the severity of the consequences of adapting, and accepting as normal, the violence that surrounds our everyday life? <br /><br />When I was growing up I had respect and faith in the adult world. I thought they had the answers to everything. The day I attended Leslie's funeral mass I was reminded of the contrary. <br /><br />What is left to say but the facts: A young and beautiful girl of eleven, from Hawthorne Intermediate, lost her life to the war that we have not been able to win -- the war on crime. And whose fault is it? Ours only. <br /><br />I would like to finish this article with the childlike ideal I once had -- that there's hope for change -- and that we, as a city, have the right leaders and citizens to make it happen. <br /><br />Post Script:<br />On Friday, December 13, 2002, twenty-four year old Hawthorne resident Juan Baeza, was charged with the murder of Leslie in what was considered an attack meant to harm a member of a rival gang who lived right across Kenia's residence.Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-1978778829071298572008-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:002008-11-02T13:58:03.577-08:00Manuel Puig and his Kiss of the Spider WomanBy Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br /><br /><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QCYjawS2H9k&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QCYjawS2H9k&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />Hector Babenco's The Kiss of the Spider Woman was recently released in Blue-ray and DVD for all to enjoy, hopefully this release will shed light upon the life of Manuel Puig (1932-1990) author of the novel that inspired the film.<br /><br />The film The Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel published by Manuel Puig in 1976, and adapted to the screen in 1985, revolves around the relationship of two prison inmates who share a cell in the sinister humidity of an undisclosed Latin-American country.<span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">Valentin Arregui Paz, interpreted by the late Puerto Rican actor Raul Julia (1940-1994), is a leftist revolutionary obsessed with justice and the woman he loves. Luis Alberto Molina, played by American actor William Hurt, is a fragile homosexual who has been imprisoned for pederasty, and whose only desire is to reunite with his sick mother.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">In spite of their striking differences, Molina has no problem in asserting his "feminine role" with confidence by considering himself a "normal woman," only capable of loving men. In contrast, Valentin struggles with an ideology that keeps him from accepting his devotion for an upper class woman. With time, Valentin opens up to Molina by allowing him to care for his wounds, and admitting his fear of revolutionary martyrdom by expressing his desire to have a “normal life.”</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">During the night, when the lights are turned-off, Molina makes use of his repertoire to recount old film plots. His visual memory, and his attention to detail make his narratives ever more palpable for a sick and bitter Valentin. From a thriller set in a Nazi occupied Germany, to the terror of a Zombie island, or the heat of a tropical night, Molina succeeds in drawing Valentin into his fantasy world. Every film tale, every anecdote, every word, slowly penetrates the remoteness of Valentin, who eventually succumbs to the workings of Molina, the "spider woman."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">In one of the most defining moments, Molina sings a Mario Clavell bolero, titled My Letter, that summons what is going to became the core of the inmates relationship:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><i style=""><br /><span class="px12lead15">"Querido, vuelvo otra vez a conversar contigo. La noche trae un silencio que me invita a hablarte. Y pienso, si tu también estarás recordando, cariño...los sueños tristes de este amor extraño." Mi carta, Mario Clavel</span><br /><br /><span class="px12lead15">"Dear, I come back, yet once again. The night brings an inviting silence for conversation. And I wonder... if you also remember the sad dreams of this strange love."</span></i><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">Unlike the collaboration of filmmaker Barbet Schroeder and author Fernando Vallejo in the literary adaptation of Our Lady of the Assassins, or the more recent collaboration of director Eloy de la Iglesia and author Eduardo Medicutti in The Bulgarian Lovers, there never existed a collaboration</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">between The Kiss of the Spider Woman's director Hector Babenco and Manuel Puig.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">Though the end result caused major distress upon the author, who never agreed with the changes of screenwriter Leonard Schrader, the film managed to gain an Oscar nomination for best adaptation. Another criticism of Puig fell upon the casting of William Hurt. The author did not agree with the choice, and never approved of the performance, which he considered shallow, but a performance that gained the actor an Oscar. In spite of Puig's disagreement, Hurt delivered a heart-wrenching final scene not to be forgotten in the history of contemporary cinema.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Excerpt of interview with Manuel Puig.<br /><br /><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uQkbmhovYoM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uQkbmhovYoM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">Could it be that there was too much of Puig in the character of Molina to let just anyone take a hold of it? Regarding the closeness of an author to a special character, French novelist Andre Guide, pioneer of "homosexual" literature, once expressed "How many buds we bear in us that will never blossom save in our books!" If Manuel Puig's passion for nostalgic boleros and classic cinema was the bud that sprang through Molina's persona, his political stand against dictatorial governments, cause of his exile, was also reflected in the persona of Valentin.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">In an interview with Jorgelina Corbatta, following the 1979 Congress of Hispanic-American Writers in </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span class="px12lead15">Medellin</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;"> (</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="px12lead15">Colombia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">), Puig was asked about the role the reader played in his literary work. His response was "Whenever I write, I'm always thinking of the reader. I write for somebody who has my</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span class="px12lead15" style="font-size:100%;">own limitations. My reader has a certain difficulty with concentrating, which in my case comes from being a film viewer. That's why I don't request any special efforts in the act of reading."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">For those interested in discovering the genius of this author here is a list of his novels:</p><ul><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1968: <i>La traición de Rita Hayworth</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betrayed_by_Rita_Hayworth" title="Betrayed by Rita Hayworth">Betrayed by Rita Hayworth</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1969: <i>Boquitas pintadas</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heartbreak_Tango&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Heartbreak Tango (page does not exist)">Heartbreak Tango</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1973: <i>The Buenos Aires Affair</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Buenos_Aires_Affair&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="The Buenos Aires Affair (page does not exist)">The Buenos Aires Affair</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1976: <i>El beso de la mujer araña</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_the_Spider_Woman_%28novel%29" title="Kiss of the Spider Woman (novel)">Kiss of the Spider Woman</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1979: <i>Pubis angelical</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pubis_Angelical" title="Pubis Angelical">Pubis Angelical</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1980: <i>Maldición eterna a quien lea estas páginas</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Curse_on_the_Reader_of_These_Pages" title="Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages">Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1982: <i>Sangre de amor correspondido</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blood_of_Requited_Love&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Blood of Requited Love (page does not exist)">Blood of Requited Love</a></i>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">1988: <i>Cae la noche tropical</i> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tropical_Night_Falling&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Tropical Night Falling (page does not exist)">Tropical Night Falling</a></i>)</span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><!--[endif]--></p> <span class="px12 lead15"> </span>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-59339340302393346742008-10-12T22:41:00.000-07:002010-05-20T21:14:09.733-07:00Manolo Alonso: A Cuban cinematic pioneer<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/SPLj828HVgI/AAAAAAAAACg/FLzfm5GcGEg/s1600-h/Casta+de+Roble+Xonia+Angel038.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256514349774099970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/SPLj828HVgI/AAAAAAAAACg/FLzfm5GcGEg/s320/Casta+de+Roble+Xonia+Angel038.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Film still from "Casta de Roble / Oak's Caste" (1954)</span><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">On the ocassion of an upcoming lecture, scheduled for October the 25th, about the legacy of Cuban film pioneer Manolo Alonso I'm re-publishing the following article writen in 2002.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">“With tears in my eyes Manolo, I send you a message. Back to the era in which we met, many generations have passed, and we have assimilated those generations. Because you, the man, have elaborated interesting projects that will culminate in posterity, and because of it, I congratulate you, admire you, and appreciate you”</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Actor Ernesto de Gali / Glendale, CA</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Manolo Alonso, pioneer of Cuban Cinema and Television, was born on August 23, 1912, in the city of Havana, Cuba, from the union of Spanish immigrants, Maria Garcia and Jesus Alonso. Manolo's formative years developed in the Salesian School of La Vibora, followed by his entry, in the prestigious San Alejandro Academy of Arts, enrolling in the drawing department. His talent landed him work in the field of comic strips, where he created for Sergio Carbo’s La Semana magazine. At the same time, Manolo starts working as a ticket holder for the theater Campoamor, a position that later gained him the title of theater administrator for the Campoamor, Alcazar, Fausto, El Encanto theaters.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">Manolo teamed up with Nico Lursen, and Lucio Carranza, to produce the first Cuban animated sound film, inspired by one of his comic strips, published for the newspaper El Pais Grafico. The two minute project, filmed in black and white on 35 mm film, was titled Napoleon: The Pharaoh of Misunderstandings (1937), produced the same year that Ernesto Caparros directed The Red Snake, the first Cuban feature-length sound film.</div><br /><div align="justify">In 1938, at the age of 26, Manolo made history once again with the founding of Cuba's first newsreel production company, the RHC Cadena Azul-Noticiero Nacional, followed by the addition of Noticiario America-El Pais and The Royal News. </div><br /><div align="justify">Financed in part by Cerveza La Polar, Manolo started the production of 52 annual comic sketches, to be played with the newsreels, introducing the characters of Chicharito and Sopeira, best known as Alberto Garrido and Federico Piñero, Cuba's funniest comedians. Two Cubans at War, Things I Left in Cuba, Funeral Mouse, Gallic Garrido, What Kids are These! and Chicharito for Mayor, represent the quality and dynamic of sketch production that took place in the 40's.</div><br /><div align="justify">In 1943, he directed I Am Hitler, a comedy which mocked the German leader, written by Castor Vispo and starring Adolfo Otero, Minin Bujones, and Rolando Ochoa, and the debut of young actor, Rosendo Rosell. In 1950, with the arrival of television, Manolo follows the lead of Cuban TV icon Gaspar Pumarejo, by producing a sketch of Chicharito and Sopeira for Channel 4 Union-Radio-Television, starring the famous comedians Heda Bejar and Rosendo Rosell.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(100, 95, 94); white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:verdana, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9464747&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9464747&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Manolo Alonso between the President of Cuba and actors Cesar Romero and Tyrone Power</span></div><br /><div align="justify">In 1950, he directed the film 7 Timely Deaths, produced with an array Cuba’s best actors: Juan Jose Martinez Casado, Alejandro Lugo, Raquel Revuelta, Ernesto de Gali, Rosendo Rosell, Maritza Rosales, Adolfo Otero, Gaspar de Santelices and Manolo Coego. This was a new film genre: the Cuban-Thriller, a mix of mystery, with comedy and music, played to the rhythm of Osvaldo Farres? compositions.</div><br /><div align="justify">In 1953, Alonso directed Oaks’ Caste, a rural drama written by Alvaro de Villa, scored by musical director Feliz Guerrero, and photographed by Spanish cameraman Alfredo Fraile. The film, performed by Xonia Benguria, Angel Espasande, Mexican film star David Silva, Santiago Rios, Ricardo Dantes and Antonia Valdes, marked Alonso’s entry in the history books as the best Cuban filmmaker of the 50’s. By the age of 41 he had already pioneered Cuban news, films and television.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"><br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10865015&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10865015&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br />Manolo Alonso at Noticiero Nacional<br /><br />William Rebustillos, entertainment journalist for Fuste's Show magazine, wrote a column, dated May of '52, depicting the director's pioneering vision, not to be "the dream of a romantic poet," but "a reality.” Rebustillos comment was formulated as a direct attack against the lack of governmental support for the development of Cuban Cinema. "Each government that has taken public office invariably has promised Manolo Alonso, lead supporter of Cuban Cinema, its outmost collaboration, then, the days go by, and the purposes of the executive focus on the political currents, which by turn, absorb it all.</div><br /><div align="justify">"In his search for support, Manolo found in President Pio Socarras a leader that understood the importance of newsreels. With Fulgencio Batista, part of the National Lottery was set aside to finance Manolo's efforts, culminating in the construction of the Biltmore Studios, later renamed, the Estudios Nacionales, a copy of Mexico's Churubusco Studios. Finally, a law was passed to create The National Institute for the Funding of the Cuban film Industry.</div><br /><div align="justify">His next film project, We Are, was to have the participation of actress Xonia Benguria, and comedian, Guillermo Alvarez Guedes. It was to be the first Cuban color film, developed in Alonso’s newly formed Color Lab (Noti-Color), if it hadn't been for the change in politics that resulted in the confiscation of Alonso’s Estudios Nacionales, which in turn became the Animation Department for the ICAIC (Instituto Cubano de Arte e Industria Cinematograficos).</div><br /><div align="justify">In 1960, Alonso joined the masses of Cubans that went into exile, marching to Miami with the entrepreneurial spirit that was to guide him in 1963 to New York. Next to Victor del Corral and Rosendo Rosell, Alonso started representing Latino artists and organizing variety shows that took place in the Lincoln Center. The shows were an intermix of exiled artists with International stars, including, Celia Cruz, Rolando La Serie, Rafael, Sara Montiel, Pedro Vargas and Tito Puente.</div><br /><div align="justify">With his brother, cameraman Bebo Alonso, Manolo produces The Cuba of Yesterday, a film, made up by newsreels, that documents the high standards of life, and progress of Cuba’s pre-Revolutionary era. At the same time, Manolo started working with Rene Anselmo in WNJU TV Channel 47, where he was to make history in the elaboration of the future of Spanish Media Television in the United States.</div><br /><div align="justify">Time passed, and the reality of his exile condition made itself present with the arrival of 7 Timely Deaths to the New York screens, as a representative of the Cuban government, using the confiscated film for financial gain. In volume II of Life & Miracles of the Cuban Farandula, actor Rosendo Rosell, now a established writer, records the director’s discussions with the situation. "My property title for 7 Timely Deaths is not only registered, but it is tattooed on the memory of the Cuban people. Recently, with my consent, it was exhibited in the French Festival Des 3 Continents, and now, without it, Castro, through Joseph Papp, presents it in New York. Actually, I don’t know whether I feel more hurt, with the confiscation I suffered, than with having to witness how here, in New York, Castro exhibits my film, mixing my name with his film gang.</div><br /><div align="justify">”This month one of those pioneers celebrated nine decades of dreams and achievements. In the name of the many that watched his films, in the Cuba of Yesterday, or in the exile of some remote post, we congratulate this glory of our Golden Cuban Cinema Era, and tell him, !Gracias Maestro!</div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-42070448110018239152008-07-27T00:19:00.000-07:002008-07-27T17:43:05.206-07:00Lupita Tovar: Mexican film legend turns ninety-eight.<div align="justify">By Alejandra Espasande Bouza<br /><br /><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"Y digo yo, bueno, lo que nunca me esperaba yo. En primer lugar yo nunca pense en ser actriz y con un padre que teniamos tan estricto y nunca ibamos al cine. Usted se imagina, de repente alguien me ve en la escuela y me hacen la prueba y de la prueba vino todo esto"</span></span></em></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><em></em></span><p align="justify"><em><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"I never considered becoming an actress with such a strict father. We never went to the movies. Then, out of a sudden, somebody spots me at school, I do a screen test and from there it all began". </span></span></em></em></p><p align="justify"><em><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">~Interview w/ Lupita Tovar (2007)~</span></span></em></em></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227594458145201538" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Q9XafEiAHe4/SIwldnOLnYI/AAAAAAAAACQ/FkKRmqH1Npk/s320/Lupita.jpg" border="0" /><p align="justify">Lupita Tovar daughter of Maria Sullivan and Egidio Tovar was born in Oaxaca (Mexico) on July 27, 1910, a year that witnessed the downfall of President Porfirio Díaz and the birth of the revolution.<br /></p><p align="justify">Her film career began to shape in 1928 when Tovar auditioned for a contest, organized by El Universal Ilustrado newspaper. The judge was none other than filmmaker Robert Flaherty who chose her the winner of a contract with Fox film studios. In November of that same year, Tovar arrived in Hollywood accompanied by her grandmother Lucy Slocum Sullivan.</p><p align="justify">Following bit parts in three films directed in 1929, The veiled woman, King of the Khyber Rifles and The Cock Eyed World, Tovar joined Universal studios. The transition from silent films to "talkies" had started and Hollywood - in an effort to retain foreign audiences- began producing different language film versions of a same film.</p><p align="justify">It was during this period that Tovar was assigned the starring role of La Voluntad del Muerto (1930), Spanish film version of Universal's The Cat Creeps (1930). In December of 1930, Tovar returned to Mexico for the premiere of the film. Images of her arrival illustrate the excitement of the fans and the satisfaction of the young starlet who had met the expectations of her nation. During her stay Tovar had an important meeting with Carlos Noriega Hope and producer Juan de la Cruz Alarcón. Noriega Hope, editor of El Universal Ilustrado, represented an important group of film critics that scrutinized what they considered the often deplorable results of Hollywood Spanish films, productions that congregated under one film actors from different regions of Latin America and Spain, whose accents proved unnerving for the Mexican audiences. Juan de la Cruz Alarcón was a successful businessman who had fought in the revolution and who had turned his attention to the distribution and exhibition of films.</p><p align="justify">Noriega Hope and Alarcón had come with an offer, the starring role in a film that was to be the first sound film made in Mexico. The film was to be based in Santa, a novel previously adapted to the screen in 1918 by Luis G. Peredo. A meeting was arranged to introduce Tovar to the author, Federico Gamboa, who in turn introduced the actress to Emerenciana, the old lady whose life story had served as the basis for the novel. The event was documented by Noriega Hope in an article: "I remember her temper [Emerenciana's] when accusing Gamboa of portraying her as a bad woman. And Federico, a gentleman at heart, smiled and took some photographs with Emerenciana and Lupita." </p><div align="justify"><p></p></div><div align="justify">Tovar returned to Hollywood and the plans of filming Santa were left in the hands of Juan de la Cruz Alarcón. At first he tried pitching the film to US producers, but none were interested in the project, in consequence Alarcón amassed the backing of local colleagues and founded the Compañia Nacional Productora de Películas in collaboration with Gustavo Saenz de Sicilia, Felipe Mier, Jack Epstein and Eduardo de la Parra, among others. The film adaptation of Santa was commissioned to Carlos Noriega Hope.</div><p></p><div align="justify">Alarcón hired talent from Hollywood that included Mexican actors Lupita Tovar and Ernesto Guillen (aka Donald Reed), another actor, Antonio Moreno, a native of Spain with a consolidated career in Hollywood, was assigned the direction of the film and Alex Phillips, a native of Canada, was in charge of the cinematography.<br /><p></p></div><div align="justify">The most crucial element for the making of Santa – the sound film recording – was assigned to two very unlikely characters. During a trip to rent a sound recording system, Alarcón found his budget unable to meet the pricy demands of the Hollywood companies and was preparing to depart when he was met at Burbank airport by two young Mexican brothers. Joselito and Roberto Rodríguez explained to Alarcón the capabilities of their invention, the Rodriguez Bros. Sound Recording system. Skeptical, Alarcón promised a future meeting to test the equipment. The brothers explained that their system was lightweight and that their conversation had been recorded all throughout. The sound test was shipped to Mexico and the brothers got the job. </div><p></p><div align="justify">The film depicts the story of Santa (Lupita Tovar) a naive girl who is seducedand then abandoned by a soldier (Ernesto Guillen). The misstep lands her out of her house and into a brothel where Santa is met by the character of Hipolito (Carlos Orellana), a blind pianist who expresses his love through the performance of the film's theme song composed by Agustin Lara.<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Excerpt of Agustin Lara performing "Santa".</span></span><br /><br /><object width="300" height="250"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BUhDqOOFWnY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BUhDqOOFWnY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="250"></embed></object></p><p><span style="font-style:italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"In the eternal night of my despair. You've been the star that brightens up my sky. And I've imagined your rare beauty which has illuminated my darkness."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-style:italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"En la eterna noche de mi desconsuelo tu has sido la estrella que alumbra mi cielo. Y yo he adivinado tu rara hermosura que ha iluminado toda mi negrura."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><br />Santa premiered in Los Angeles at the California Theater, on May 20th of 1932. The event gathered the likes of Jose Mojica, Luana Alcañiz, Mona Maris, Ernesto Vilches, Jose Crespo, Mimi Aguglia, Ramon Pereda, Adriana Lamar, Barry Norton, Conchita Ballesteros, actors who had come the world over to join the Hollywood "Hispanic" film productions, and who had witnessed in Santa the promise of an emerging Spanish language film industry. </p></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927208988456237430.post-60561926843222844422008-07-10T23:01:00.000-07:002008-07-27T17:40:36.015-07:0019 years in Los Angeles!<div style="text-align: justify;">On July 10th 1989 I first set foot on US soil: to be precise, nineteen years ago.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I arrived in the States from Madrid. A quick, extremely humid, night in Miami was followed by a morning trip to the airport where I was to embark with my family to our final destination, Los Angeles.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After so many years I have maintained the fresh perspective of a tourist living in a city that never fails to surprise me. And thus the idea, what a better subject to blog about than the experience of living in Los Angeles, its places and people.<br /></div>Alejandra Espasande Bouzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558055763890823394noreply@blogger.com0