Mexican Movies

Marge -

I showed my husband your message about the theaters in El Paso. He too went to the same theaters, and he waxed nostalgic. He told me:

"I remember in the early forties walking into the El Alcazar theater and the 'unbearable stench of being' hitting my nose immediately. In those days before air-conditioning in most theaters, and the weather outside around 110, and the young men that frequented the theater sporting flannel socks and tennis shoes (not Nikes or sneakers, but the real tennis shoes, two strips of canvas that laced up the ankles), you had the makings for a real 'pot boiler'. We dubbed the theater "El Calzetin".

"One memory that sticks in my mind regarding the 'Colon" theater was that every time we would see some guy hitting on a girl, we would yell 'dejala -----on [an expletive that starts with an 'h'], dale tu toston, pa' que se vaya al Colon!".

"The best movie I have ever seen, or will ever see, was at the El Calzetin. It is titled 'Maria Candelaria' and features Dolores Del Rio and Pedro Armendariz. This movie is real in essence, emotional at heart, and spiritual to the core. There will never be another movie like this, international or otherwise." [It is obviously his favorite movie of all time].

This past September on the TMC channel, Robert Osborne hosted several classic Mexican movies, and I recall that Maria Candelaria was one of them. How I wish my husband had taped them. They showed a different movie every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the month. My personal favorite was a very allegorical one set in the Mexico of the 18th century, about a poor serf who had sacrificed all his life to support his family, and he never had enough to eat to satisfy him. So one day his wife stole a turkey from her master and cooked it for him to eat all by himself and he took it to the hill near his house, and when he was about to devour the turkey a stranger approached. What happens then is fantastical. That one to me is a must see. My husband can't remember the name of the movie, but I loved it. It really moved me. It had so much to say about Mexico and its people. Also, I found it amazing that in the 18th century, the rich espanoles dressed up just like George Washington
, with b
reeches and white wigs, etc. and rode around in beautiful carriages with matching horses to pull them. I guess the upper classes in all Europe and the colonies kept up with the same styles in dress, lifestyles, penmanship, etc.

Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA ----