Happy Birthday!
October 9th, 2011 § 2 Comments
Guillermo del Toro, 1964 -
Today is the birthday of director, screenwriter, and author Guillermo del Toro born in Guadalajara, Mexico.
As a boy, he was something of a misfit, and more than a little bit morbid. His first toy was a plush werewolf that he helped his great-aunt make. When he was five, he asked for mandrake root so he could perform dark magic. When he was seven, he came upon a copy of a cult magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, in a supermarket, and he was hooked. He learned English just so he could understand the magazine’s puns. He’d make fake scars out of theatrical makeup to scare his nanny. He started making movies in high school, went on to film school, and wrote a book-length essay on Hitchcock when he was 19.
He’s since developed a reputation for making smart, arty horror films like Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), but he resists being pigeonholed. “There is a part of me that will always be pulp,” he told The New Yorker. He’s been trying for years to make a movie of H.P. Lovecraft‘s novella At the Mountains of Madness (1931).
P. S. Thanks to The Writer’s Almanac for its poetry and regular birthday updates.
Related articles
- Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – review (guardian.co.uk)
Miss Bala
September 23rd, 2011 § 1 Comment
It was announced on Thursday that Miss Bala, the narco-drama by Helmer Gerardo Naranjo has been chosen by Mexico’s Academy of Film Arts and Sciences for entry into the U.S. Oscar Award‘s foreign-language film category.
Miss Bala will also be submitted for “foreign-film-in-the-Spanish-language category” for the Goya film awards in Spain. The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain’s national film awards, considered by many in Spain and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards.
Official website for the movie: http://www.missbala.com/index_eng.html
Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, continued…
September 20th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
So, besides recommended sleep, what’s on my mind this week?
Certainly a lot on my to-read list, including Twyla Tharp’s classic: The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life, which suggests that oft quoted phrase “use it or lose it”, and then the many people and projects to share:
- The exhibition Retofuturo of Mexican artist, Rafael Coronel, at the Palace of Fine Arts,
Coronel Moro, by Rafael Coronel
- visiting Mexico city’s art galleries,
- a post about Mexican candy because only in Mexico is almost all the candy covered in chile piquin,
- my admiration for the creator of ArtDaily, Ignacio Villareal Junco, because his art newspaper on the web is so often much more all-inclusive than other art publications I try to follow; see my websites for the ArtDaily link and for Mr. Villareal’s own personal site,
- the upcoming Electronic Video and Art Festival; check out my Tweets,
- An extraordinary film directed by Gerardo Naranja, from a script he wrote with Mauricio Katz, called Miss Bala, highly recommended by David Lida; See my blogroll for the link to Mr. Lida’s review, and
- sharing the work of other generous bloggers, interesting websites, and all that crosses my blog desk…
MORE masks: Christian Pacheco Quijano’s Lucha Libre art
September 4th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Recently, reviewing e-subscriptions, I came across the work of a Mexican digital artist using the masks of Lucha Libre/free fight wrestlers as the inspiration for his art.
His illustrations portray “idols of the people” in sometimes ironic and comic form; many of his digital illustrations express his appreciation of magic, fairy tales and fantasy literature. He worked as an editor and illustrator in Europe and holds art exhibits in Mexico City: including the Museum Franz Meyer, the National Center of Arts and MUMEDI, Museum of Mexican Design. (This excerpt was translated from the website, EMERGENTE.COM.MX)
“While at the Gira Telmexhub conference in Mérida, Mexico last weekend, I met artist Christian Pacheco Quijano who showed me his striking series of lucha libre paintings. Seen here, “Príncipe de Seda”/Silk Prince (2010, digital illustration).” Christian Pacheco Quijano ; http://kimbal.com.mx/
About Lucha Libre and the masks: The role masks play in Lucha Libre are important and part of the identity many wrestlers nurture:
“While lucha-purists will argue that the tradition of the mask has been debased in recent years, it is still one of the most distinct characteristics of the style. No single prop is loaded with as much drama as the mask of the luchador. To wear it is to defy the opposition, to deny them your identity and to assume the traits symbolized by the mask itself, becoming larger than life. To lose it is to be forever humbled before your foe, and to be exposed as being all too human…and vulnerable. via [QHQ] Mexican Lucha Libre. * An excellent site that delves into psyche and highly symbolic nature of the sport.
El Santo, el Enmascaro de Plata/The Saint, the Silver Masked (1917-1985).
El Santo was one of the most famous and iconic of all the Mexican luchadores/wrestlers. Santo Biography.
Although this post’s focus is on the work of Quijano, only one image is available to me of his series. You may learn more about him and work on his website. On the contrary, there is a great deal of material on Lucha Libre and El Santo so I’ve decided to share with readers some of the wonderful promotional posters from his movies.
Slideshow
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History of Lucha Libre and Mexican Professional Wrestling. The sport’s history links to a time in Mexican history that coincides with the construction of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a subject of recent mexicocitylife posts that I hope to renew soon. Lucha Libre began in the 1900′s during the rule of dictator Porfirio Diaz. As is often the case during war or suffering, people seek distractions from their difficulties and Lucha Libre was a colorful distraction.Lucha Libre grew in popularity over time and eventually great luchadores/wrestlers, like El Santo, became celebrities; a comic book featuring El Santo ran continuously for 35 years and he featured in over 52 movies.
Today, Lucha Libre still thrives in Mexico and in the south of the US. Are you a fan of Lucha Libre? If so, share your experiences? Have any favorite luchadores?
A personal note: Like Mexico, people in the US during these troubled years also sought escape, and for those in small towns it was often at the movies, a time when Hollywood provided its audience with fantastical escapist fare. My favorites of this era are from the late 30s when Technicolor arrived: The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, April in Paris, Rear Window, among others. If you lived during Hollywood’s Golden Age, or are a fan of the classics, share some of your favorites.
