Not Omar.  Antonio is coming to Guadalajara!

Photo courtesy XXII International Festival of Cinema

XXII International Festival of Cinema in Guadalajara

March 20, 2007

Day after tomorrow starts the XXII International Festival of Cinema in Guadalajara.  It’s one of the many great reasons to live here!  Every year they outdo themselves.  Omar and I go to schmooze with the likes of Silvia Pinal, Alberto Estrella (Santitos), Eduardo Palomo—and John Waters!—and see the latest in films from Latin America.  This year in invited country is Brazil.

Tapatio (Guadalajaran) Guillermo del Toro will receive the first Guadalajara Award for “Pan’s Labyrinth” and will give a magisterial class along with “Labyrinth” artistic director Eugenio Caballero on production design for cinema, design and communication students.  Guillermo was one of the first organizers of the Festival—I tried to look him up years ago at the University of Guadalajara to sign my copy of his book on Alfred Hitchcock, but he was out and about doing work on “Cronos.”

Antonio Banderas will present “Summer Rain,” his latest directorial effort, on Saturday, March 24, in Teatro Diana.  From the synopsis:  “The story tells the life of a group of young friends facing the end of their teen years, the loss of innocence, during a fateful summer that will mark their lives.”  Ah yes.  I remember teen years, innocence, and fateful summers—vaguely. 

All over the city, every available screen is showing scores of Mexican and Brazilian films.  From classic churros like “La nave de los monstrous” and “La momia contra el robot humano” to first showings from the world’s foremost film artists, La Muestra de Cine (the Festival’s unofficial name in Spanish) is the Cannes of Latin America—and Guadalajara is the place to be.

Don’t miss the buffet breakfast at the Camino Real—it’s out of this world, and you’ll see all the stars of Mexican television and film there.

For lots more information, go to the official Festival site at http://www.guadalajaracinemafest.com/english/index.php

If you are coming and would like us to show you around town, find theaters, or recommend hotels and restaurants, drop us a line at mexicanmemorabilia@yahoo.com!