10 · 23 · 24 Tribute to Ismael Rodriguez: A Screening of LA CUCARACHA Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Ariadna Coronel As part of the tribute to filmmaker Ismael Rodríguez, a screening of La cucaracha ( 1959) was held in the presence of film critic, columnist and screenwriter Rafael Aviña, as well as two of Ismael's children: Cuitláhuac Rodríguez and Xanath Rodríguez.Rafael Aviña presented the film as a stroke of genius amid tragedy, since a year before production began, Pedro Infante, who was like a brother to the director, died in a plane crash. In addition to highlighting the figure of “El ídolo de Guamúchil” for having won a posthumous Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) for his role in Tizoc (1957), Rafael Aviña shared some anecdotes about the casting of La cucaracha:“Shooting began in '58 and brought together the two most important actresses in Mexican cinema, and international stars: María Félix and Dolores del Río, to star in this film with a revolutionary atmosphere. The curious thing is that Ismael's idea was not to reunite Maria Felix and Dolores del Rio, but Maria Felix and Elsa Aguirre, a beautiful actress 16 years younger than Maria. When Maria found out, she was terrified because she didn't want Elsa to overshadow her, so she talked to Ismael and said: 'If Elsa is there, I won't be in the movie,'” she said.Continuing with the tribute to Ismael Rodríguez, two of his children, Xanath and Cuitláhuac Rodríguez, contributed to the conversation by pointing out that their father was able to assemble one of the best casts of the golden age of Mexican cinema. Other outstanding actors of that period, such as Ignacio López Tarso, Pedro Armendáriz and Emilio "El Indio" Fernández, also participated in La cucaracha, Rafael Aviña pointed out.For his part, Xanath recalled that Ismael Rodríguez's formula for connecting with the Mexican public was to live the stories he filmed: “If he made a film about scavengers, he went and lived with the scavengers, he slept with them [...]; and that is why he truly captured the essence of how Mexicans lived.”The tribute program to Ismael Rodríguez continues with free screenings of films like Los hermanos del hierro (1961) and La cucaracha (1959).
