- Alfonso Arau
Infobox actor
name = Alfonso Arau
birthdate =January 11 ,1932
birthplace =Mexico City ,Mexico Alfonso Arau (born
January 11 ,1932 ) is a Mexican actor and director. [imdb name|id=0000778|name=Alfonso Arau.]Arau was born in
Mexico City , the son of a doctor. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/27/Alfonso-Arau.html Alfonso Arau] . Film Reference, Biography, 2007. Last accessed:April 11 2008 .] He directed the films "", "Like Water for Chocolate " (adapted from the novel written by his ex-wifeLaura Esquivel ), "A Walk in the Clouds " withKeanu Reeves andAnthony Quinn , and the "Hallmark Hall of Fame " production "A Painted House ", adapted from theJohn Grisham novel of the same name. Among others, he played the role of antagonist "El Guapo" inThree Amigos (USA, 1986), a comedy withMartin Short ,Steve Martin , andChevy Chase . He also played Captain Herrera inSam Peckinpah 's 1969 western, "The Wild Bunch " and Juan the smuggler in "Romancing the Stone ".In fy|1973 Arau acted in and directed "Calzónzin Inspector", a movie based on a Mexican comic called "Los Supermachos", by the Mexican cartoonist
Rius , although Rius disapproved of the movie. The movie is about two indigenous Mexicans who are mistakenly taken for government inspectors from the capital by the corrupt mayor of a small town. It is a humorous political critique, aimed squarely at the then ruling partyPartido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and its caciques, in a time when freedom of speech in regard to political matters was highly restricted. There are at least two versions of the movie, the shorter one having some scenes deleted, the most notable one shows the killing of a renegade farmer by a police officer shooting him in the back.A notable movie Arau appeared in was "El rincón de las vírgenes" (Mexico, 1972), "The Virgins' Corner" where he plays the assistant to a fake mystical doctor traveling from town to town, reminiscing about their travels when a group of women decide to propose the doctor for sainthood. The movie is set in the 1920s in rural Mexico.
In December 2004 the
Santa Fe Film Festival bestowed its Luminaria Award for lifetime achievement in cinema to Arau. Jon Bowman, executive director of the Festival said, "Arau is truly a renaissance artist, with a deep and innate understanding of all phases of the cinematic medium."Notes
External links
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* [http://santafefilmfestival.com/ Santa Fe Film Festival]
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