Filme El Mayor today at the 42nd Latin American Film Festival
HAVANA, Dec 4. The 42nd Latin American Film Festival today highlights the premiere of El Mayor, a film directed by the director Rigoberto López and inspired by Ignacio Agramonte, a legendary patriot who caused steam to the Spanish troops during colonial times.
López’s production (1947-2019) is part of the interesting list of cinematographic titles that address this period of national history, that of the wars of independence of the Spanish metropolis and, at the same time, constitutes an approach to one of the most admired figures of the mambisa deed.
While alive, its director said that, although the feature film contains some fictional elements, it does not betray the rigorous historical research on which it is based and recreates real events of the childhood and youth of the hero born in the bosom of a wealthy Creole family until the death in combat, at 32 years of age.
El Mayor provides a vision of the time in the mid-nineteenth century and its filming included six battles in the extensive Camagüey plain, in which up to 200 horses and 500 extras were used, while scenes were filmed in the city in the buildings frequented by Agramonte, today heritage jewels and in perfect condition.
Most of the film was shot there because in that city, once Villa Santa María del Puerto Príncipe, there is still evidence of Agramonte’s love for his wife, Amalia Simoni, his acting as chief of the Mambisa cavalry and epic feats during the war .
Young actors Daniel Romero and Claudia Tomás characterize Ignacio and Amalia, a cast that also includes North American interpreters Michael Redford such as Brigadier Henry Reeve (the Englishman), who fought under the command of Agramonte, and Jonathan Burton playing General Thomas Jordan, at the time chief of the General Staff of the Liberation Army during the Ten Years’ War.
Another attraction of the proposal will be the music of José María Vitier, a creator who has made history on the grounds of Cuban cinema with more than one composition.
El Mayor is undoubtedly a long-awaited film in Cuba, where Agramonte is remembered as a symbol of the struggle for independence, a legendary figure, an example of the courage of those who gave their lives in the redemptive forest.
