''Canoa: A Shameful Memory'' ( es, Canoa: memoria de un hecho vergonzoso) is a 1976 Mexican drama film directed by Felipe Cazals, based upon the San Miguel Canoa Massacre.

Plot

The film is a dramatic re-enactment of real-life events that took place in 1968 in the small village of San Miguel Canoa in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, México. There a group of five young employees of the Autonomous University of Puebla intended to spend the night en route to a hike up La Malinche. The group was viciously set upon by villagers who had been manipulated by a local right-wing priest to believe them to be Communist revolutionaries and deserved lynching. The film is shot in a documentary style and examines the pervasive atmosphere of repression in the country following wide-spread protests over the government's spending on the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, eventually leading to a massacre of hundreds of protestors in Mexico City.

Cast

* Enrique Lucero as Priest *

Salvador Sánchez Salvador "Sal" Sánchez Narváez (January 26, 1959 – August 12, 1982) was a Mexican professional boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Sanchez was the WBC and ''The Ring featherweight champion from 1980 to 19 ...

as Witness * Ernesto Gómez Cruz as Lucas *

Roberto Sosa Roberto Sosa may refer to: *Roberto Sosa (poet) (1930–2011), Honduran author and poet *Roberto Sosa (Argentine footballer) (born 1975), Argentine footballer *Roberto Sosa (Uruguayan footballer) (born 1935) *Roberto Sosa (actor) See also *Sosa (su ...

as Julián * Jaime Garza as Roberto *

Arturo Alegro Arturo is a Spanish and Italian variant of the name Arthur. People *Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1985), American-born Salvadoran footballer *Arturo Álvarez (footballer, born 1959), Mexican footballer *Arthuro Henrique Bernhardt (b. 1982), Br ...

as Ramón * Carlos Chávez as Miguel *

Gerardo Vigil Gerardo may refer to: People Given name Gerardo is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of the male given name Gerard. * Gerardo Amarilla (born 1969), Uruguayan politician * Gerardo Bonilla (born 1975), Puerto Rican-born professional race car ...

as Jesús Carrillo Sánchez * Manuel Ojeda as Town man

Release

It was one of the first movies to express the tone of the time of the setting:

Mexico 1968 The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, when student turmoils were spread across the country. It was entered into the

26th Berlin International Film Festival The 26th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1976. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film '' Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson'' directed by Robert Altman. The Japan ...

, where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize.

Reception

The film was both a critical and a box-office success. Mexican filmmakers

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

and

Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...

have praised the film.

References

External links

*
''Canoa: A Shameful Memory: The Devil in Disguise''
an essay by Fernanda Solórzano at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canoa A Shameful Memory 1976 films 1976 drama films 1970s adventure drama films 1970s Spanish-language films Films directed by Felipe Cazals Mexican adventure drama films Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners 1970s Mexican films