''Gavilán o Paloma'' (Hawk or Dove) is a 1985 Mexican drama film. The movie is titled after one of José José's greatest songs, which he recorded in 1977. The story chronicles the rise of this Mexican music icon from humble beginnings in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to international superstardom. ''Gavilán o Paloma'' stars José José playing himself, with co-stars

Christian Bach Adela Christian Bach Bottino (May 9, 1959 – February 26, 2019), known as Christian Bach, was an Argentine-born Mexican actress and producer of telenovelas produced by companies such as Televisa, TV Azteca and Telemundo. Her most famous wor ...

and comedian

Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo Pallás (born March 26, 1948) is a Mexican comedian, actor, film director, screenwriter, television producer and host. He is the son of actors, the Cuban Óscar Ortiz de Pinedo and Mexican Lupita Pallás, and has appeared ...

. Fifteen of José José's songs are on the soundtrack.

Plot

José José was born in a Mexican family of talented musicians. His father was an alcoholic operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and his mother was a pianist. Growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Mexico City, José began his career as a singer in

serenades In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italia ...

, and later in a

jazz trio A jazz trio is a group of three jazz musicians, often a piano trio comprising a pianist, a double bass player and a drummer. Jazz trios are commonly named after their leader, such as the Bill Evans Trio. Variants and examples Famous examples inc ...

. His father died and his career took off due to his enormous talent. José started a relationship with Anel (Bach), a beautiful young actress, but because of his alcoholism and infidelities, she leaves him. José marries Kiki Herrera ( Gina Romand), a beautiful socialite twenty years older than he is. After several fights and irreconcilable differences, José leaves her. After suffering a terrible

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

that nearly ended his career, Anel returns to be by his side and he recovers. After a couple of years without success, José signed a contract with a major record label and returns to the pinnacle of success to stay there for the rest of his career.

Production notes and awards

* It was shot in

. * The movie was not a big commercial success because its release coincided with the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Modified Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The ev ...

. * It received two nominations in the

Ariel Awards The Ariel Award () is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excellence in the Mexic ...

in the category of "Best Supporting Actor" ( Rojo Grau) and "Best Supporting Actress" (Gina Romand).

External links

References

1985 films 1985 drama films 1980s Spanish-language films Films set in Mexico Films about alcoholism Mexican drama films 1980s Mexican films Spanish-language drama films {{1980s-Mexico-film-stub