Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

The film was shot in 1971 and the premiere was one year later, advertised with
the slogan ‘¿de veras los mexicanos somos así?’ 30 The story is about a middle class
group from Mexico City that goes to a rural area where they will spend the night and
where they will watch the end of a car race the following morning. During their time in
this strange camping area surrounded by cars and people sleeping on the ground,
various scenes occur which enlighten us about who these people are and how they think.
They are in fact allegories of prominent Mexican stereotypes. About this, Alcoriza said
to Tomás Pérez Turrent: ‘los de Mecánica Nacional son ficciones, pero sin embargo
todos son reconocibles’. 31 The characters included Eufemio, a macho father (Manolo
Fábregas) offended by the loss of virginity of his daughter during the evening; his wife
Isabel (Lucha Villa) who suffers from his lack of respect and interest; his mother Doña
Lolita (Sara García) who dies during the evening from indigestion; his compadre, Güero
Corrales (Pancho Córdova), a man whose confidence and strength come from the gun
he carries, which he repeatedly reveals to intimidate people; and Gregorio, an army
general (Héctor Suárez), who is not respected because he is wearing civilian clothes
rather than his uniform.
The leading actors had already had a long and successful career in the industry:
Fábregas ‘whose film and stage career had consisted mainly of roles as suave and
sophisticated types’, 32 and Suárez with numerous film credits, Villa as an actress and a
Ranchero singer, and Sara García well known for her roles as a sweet grandmother,
from which she gained the nickname Abuelita del cine nacional. 33 All contributed to
30
The slogan was used to promote in the daily billboard in El Universal, 26 April 1973, Section Cultural,
p. 7
31
García Riera, Historia documental…, 14: 1968-1969, p. 256.
32
David William Foster, Mexico City in Contemporary Mexican Cinema (Austin Texas: University of
Texas Press, 2002), pp. 58-59. This book contains an interesting symbolic analysis of the film’s treatment
of Mexico City, pp. 57-66.
33
Bracho, ‘El cine mexicano…’, pp. 413, 419. The name Abuelita del cine nacional can also be found in
various publications, including on the front page of the magazine Somos, dedicated to the actress, 200, 11
(Mexico: Editorial Televisa, 2000).
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