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

criticises the abuse and dishonesty of the authorities, helping both the actors and the
audience overcome their fears.
The exaggerations in Calzonzin Inspector make it easier to enjoy what we are
witnessing. At the beginning of the film, Calzonzin is participating in a peasant meeting
where they are complaining about local government abuse, and Calzonzin mentions: ‘O
somos o nos hacemos, porque como dijo el otro día el compañero periodista Chano
González ‘El Pujuy’, quien se encuentra indebidamente incomunicado en la cárcel
municipal...’. 200 Calzonzin is an exaggerated character, the language he uses is relaxed
and informal, and these features make us less inclined to worry about the plight of the
journalist. The abuse of journalists was also discussed in Los Agachados, as well as
forced disappearance in La Familia Burrón, which confirms suppositions of the
existence of these practices. Later in the film we see the authorities violating citizens’
rights in San Garabato, when the police go to ‘enjaular a la oposición’. 201 The operation
starts with the policemen driving around the town in their ‘van’, which is a horse cart
with a giant wooden cage. Arsenio, hangs on the back making the sound of a siren. The
first stop is in Don Lucas’ pharmacy where a group of men are reading poetry aloud.
One of the policemen asks the other:
Lechuzo: ¿A poco don Lucas es subversivo?
Arsenio: ¡Claro! ¿No ves que lee libros? 202
The authorities considered the opposition to be cultured, perhaps because the social
movements of 1968 and 1971 were led by university students and intellectuals. This is
also an allegory of who the authorities were afraid of. The scene criticises the practice
of jailing people for being educated, as well as triggering laughter for its silliness. When
the policemen burst into the pharmacy they start beating the men, telling them they are
200 Arau, Calzonzin Inspector, 1973.
201 Ibid.
202 Ibid.
229