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Juan Padrón’ s ‘vampires’ travel from Cuba to screens in Mexico

Mexico, Oct 19 (Prensa Latina) Animated feature film 'Vampiros en La Habana' (Vampires in Havana), by Cuban director Juan Padrón, stands out today on the poster for the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, a space that has become a cultural bridge between the two nations.

The film, signed by one of the island’s most iconic illustrators who died on March 24, 2020, tells the story of two groups of mafia vampires in a dispute to get the formula to live safely in daylight.

While one side tries to monopolize the production and sales of ‘vampisol’ (vampiresunshine)preparation, another tries to distribute the drug for free, a dispute that took place during the 1930s, as the Island suffered from the Gerardo Machado’ s government abuses.

The proposal, the second of its kind in Padrón’s repertoire, came to be as part of humor supplement of ‘Juventud Rebelde’ newspaper, which under the name of ‘El Sable’ (Saber) featured pictures of the daily life of a different, friendly vampire with a gloomy style adapted to the Cuban reality.

‘Vampires in Havana’ is on the list of most relevant works of the genre in Cuba and internationally, as it is part of the exclusive collection of the MoMa in New York, United States.

From Padrón’ s talent, animated film ‘Elpidio Valdés’ will also be present at the Mexican event, which takes place in the city of Guanajuato until October 31.

This iconic character from Cuban animation portrays a ‘mambí’ (Cuban Independence War local combatant) who fights for the liberation of his homeland from oppressive Spanish in the 19th century.

More than 15 films are on the agenda of the cultural event having Cuba as guest of honor, among them ‘Retrato de Teresa’, by Pastor Vega; ‘Clandestinos’, by Fernando Pérez; ‘El brigadista’, by Octavio Cortázar and ‘La bella del Alhambra’, by Enrique Pineda Barnett.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry and the island’s embassy in Mexico, the selection also includes audiovisual productions like ‘Wedding Dress’, by Marilyn Solaya and ‘Entre Cuba y México todo es bonito y tasty’, by Idalmis Del Risco Siota.

Likewise, tribute to Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Titón) filmdirector stands out, in which classics from his repertoire such as ‘Memories of underdevelopment’, ‘The death of a bureaucrat’, ‘The twelve chairs’, ‘Up to a certain point’ and ‘The last dinner’ will be presented.

The Cervantino Festival also focused on the work of Cuban documentary filmmaker Santiago Álvarez, creator of ‘Icaic News’, declared Memory of the World by UNESCO, with the presentation of short films ‘Now’, ‘LBJ’, ‘Hanoi’ Tuesday 13 and ‘Ciclón’.

pgh/lcr

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