Festival to Celebrate the Culture of Mexico

In an attempt to break down some of the stereotypes that persist about Mexican culture, the local Mexican consulate is presenting a festival of native art, which opens tonight with the screening of a film about the wife of famed muralist Diego Rivera.

“Frida,” written and directed by Paul Leduc, tells the story of Frida Kahlo, a respected artist in her own right. It screens tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, and kicks off a series of five films on consecutive nights, concluding Saturday.

In addition to the films, the festival will include a collection of photographs spotlighting the Mexican revolution. The exhibition opens June 14 at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. On June 18, the modern ballet troupe “Antares” will perform in UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium.

The Mexican Cultural Festival is the first presented by the consulate, although staff members hope it will become an annual summer event.

“We believe that one of the main mechanisms to enhance our relationship is through culture,” said Miguel Escobar, spokesman for the consulate.

Although the overall goal is to present artistic events that divert from traditional or stereotyped concepts of Mexican culture--such as mariachi bands and soap opera style films--there is no one theme to the festival. The films in particular touch on a variety of topics and styles.

Tuesday night’s “Esperanza” (“Hope”) is a 1988 film by Sergio Olhovich, which tells of a Russian emigre who tries to build a new life in Mexico City. In Arturo Ripstein’s “El Imperio de la Fortuna,” (“The Realm of Fortune”), which screens Wednesday night, the setting is a poor village in the Mexican countryside. After Alberto Isaac’s “Mariana, Mariana” Thursday night and Alejandro Pelayo Rangel’s “Dias Dificiles” Friday night, the series closes Saturday night with Busi Cortes’ “El Secreto de Romelia,” the story of a chain of events set off by a young woman’s return to her native town.

All the films are in Spanish with English subtitles.

“It’s not really a matter of a (theme),” Escobar said, noting that the films were chosen by the government’s institute of cinematography. “Quality was the main common denominator.”

As part of the education orientation of the festival, Ignacio Duran, director of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography, will discuss the films on June 8. In addition, a Mexican historian will be on hand June 14 at 7 p.m. at the opening of the photography exhibit to discuss the Mexican Revolution.

The photography exhibit will be free to the public. For more information on any of the events, contact the consulate at 231-8427.