spanixtan

This film becomes a story that mislead peopl's vision of the situation in Mexico. The Mexican Revolution had started in 1910 and after the 1917 constitution the situation was becoming almost normal. However, the Presidential power remained strong and with little checks and balances. President Plutarco Díaz Calles in his short term used some constitutional laws repressed freedom of cult to the very limit.Historians point to his past as an unrecognized child in the eyes of the Catholic church. The guerras cristeras were rebellions in some of the Mexican states, fighting for freedom or Christian traditions. They were over by 1929: the next prseident cancelled the abusive laws and an agreement was soon reached. The overall situation in the country is not reflected by this film. While the 1929 Wall Street Crash led most counties to the Dark thirties, with increasing poverty and dictatorships, Mexico's society, on the contrary, grew even more stable, economically sound, socially advanced and living in in justice. The film openly hides the whole process. You can see the forest for the trees.

The werevolf superstition in Argentina became a real national problem. The seventh son of a couple was believed to become a "Lobisón", and the seventh daughter, a witch. It caused trouble in a nation that needed population. The average number of children until the 1950s in the rural areas was over 10. So, there was no worry until the 6th boy or the 6th girl was born. In rural areas people avoided a seventh child of the same sex. It is said that there was even cases of infanticide. President Irigoyen issued a decree to end that superstition: from then on, the President of the Republic becomes the godfather of that sixth son/daughter. In many Northern provinces, the "Lobisón" was not believed to turn into a wolf at midnight: he turned into any animal, sometimes at will. And returned to his former state shortly after. So there was little or no harm done. The murderous werewolf belongs to the traditional European belief.

Jorge Amado shows us a common trait in Brazilian psyche. The strong influence of that lush country in its inhabitants. Actress Sonia Braga (born 1950) is a perfect choice; she still represents that role in "Dona Clara" (2016) "Dona Flor e os seus maridos" (1976),"Gabriela,cravo e Canela" (1983) "Tieta do Agreste" aka "Tieta do Brasil" (1996) Nature-based freedom and sensuality stem from the main character; who seems to be a creature born from the wilderness and whose barely tamed natural instincts clash with a social façade. A civilized pose shown as hypocrite, unable to resist its own nature. "A luz de Tieta" is the ideal song by Caetano Veloso that denounces that hypocrisy in a quick rhythm, like a stream that washes away that makeup in an ectasy of joy and freedom.