Gerardo Taracena Movies
As the foundation of the Mayan civilization begins to crumble, one man's previously idyllic existence is forever changed when he is chosen as a sacrifice needed to appease the gods in director Mel Gibson's mythic, end-times adventure. The Mayan kingdom is at the absolute height of opulence and power, but leaders are convinced that unless more temples are constructed and more human sacrifices made, the crops, and ultimately the people, will suffer. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a peaceful hunter from a remote forest tribe whose life is about to be changed forever. When Jaguar Paw's village is raided and he is prepared as a sacrifice that the Mayan deities have demanded, the brave young hunter is forced to navigate a horrific new world of fear and oppression. Fearlessly determined to escape his captors and save his family from a harrowing demise, Jaguar Paw prepares to risk it all in one final, desperate attempt to preserve his dying way of life. However, few who have seen the sacrificial alter of the Mayans have managed to live to see another day. Now, in order to rescue his pregnant wife and young son, Jaguar Paw will have to elude the most powerful warriors of the Mayan kingdom while using his vast knowledge of the forest to turn the tables on those who would rather see him dead than set free. Inspired by such ancient Mayan texts as the Popul Vuh, Apocalypto marks a comprehensive collaboration between director Gibson, Cambridge-educated screenwriter Farhad Safinia, and world-renowned archeologist and Mayan culture expert Dr. Richard D. Hansen -- whose services as a special consultant on the film lent the production an unprecedented degree of historical accuracy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, (more)
Filmmaker Francisco Vargas Quevedo makes his feature film debut with this expansion of his well received short film detailing the struggle between the peasants and military in 1970s-era Mexico. Don Plautarco (Don Angel) is a dignified elder who, along with his son Genaro (Gerardo Taracena) and grandson Lucio (Mario Garibaldi), makes his living as a traveling musician. On the side, the trio secretly smuggles weapons and supplies to the freedom fighters who are bravely attempting to overthrow the oppressive regime. When the trio returns to their hometown to find that it has been occupied by the army in their absence and the villagers have been forced to flee, Genaro departs in hopes of salvaging their supplies while Plutarco boldly approaches the squad captain (Dagoberto Gama) with the intention of personally recovering the ammunition on the sly. An outwardly harmless old man who convinces the captain to allow him access to the cornfields in exchange for playing music, Plutarco slowly but surely begins smuggling the ammunition back into the village in his violin case as the unsuspecting military man ravenously gorges himself into oblivion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angel Tavira Maldonado, Dagoberto Gama, (more)
Jose Luis Garcia Agraz's The Mystery of Trinidad starts when a 70-year-old man dies while searching for the remains of a Spanish ship that sank in the Gulf of Mexcio during the 1600s. He wills his boat to his son and his granddaughter. They soon decide to continue his goal of finding the ship, partly due to visits from the dead man's ghost. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eduardo Palomo, Rebecca Jones, (more)
The intense, downbeat drama To and Fro is the feature film debut of Mexican director Salvador Aguirre. Filiberto (Gerardo Taracena) lives in California for three years as a laborer. He returns to Mexico to find his village in shambles, his mother gone, and the water supply controlled by an evil landowner. He escapes with his friend Luis (Ricardo Esquerra), whose house had been burned down. They end up in Mexico City, meeting rampant corruption in their fight to win Luis' land rights. The two friends also fight with each other over the love of Soledad (Tiaré Scanda). Filiberto returns to the village to find an angry mob has assembled to track down Luis. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerardo Taracena, Tiare Scanda, (more)
- 1994
This political drama was inspired by a novel which chronicled the achievements of Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu Tum. Set in Guatemala during its civil war, it documents the story of Aschlop who comes back to Guatemala after staying in a Mexican refugee camp, to find her brother Mateo with whom she shares a deep bond. She came to find Mateo, now a guerrilla fighting for Guatemala's Indians, after his son was born in the Mexican camp. Aschlop's guardian spirit is the puma which guides her through the decimated villages and dangerous paths of her native country. When she sees her own village now soldier occupied, bitter memories flood back to her. She is eventually captured by men who torture her. The puma intervenes and she is able to escape. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Cruz, Gerardo Taracena, (more)
