Macario

With author Susana López Aranda (López Tarso’s daughter) in person 

Co-presented by Cinema Tropical and Mexico Now, with additional promotional support by Grupo Miztli 

Dir. Roberto Gavaldón. 1960, 91 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles. With Ignacio López Tarso, Enrique Lucero, Eduardo Fajardo, Pina Pellicer, José Luis Jiménez, José Gálvez, Consuelo Frank, Mario Alberto Rodríguez. Mexico Now pays homage to renowned TV, theater, and film actor Ignacio López Tarso with a screening of the supernatural drama Macario, which launched the actor to international fame and was the first Mexican work to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Poor, hungry peasant Macario longs for a good meal on the Day of the Dead. When his wife cooks him a turkey, he meets three ghostly apparitions: the Devil, God, and Death. Each asks for some turkey, but Macario refuses them all—except for Death. In return, Death gives him a bottle of water that will heal any illness. Soon, Macario is wealthier than the village doctor, which attracts unwanted attention. 

BIOS 

Ignacio López Tarso was born in Mexico City in 1925. After failed stints in the seminary, the military, and as a salesman, he decided to study acting at the Academy of Dramatic Art of Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts. In 1954, he made his film debut in La desconocida by Chano Urueta, and a few years later, he had a small role in Luis Buñuel’s Nazarín. In 1960, he starred in Macario, which was featured in Cannes’s official Palme d’Or competition and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Following the success of Macario, López Tarso starred in several movies including La sombra del Caudillo (1961), The Paper Man (1963), Autumn Days / Días de otoño (1963), and Cri Cri el grillito cantor (1964). Other film credits include The Golden Cockerel (1964), Tarahumara (1965), and Pedro Páramo (1967). 

Susana López is a Mexican writer, film critic and journalist. She is the daughter of actor Ignacio López Tarso and author of the book El Cine de Ignacio López Tarso (The Cinema of Ignacio López Tarso). She graduated from a Bachelor in Language and Hispanic Literature from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She has been the Director of the Muestra de Cine Mexicano in Guadalajara, Mexico; the Programming and Promotion Director at the Cineteca Nacional; and the International Coordinator for Mexico’s Fondo de Cultura Económica FCE. She has written for multiple newspapers including Unomásuno, La Jornada, El Nacional, and La Razón, as well as film magazines such as Cinemanía, Cine PREMIERE, and Intermedios. She was the founder of Dicine, a film research and promotion magazine that was printed until 1997.  

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.