An indigenous tradition dictates that when a baby is born, they cut his umbilical chord and bury it in the ground. This symbolizes the roots one plants in the place where one is born and so a part of that person will always remain in that place. Premiere actor Eric Del Castillo’s umbilical cord is located in a well next to Hotel Juárez in Celaya, Guanajuato. Now, Mr. Eric returns to the state where he planted his roots for the 18th edition of the Guanajuato International Film Festival where we will pay tribute to him. Many will recognize his name as the father of popular actress Kate Del Castillo (who he calls Keitita), but our tributee has had a long career (that is not over yet, now 80 he’s still active in television) where he fought El Santo, killed over 200 men (on-screen of course) and participated in more than 300 film production as well as over 50 Telenovelas (which have earned him the TV y Novela award five times). GIFF is honored to pay tribute to this man in this, our first day of activities.
During the inauguration gala of this year’s GIFF at the Ángela Peralta Theater, tribute will be paid with a parade down the streets of San Miguel Allende which will lead to the red carpet outside the theater. Inside the theater there will be a video that will give the audience an idea of who Eric Del Castillo is, what his career as an actor has been like and a taste of his over 300 film appearances.
And, in case you’re wondering if there will be a chance to see our tribute in one of his film appearances during the festival, the answer is a resounding… of course! At 9:00 pm at the Main Garden there will be a screening of one of his classic 1967 films, Cruce Sobre el Yermo, a Western where he stars alongside Julio Aldama and Sonia Infante, directed by Alberto Mariscal. The film is about a man who seeks revenge for his father’s death and on the way abuses a woman who winds up pregnant and puts this man in a difficult position. The following day at 1:00 pm, don’t miss out tributee’s Master Conference at Bellas Artes, where he will talk about his career and take questions from the audience.
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