Word: gregorios
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...last week. In neighboring El Salvador, the nation's two highest-ranking prelates became targets of a campaign of intimidation by death squads. In a terse communique delivered to a radio station, the rightist Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez Anti-Communist Brigade warned Archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas and Monsignor Gregorio Rosa Chávez that they would suffer "drastic consequences" if their Sunday sermons did not stop criticizing human rights violations and urging dialogue with leftist guerrillas. The menace was taken seriously: El Salvador's last archbishop, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, was assassinated in 1980 after receiving similar threats...
...BALLAD OF GREGORIO CORTEZ is at once a Western, a tale of the first Hispanic hero, and a portrait of turn-of-the-century America, and on all three of these levels it works impressively well. Equally impressive is the filmmaker's dedication in producing this unusual movie with a $1.3 million budget, a fraction of the cost of the typical Hollywood release...
...drama chronicles the Texas Rangers' 11-day, 450-mile manhunt of Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican-American cowhand accused of killing a sheriff in 1901. Cortez was eventually captured and sentenced to 50 years in prison, though his attorney proved later that the confrontation and killing had been a mistake--the result of a misinterpretation of Spanish. Cortez' struggle became a legend, and a ballad hailing him is still sung in the Rio Grande Valley...
...MOVIE'S SIGNIFICANCE as a film about Hispanics and made largely by Hispanics cannot be overstated. Edward Olmos, who received a Tony nomination for his role in Zoot Suit and stars as Cortez, says with unabashed pride, "Gregorio Cortez is the first American hero of Hispanic ancestry that we've ever had in film." Although he does not attack racism explicitly through his acting, he believes that art and humanitarianism "are the only things that can supercede prejudice," Olmos's performance radiates authenticity and sincerity precisely because it is so understated, so implied. He carries the lead without speaking...
...picture does not accuse or judge either side. The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez allows its audience to walk away knowing a wrong was committed but understanding emotionally how it took place. We see how the Texas Rangers used their chase of "the Cortez gang" to sustain an institution whose purpose was outlived. We see how the Mexican community of Gonzalez, Texas used the Cortez predicament as a unifying cause. Young condemns neither side; he simply presents them as they...