Events

Free movies return to the Plaza Theatre on Saturday October 12, 2019.

Cine Fantástico, will feature screenings of restored films from classic Mexican cinema. Three movies, 1968’s The Batwoman (La Mujer Murciélago), Santo Contra Hombres Infernales (1961) and Mexico’s first horror film, La Llorona (1933) will be screened in Spanish with English subtitles.

Before each film, special guest Viviana García Besné of the Permanencia Voluntaria Film Archive will participate in a Q&A led by Permanencia Voluntaria Film Fund co-founder Charles Horak.

1 p.m. - La Llorona: The 1933 version of the famous tale - La Llorona – was Mexico’s first ever horror film.

4 p.m. - Santo Contra Hombres Infernales: This is the second film to star famed Mexican wrestler El Santo. It was shot in Cuba at the same time as his first film Santo Contra Cerebro del Mal, which was shown last year at the inaugural Cine Fantastico.

7 p.m. - La Mujer Murciélago: – The 1968 superhero film will be shown in gloriously restored color and sound.

All films are free of charge and presented in Spanish with English subtitles in the historic Plaza Theatre.

Cine Fantástico is presented by the Permanencia Voluntaria Film Fund, a nonprofit created in partnership with the Paso del Norte Community Foundation to build awareness for the ongoing preservation work of Mexico’s Permanencia Voluntaria Film Archive, founded by special guest Viviana García Besné.

García Besné’s family were entrepreneurs from Chihuahua who owned and managed several theaters in El Paso and Mexico, including the Cine Plaza in Juárez; and the beloved Colón, Alcázar, Estrella, and Rex Theaters on South El Paso Street. The Calderón brothers and their descendants produced over 150 films, including those starring El Santo, and established Azteca Films, one of the most significant Latin American film distribution companies in the world.