El Mayor Premieres at the 42 Latin American Film Festival BY: PL DECEMBER 3, 2021

December 6, 2021

The film El Mayor premiered on the opening day of the Latin American Film Festival. The film directed by filmmaker Rigoberto López and inspired by Ignacio Agramonte, a legendary patriot who caused great headaches for Spanish troops during the colonial era.

López's production (1947-2019) joins the interesting list of cinematographic titles that address that period of national history, that of the wars of independence from the Spanish metropolis and, at the same time, constitutes an approach to one of the most admired figures of the mambí cause.

During his lifetime, his director stated that, although the feature film contains some fictional elements, it does not betray the rigorous historical research on which it is based and recreates real facts from the childhood and youth of the hero born into a wealthy Creole family until his death in combat, at 32 years of age.

El Mayor offers a vision of the era in the mid-nineteenth century and its filming included six battles in the extensive plains of Camagüey, in which up to 200 horses and 500 extras were employed, while in the city scenes were filmed in the properties frequented by Agramonte, today patrimony jewels in perfect state of preservation.

Most of the film was shot there since in that city, formerly Villa Santa María del Puerto Príncipe, there is still evidence of Agramonte's love for his wife, Amalia Simoni, his role as chief of the mambí cavalry and epic deeds during the war.

Young actors Daniel Romero and Claudia Tomás characterize Ignacio and Amalia, a cast that also features American actors Michael Redford as Brigadier Henry Reeve (the Englishman), who fought under Agramonte's command, and Jonathan Burton playing General Thomas Jordan, at that time chief of the General Staff of the Liberating Army during the Ten Years' War.

Another attraction of the proposal will be the music of José María Vitier, a composer who has made history in Cuban cinema with more than one composition.

El Mayor is, without a doubt, an eagerly awaited film in Cuba, where Agramonte is remembered as a symbol of the struggle for independence, a legendary figure, an example of the valor of those who gave their lives in the redemptive bush.