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Mexican Cinema Authority Shares Story of Posters on Display

Exhibits at Texas A&M-Kingsville, Kenedy Ranch Museum of South Texas through Oct. 31

Featured in photo (L-R):
 
Homero Vera, Coordinator of Kenedy Ranch Museum of South
Texas; Rogelio Agrásanchez Jr.; Sandra Rexroat, director of
South Texas Archives

KINGSVILLE (October 22, 2009) — When Rogelio Agrasánchez Jr. was pursuing graduate studies in Latin American literature in the 1980s, he took an interest in vintage Mexican cinema of the 1930s and 1940s. As the son of a film distributor in Mexico City, he had access to a host of Golden Age films classic, forgotten and thought-to-be-lost.

As his appreciation of these films grew, so did his appreciation for the promotional materials that used to accompany the films—the posters and the photo cards once posted in the lobby. They served to capture the spirit of the films with vibrant artwork created by graphic artists influenced by Spanish masters of surrealism and cubism.

Agrasánchez began to collect as many materials as he could find, looking in old theatres and storage sites owned by exhibitors. As he searched, he realized that these pieces he deemed important historical markers and works of art were quickly fading from existence. They had either been thrown away after use, or damaged by neglect or the elements.

“When Mexican films of that era were released, typically just 2,000 posters were produced. Of those, 500 were for the United States,” said Agrasánchez.

Since the late 1980s, he has been collecting as many of those posters as he could find in Mexico and the United States. In the U.S., his travels usually took him to the strongholds of Mexican cinema exhibition, which included Los Angeles, New York, South Texas and Louisiana.

The result is an archive of thousands of items from 1931 to 1991 and beyond. What’s more, Agrasánchez has established himself as one of, if not the, leading authority on Mexican cinema and its posters. Those posters can be seen in a series of successful photo and historical books, some of which are out of print. Or…

A special selection of pieces from the Rogelio Agrasánchez Jr. Collection of Mexican Movie Posters can be seen in person on the campus of Texas A&M University Kingsville and at the Kenedy Ranch Museum of South Texas, through a series of special October exhibits from the South Texas Archives.

• October 2 through October 31, the Jernigan Library, located at 1050 North University Boulevard on the A&M-Kingsville campus, will exhibit “Lucha Libre,” a display of posters featuring the Luchadores, or masked wrestlers, that still serve as superheroes to millions.

• The exhibit “Comedia Esta Noche” will be hosted by the Kenedy Ranch Museum of South Texas, located at 200 East La Parra Avenue in Sarita, October 5 through October 31. This exhibit features posters of the great Mexican film comedies.

• The John E. Conner Museum, located on the A&M-Kingsville campus at 905 West Santa Gertrudis Avenue, will host the exhibit “¡Vive Cine Mexicano!” from October 5 through October 31, featuring classic Mexican films of the 1940s and 1950s.

These exhibits are part of the “Re-Discover the Archives!” campaign, a series of free fall events highlighting some of the many sides of the South Texas Archives, which recently relocated to the third floor of the Jernigan Library.

“The posters displayed are representative of the collection,” said Agrasánchez. “I’m very pleased that the South Texas Archives at Texas A&M-Kingsville is taking advantage of these posters, and displaying them the right way. It’s really worthwhile what they’re doing.

“I hope maybe some students get interested in the field of Mexican cinema through these exhibits.”

For more information, call 361-593-2019, or go online at http://archives.tamuk.edu/.