Carlos Illescas
Writing
Biography
Poet, storyteller, journalist, film scriptwriter, university professor and poetry workshop leader. Founding member of the 40's generation, along with Augusto Monterroso, Raúl Leiva, Otto-Raúl González and Enrique Juárez Toledo. Born in Guatemala, he lived in Mexico since 1944. He was a diplomat and journalist; editor of the collections "Problemas Científicos y Filosóficos" and "Nuestros Clásicos" of the UNAM, and of the poetry collection "Papeles Privados"; head of information and artistic director of Radio Universidad; collaborator of Televisión Universitaria, Canal 11 and Radio Educación; coordinated poetry workshops for INBA and ISSSTE; member of the editorial board of Revista de Guatemala. In his country he founded the Acento group (joined by Augusto Monterroso, Raúl Leiva, Otto Raúl González and Enrique Juárez Toledo). He collaborated in El Búho, El Nacional, Lanzas y Letras, Muro y Viento and Revista de la Universidad de El Salvador. Author of the screenplays José Guadalupe Posada (1966); Rostros, mascaras, caretas (1971); La mansión de la locura (1971); Amigo campesino (1974); Auandar Anapu (1974); Pafnuncio Santo (1976); Deseos (1977); Al filo del agua (1977); and, A la memoria de una gran novela (1977). Xavier Villaurrutia Award 1984 for Usted es la culpable. Presidential Order Miguel Ángel Asturias 1998 from the Government of Guatemala.
Known For
Controversial, sexy and surreal tale of a messenger, his journey and encounters with many historical events and people such as Auschwitz, the Ku Klux Klan, Frida Kahlo, Cortés and Emiliano Zapata (as a beautiful woman!)
Holy Pafnucio
Snippets of a family drama involving a rebellious son coming to his depressing home village, his father, and a jaded ex-lover, mixed with various surrealist scenes and statements about sin.
Desires
The inmates of an insane asylum take over the institution, imprison the doctors and staff, and then put into play their own ideas of how the place should be run.
The Mansion of Madness
A tragic celestial-western that explores Adam and Eve's paradise from a surreal point of view.
Angels and Cherubs
Anapu is the people's hero. He extracts water from a rock, befriends, and baptizes it, makes peace with the warring brothers, raises the dead, licking men and women clean. In between, he makes a lot of soul searching as he wanders through the village, mingling with the various common folk and natives, and discuss their problems, future hazards and their lack of unity, while tracking a fascist military.
Auandar Anapu
A 30 minute short directed by Rafael Cordiki. Plot unavailable at this time
Amigo campesino
This fairy type of movie is divided in episodes (Figuras) that are settle either on a jail or an play, in this surrealistic film we are immerse in a Dogville type of stage were the combination of Poetry, testaments and political discourse of the mix of characters of the daily basis and religious figures such as Judas, the virgin, the labor workers, homosexuals, drag queens. Ironically 'Figuras de la passion' has been banned for several years as a product of the attack and angriness of right – winged parties and scholars.
Figuras de la pasión
Short film about the exhibition of the works of Mexican painter José Alfaro Siqueiros at the Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte de Ciudad Universitaria in 1967.
Siqueiros
A short documentary film about Mexican plastic artist Rufino Tamayo
Tamayo
A short film about the famous mexican artist, whose work revolved mostly around depictions of the mexican society as skeletons.
José Guadalupe Posada
Short film, 11 minutes long, no plot currently available