Jaime del Amo

Verbena trágica

Cantabria’s second independent production was very successful in the cinemas of L.A.’s Mexican neighborhoods, although the narrative actually takes place in Spanish Harlem in New York City. On the eve of Columbus Day celebrations, the boxer Mateo returns home from a stint in prison and realizes that his wife is pregnant, and he can’t be the father. His wife Blanca has in fact been having a secret affair with her sister Lola’s fiancé, Claudio. Mateo confronts his wife, but she refuses to name the father, leading to tragic results.

La vida bohemia

Based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, and the Giacomo Puccini opera. The young, tubercular seamstress, Mimi, falls in love with the impoverished playwright, Rodolfo, but poverty takes its toll on their relationship. When Mimi meets a wealthy suitor, Viscount Paul, to ask him for financial help, Rodolfo dumps her.