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Visiting Vera Cruz (1946) Online

Visiting Vera Cruz (1946) Online
1946
Original Title :
Visiting Vera Cruz
Genre :
Movie / Documentary / Short / History
Year :
1946
Type :
Movie
Time :
10min
Rating :
6.4/10

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This Traveltalks entry looks at the people, customs, and landmarks in Vera Cruz, the main port city of Mexico.

Visiting Vera Cruz (1946) Online

Vera Cruz is Mexico's chief seaport. Over four centuries earlier, Cortez landed at Vera Cruz where he was met by Montezuma. An imposing fort, the Castillo de San Juan, overlooks the city's harbor. It was once used as a penal settlement. But most of the harbor area has been renovated, with modern buildings serving the port functions. In the remainder of the city, old Spanish buildings remain, making it one of the most historic and Spanish influenced cities in the Republic of Mexico. Among the historic buildings is city hall, said to be the oldest in the western hemisphere. The city's residential districts are a mixture of old and new, but always Spanish in their architecture. Folk dancing is an important ritual in the city, whose children learn the dances as soon as they are able to stand. One such dance is the bow dance, where the dancers try to tie a rope of cloth into a bow with their feet. As Vera Cruz is a coastal city, fishing is an important commercial and recreational activity ...
Complete credited cast:
James A. FitzPatrick James A. FitzPatrick - Narrator (voice)


User reviews

Cktiell

Cktiell

Visiting Vera Cruz (1946)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This entry in the TravelTalks series takes us to Mexico where we get to see various parts of Vera Cruz, which James A. FitzPatrick calls the starting point of the Spanish conquest that took them to the Aztec capital (now Mexico City). Once there we see various historic sites including Fort Vera Cruz, Church of Our Lady of Assumption and the Municipal Palace. The Fort is certainly very interesting on the eyes and we get to hear about the various underground torture chambers that were used but we never see any of them. We also get to take a look at the people taking up the spaces and this includes a rather amazing dance known as the "Bow Dance" where a man and woman must keep a rhythm going while tying a bow with their feet. FitzPatrick also describes the city as the "most Spanish". This is another winning episode from the non-stop series. Several episodes were shot in Mexico but the subject here remains quite fresh as we always have something new to learn and look at. Once again the Technicolor is the real star even though the print on Turner Classic Movies has seen better days. A good way to kill nine-minutes.