Miami University

'A Day without a Mexican' writers, director to speak

Filmmaker, artist and musician Sergio Arau and actress Yareli Arizmendi will discuss the controversial film they co-wrote, “A Day Without a Mexican,” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in 144 Benton Hall.

The “mockumentary” was originally a short independent film commissioned by the Mexican Fine Arts Museum of Chicago.

“I was visiting New York with my wife (Arizmendi), and they were having a 'Day Without Art' to call attention to all the artists who had died of AIDS,” explained Arau. “Suddenly we realized that's what California needed - a day without Mexicans.” The film, subsequently produced as a feature-length version released in 2004, became a box office hit in California and Mexico. Arizmendi plays the lead character in the story of what happens when Californians awake to discover that the state's 14 million Hispanics have disappeared.

Arau, a well-known journalist, political cartoonist, musician and film and video director in Mexico, received his MFA in film studies at the National School of Film, Mexico City.

Arizmendi, who received an MFA from the University of California, San Diego, translated the screenplay version of “Like Water for Chocolate.” She was later cast as Rosaura, one of the major roles in the film. Her one-woman show, “Nostalgia Maldita:1-900-Mexico,” was featured on the PBS Heritage Series.

“A Day Without a Mexican” won the 2005 Latin Film Competition Special Jury Award for the screenplay.

The event is sponsored by the Center for American and World Cultures (CAWC) and the division of student affairs.

Those interested in reserving a DVD of the film prior to the talk may contact Dorothy Falke at the CAWC, 9-8309 or falkeda@muohio.edu.

Date Published: 09/22/2005
Volume: 25   Number: 8