Honored the Legacy of Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo at Instituto Cervantes

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the publication of Juan Rulfo’s literary masterpiece Pedro Páramo, last November 24 Instituto Cervantes de Manila and the Embassy of Mexico in the Philippines screened the film PEDRO PÁRAMO (Rodrigo Prieto, 2024) at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes. The screening was presented by Filipina writer Jessica Zafra and UP professor Marlon James Sales, who discussed the relevance of the Mexican classic and its reception in the Philippines.

First published in 1955, Pedro Páramo stands as a cornerstone of modern Latin American literature. It is a haunting exploration of memory, death, and the weight of the past. Set in the ghost town of Comala, the novel follows Juan Preciado’s search for his father, a local chieftain named Pedro Páramo, only to discover that the living and the dead coexist in a world of echoing voices and unfulfilled dreams.

Seventy years later, the same story has been retold by Mexican filmmaker Rodrigo Prieto. Mateo Gil writes the screenplay, which is steeped in Mexico’s 1940s, and Manuel García-Rulfo plays the titular character, Pedro Páramo, while Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta plays the protagonist, Juan Preciado. The adaptation appears to possess both the “visual and emotional impact” of Rulfo’s story, and it conjures the sense of wonder and imagination inherent in the original, all while remaining true to the magical dimensions of the original text and its dimension of morality.

Following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film has sparked renewed global interest in Rulfo’s work, leading to record sales of Pedro Páramo in Spanish and English editions worldwide.

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