Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n
It’s ironic that For Greater Glory<\/em>, a film about Mexico’s little-discussed Cristero War<\/a>, an early 20th century uprising against government intrusion on religious liberty, is set to open in the U.S. next Friday (June 1). Coming less than two weeks after 43 Catholic institutions have filed lawsuits<\/a> against the federal effort to require them to violate their beliefs by offering contraception as part of their healthcare packages, the film makes the still-contemporary point that government overreaches when it seeks to impose itself on the practice of faith.<\/p>\n The movie’s all-star cast includes Andy Garcia as General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde<\/a>, the agnostic military leader hired by the rebels to manage their resistance to the government, and Eduardo Ver\u00e1stegui (Bella<\/em>) as Anacleto Gonz\u00e1lez Flores<\/a>, a Catholic lawyer who founded the Popular Union to organize Catholics in peaceful resistance to the government’s persecution of the Church. Though a pacifist,\u00a0 Flores encouraged his fellow Catholics to assist the rebels via financial support, as well as through the giving of food, accommodation and clothing.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NKeOHZ9NWao<\/p>\n I was among a small group of bloggers who recently had the opportunity to participate in sit-downs\u00a0 with both actors to discuss respective roles. I’ll run highlights from the Andy Garcia chat tomorrow. For now, some of what\u00a0 Eduardo Ver\u00e1stegui had to say about his involvement in the film — and why he feels the movie tells to relevant story for today’s moviegoers.<\/p>\n Q: How did you become involved in this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n Eduardo Ver\u00e1stegui:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t know about this story\u2026I left Mexico when I was 28. It wasn\u2019t until I turned 30 years in Los Angeles that somebody asked me are you working in a film right now?\u00a0 I said “No, I\u2019m looking for a project right now.” He said “Why don\u2019t you do a film about the Cristero War?” I said “What is that?” He said “What are you kidding me? You\u2019re from Mexico!” I said “Yeah but what is that? I went to public school.\u00a0 Maybe I didn\u2019t go to school that day.\u00a0 I missed that class or maybe I just don\u2019t remember.” It was very embarrassing\u00a0 for me because here was an American person asking me about my own history and I\u2019m, like, “Oh, my gosh!”<\/p>\n Q:\u00a0 <\/strong>I take it public schools in Mexico weren’t too eager to teach about the conflict.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ver\u00e1stegui:<\/strong> That\u2019s what I found out.\u00a0 My parents knew of course.\u00a0 It was sort of like a big wound that Mexico had. It was an embarrassment for the government. They realized that they went too far and they wanted to bury that wound in a hole and so it was prohibited to teach that in public schools — and I went to public school.<\/p>\n So, when I started learning more and more and more, I was like “Hold on a second. This wound should not be buried but let\u2019s bring it out. Let\u2019s heal it. Let\u2019s go back in time to learn from the mistakes that we committed so we don\u2019t make them again.\u00a0 And then I was amazed by all these Mexican heroes who were not afraid to fight for something bigger than themselves — to the point that they gave their lives for what they believed.<\/p>\n Q: <\/strong><\/strong>You starred in the low-budget pro-life film Bella<\/a>. <\/em>This film is far more epic in its scope. How did the two experiences differ? Ver\u00e1stegui:<\/strong> It\u2019s just a different genre. A different everything. Bella<\/em> is more abstract. \u00a0It was a film that was shot in 23 days in New York. It was a small independent film. The budget was only three million dollars which was like one day of a big Hollywood film\u2026But you cannot compare it because each one of them has (its) own heart.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> How was the acting experience different?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ver\u00e1stegui:<\/strong> In Bella<\/em> I was the lead. Both were emotional. Both are emotional.<\/p>\n I mean one <\/em>(For Greater Glory<\/em>) is close to me heart because I\u2019m from Mexico and it was part of the history of Mexico This is a movie about the historical facts \u2013 like the Schindler\u2019s List<\/em> of Mexico.\u00a0 And the other one (Bella<\/em>) was the first film that I\u00a0 produced . The first time I did both. I was the lead actor (and) I was a producer…It went to film festivals.\u00a0 That kind of opened a lot of doors for us as filmmakers, me and my business partners. Bella<\/em> was a little more challenging only because my characters doesn\u2019t (speak much)…All his acting is through his eyes.\u00a0 He (loses) it all and (then) finds everything important in life. It\u2019s very profound .<\/p>\n In this one (For Greater Glory<\/em>), I play a supporting role. It was a big challenge only because in Bella<\/em> the character\u00a0Jos\u00e9 didn\u2019t exist. In this one Anacleto Gonzalez Flores is a Mexican hero. So, that in itself, I\u2019m afraid because all the people who know of him right away start judging.\u00a0 He\u2019s called a “Mexican Gandhi.”\u00a0 He was a peaceful man. He was a man who was against fighting back the government with violence…He said “We’re not going to fight.” He was fighting back but with peaceful means and he gave his life.<\/p>\n And at the end, the last words he said were inspired by (assassinated Ecuadorian President Gabriel Garc\u00eda Moreno<\/a>). This person got executed from his enemies. He said “Listen, the Americas. I die but God does not. Long live Christ the King!” He got shot. So Anacleto was inspired\u00a0 by that and that\u2019s why before he got executed he said the same thing . Then he said “May God bless you and forgive you. I do.” He forgave. I mean the last words that came out of his mouth were forgiving words and words of love to the guys who executed him.\u00a0 So, he\u2019s a hero to me. He\u2019s in the process of being canonized . So, when you\u2019re playing a role like that you feel like you\u2019re giving life to him but actually it was the opposite. He was giving life to me.\u00a0 The more I study about him I was like \u201cWow!\u201d<\/p>\n Especially when I saw the film for the first time. \u00a0It\u2019s impossible not to (ask the) question, you know, am I willing to give my life for something that\u2019s bigger than myself? It\u2019s one thing to give your life. It\u2019s another thing to give your life in the way they gave their lives. In the film you don\u2019t see exactly what happened because it\u2019s impossible to see a scene like that.\u00a0 He was naked, tortured, hanged by his fingers, I mean they did horrible things.<\/p>\n Q:<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0 The death of\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Luis S\u00e1nchez del Rio<\/a>, the young Cristero boy who was put to death for refusing to renounce his faith, is especially hard to watch. Ver\u00e1stegui:<\/strong> It\u2019s very hard to watch\u00a0 and it\u2019s real…He is a big hero in Mexico…They gave him a lot of opportunities to give up. (They said) “Go on, Just hug your family.” …No. He went all the way…So they asked him, when he\u2019s all beat up and tortured and everything, \u201cDo you have a message for your parents?\u201d (He answered) “Tell them I\u2019ll see them in heaven.” That\u2019s when they started stabbing him with the knife. They shot him…When you\u2019re going that far, I think that\u2019s not human. That \u2013 killing a kid just because of his beliefs —\u00a0 going that far is not normal. That\u2019s why in Mexico we are not proud of this period of time. That\u2019s why for many years it was hidden \u2013 and that (many) Mexican people don\u2019t know about this.\u00a0 We are a culture that (likes) celebrate joy, and food and music and mariachi<\/a>…We have this too, you know? A<\/p>\n
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