1941, June 25 – PREMIERE OF “EL CURA GAUCHO”
“El Cura Gaucho” is based on the real life story of Father Jose Gabriel Brochero who takes over a small poor parish in a secluded village 2000 meters high in the Sierra Grandes mountains of Argentina…with unwavering faith and energy he constructs roads, schools, churches and hospitals for a population inflicted with severe medical problems including cholera and leprosy..Released with great ceremony by Argentina’s Pampa Films and director Lucas Demare, “El Cura Gaucho” proved to be one of that country’s biggest box-office hits….the real Father Brochero ends his life blind and deaf, complications from the leprosy he had contracted from his parishoners….his last words were, “and now I have the means to continue my journey”…reportedly, when his body was exhumed years later, it was uncorrupted by time…due to a number of miracles which had been reported, he has been beatified and is awaiting sainthood by the Catholic Church
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Lucas Demare dreamed of being a musician like his older brother, the legendary Lucio Demare and in fact he studied bandoneon with Pedro Maffia…he tried his hand at acting and appeared in a couple of Spanish films including “Boliche” the first Spanish film with sound…his first film as a director, for Francisco Canaro’s Rio De La Plata Studios in 1938 was “Dos Amigos Y Un Amor” was unexpectedly a box office success…it is on the set that he met a young actress Norma Castillo who would become his wife…his next film, “Veinticuarto Horas En Libertad”
also for Rio De La Plata Studios in the same year was a failure…neverthless he would go on to become one of Argentina’s most successful film directors…some of his great films include “Mercado de Abasto” in 1954 and perhaps his ultimate masterpiece “La Guerra Gaucha” in 1942
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- CLICK HERE – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbhqD33-Jjc to see a spot on a Lucas Demare film festival retrospective
TODAY IN TANGO ! 
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