Cinema of Puerto Rico

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The history of the Cinema industry in Puerto Rico predates Hollywood, being conceived after the first industries emerged in some locations of the United States, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, France, Great Britain and Germany. During the US invasion of the island in 1898, American soldiers brought cameras to record what they saw. By 1912, Puerto Ricans would begin to produce their own films. After the early images recorded by the American soldiers in 1898, most of the films produced in the island were documentaries. It wasn't until 1912 that Rafael Colorado D'Assoy recorded the first non documentary film titled Un drama en Puerto Rico. After that, Colorado and Antonio Capella Martínez created the Film Industrial Society of Puerto Rico in 1916, producing their first film titled Por la hembra y el gallo. Other film companies formed during the time were the Tropical Film Company (1917) and the Porto Rico Photoplays (1919). Puerto Rico was the second Latin American market to produce a sound film, filming Luis Pales Matos's script for Romance Tropical (1934). The film featured Jorge Rodríguez, Raquel and Ernestina Canino, Sixto Chevremont and Cándida de Lorenzo. In 1951, he would produce Mi doble with San Juan as its setting. Mapy and Fernando Cortés would also participate in the Hollywood industry, as well as throughout Latin America. 1986's La gran fiesta was the first attempt to formally compete in the Academy Awards. Starting in the late 1990s the Puerto Rican film industry saw significant growth and the number of local productions has been on the increase every year. The island has produced several actors and actresses and one Academy Award nominated film (see List of Puerto Rican Academy Award winners and nominees). A number of Puerto Rican actors and actresses, led by José Ferrer and Rita Moreno, also established themselves in the foreign film industries. In 1899, Sigmund Lubin filmed a nationalistic recreation of the Puerto Rican Campaign titled Capture of Porto Rico as part of a series on the war, of which no copies are known to survive The first showings depended on early technology like the Lumiere and Pathé projectors and were temporary in nature, touring the island and leaving to other markets. The first full films shown were reportedly brought by European circuses and gypsy tropes. In 1909, local company Cine Pathé also held tours throughout the island led by Rafael Colorado and Conrado Asenjo, the latter of whom would later take charge and rename it Cine Puerto Rico. By this year, the business had spread and permanent theaters had appeared at various municipalities including San Juan, Mayagüez and Ponce. Some cinemas were established in municipalities like San Juan and Ponce. The first attempt took place in 1912, when Juan Emilio Viguié began filming the daily life of the Ponceños with a Pathé camera. His films were shown at Cine Habana, where he worked and producing them required a revelation technique that he invented. Rafael Colorado, the owner of the first film rental on the island, would create the first film of its class when he filmed Un drama en Puerto Rico, which was able to recover its $700 investment in its first showing. These early attempts gathered general interest and lead to the formal creation of a local film industry, leading to the creation of the Sociedad Industrial Cine Puerto Rico in March 1916. Its creators, Colorado and Antonio Capella would employ actual jíbaros in their country film, Por la hembra y por el gallo, as had been the case in the former's first production. The film debuted at Cine Tres Banderas with tickets being sold at 50 cents. This company would produce religious film El milagro de la Virgen, Mafia en Puerta de Tierra, among others. Colorado was also involved in the filming of political activities involving José de Diego and Luis Muñoz Rivera. By 1912, Colorado produced Un drama en Puerto Rico which became the first drama and scripted film. That year, Cecil B. de Mille filmed several shorts at Ponce. This company was incorporated with the intent of competing with other markets and attracting tourism by featuring local attractions. Comedies featuring local actors such as Bety Varezal, were also filmed during this period. A project named La viudita se quiere casar followed. During the filming of El tesoro de Cofresí Aquiles Zorda, the patriarch of the family, returned to Italy due to personal reasons and the project was cancelled. The political conflicts of the era complicated the purchase of new film and the company ceased operations as a consequence. Following further studies and experience abroad, Viguié returned in 1919 and began another project about the pirate captain, this one starring Lino Corretjer, which was left inconclusive. Afterwards, Viguié joined the nascent Puerto Rico Photoplay, filming for the American public projects such as The Woman that Fool Herself (May Allison, Robert Ellis, Frank Currie) and El hijo del desierto. The company ceased functions after owner Enrique González was involved in disagreements with his family over it. The limitations of the Motion Pictures Patents a Company also prevented the export of local material abroad. Another fire destroyed the studios found at Calle San José, forcing SICPR to relocate to another part of Old San Juan, Calle Fortaleza. A fire destroyed resources, equipment and films in 1917. Around 25 films were produced (of which nearly a dozen were fully scripted) during this early stage. Its studios were built in 1920 and contemporary notes state that they rivaled those of New York. A number of short lived magazines emerged to cover the industry. By the 1920s, theaters had proliferated throughout the island. In 1941, a remake featured Evelyn Del Río in a supporting role. He would begin the production of documentaries such as La colectiva and La malaria (the first of its kind to detail the progression of the disease), also making arrangements to introduce technicolor to the market two years later. In 1934, Viguié produced and directed the first Puerto Rican film with sound titled, Romance Tropical. At a budget of $10,000, it was a hit at San Juan, but Viguié sold the rights after the father of the Canino sisters demanded more money, leaving the full length film business after paying an investor. It became the second sound film in Spanish to be distributed internationally. Romance Tropical set a record at Campoamor Theatre in New York. Distributed by Latina Picture Corporation, rights conflicts prevented the continuation of a series of pending projects and the negotiations of an agreement with MGM. Theatre owners such as Teodulo Llamas and Rafael Ramos Cobián were also involved in the growth of the industry. Local personalities continued being cast in foreign films, such as Ramón Rivero Diplo and Myrta Silva inUna Gallega en la Habana.

No scripted films were produced during World War II. The Extensión de Servicios Agrícolas produced several documentaries covered with music by Rafael Hernández, some historical and cultural, but with agricultural motives. Immediately after the end of the war, the government sponsored Querer es Poder (1945). In May 1949, DIVEDCO was created through law No. 372 and placed in change of the Public Instruction Department. The government also fundedLa Rehabilitación del Obrero Lisiado (1950) and A Girl from Puerto Rico (1953). Invested in an industrialization surge, the administration used these also for propaganda akin to that used by the Canadian National Film Board. The entity produced 38 films during the next fourteen years, some of which were exported. Several Puerto Rican directors graduated from this initiative, during which they worked along Delano and Willard Van Dyke among others. Los peloteros filmed in 1951 and featuring Ramón Rivero Diplo was its first non documentary film. The following year, Amílcar Tirado's Una voz en la montaña was recognized at the Edinburg and Venetia Film Festivals. In 1953, the director's El puente would receive honorable mentions at festivals in Europe. In 1955, DIVEDCO produced 10 films. Women's right advocacy film Modesta (a. k. a. La huelga de las mujeres) received the first prize for a short scripted film at the Venetia Film Festival the following year. Tirado would direct El Santero (in collaboration with Ángel Rivera) and Cuando los padres olvidan (his first in 35 mm), with the second being shown in three European film festivals. Luis Maysonet's Intolerancia (1959) was the final feature film produced by DIVEDCO. This director would also complete slavery El resplandor two years later. Jack Delano and Edwin Rosskam were brought in for an educational project, which also trained several local figures in the medium, producing Una gota de agua (1947), Desde las nubes (1948) and Las manos del hombre. Between 1946 and 1969, over 60 foreign projects were filmed at Puerto Rico, mostly by American and Latin American producers motivated by the end of Hollywood's golden age. For his filming of 1953's Escombros and 1957's Tres vidas en el recuerdo, New York based Rolando Barreras organized a heavily Puerto Rican cast, with the second completely depending on local talent. Two years later, he produced romance drama Entre Dios y el hombre, his first project filmed at Puerto Rico. The first truly Puerto Rican film, Los Peloteros (1953), featured a Puerto Rican cast and was based on a real story. Ramón Rivero (Diplo) starred as the inspirational coach of a children's baseball team. His impoverished team played with old, broken equipment and longed for uniforms. Known as a comedian, the role enabled Rivero to demonstrate his dramatic abilities. The children in the movie were not professional actors; they actually were poor children cast at the shooting locale. Photographer Jack Delano directed the film for the Puerto Rican government's Division of Community Education. In 1957, Producciones Borinquen (PROBO Films) was created by Víctor Arrillaga, Axel Anderson and Jerónimo Mitchell as a cooperative between actors and other personnel. The following year, the company produced Maruja starring Mario Pabón and Marta Romero among other native talents, which was exhibited at the Río Hondo Film Festival. Two years later, the company produced El Otro Camino, facing distribution issues which only allowed it a three day showing due to the bankruptcy of the distributor. Two decades later, some copies that were casually found were restored by Guadalupe Gúzman and shown at the ICP with the collaboration of José Artemio Torres. A splinter from PROBO would produce Palmer ha muerto in 1961, featuring Ricardo Palmerola. Most of the 63 films produced during the 1960s would be directed towards the Latin Americans in New York, which made most of them failed gambles. Co productions with Latin American and European companies also targeted those markets. The decade, however, was difficult for producers and by 1968, only around 20% of the films had gathered enough success to break even and record earnings. In 1961, Mario Pabón directed Obsesión. Television personality Paquito Cordero debuted in cinema with PAKIRA Films producing Tres puertorriqueñas y un deseo. A saga of comedic films centering around Adalberto Rodríguez's Machuchal character was the produced including El alcalde de Machuchal (1964), El jíbaro millonario or Millonario a go go (1965), Machuchal agente 0 or Machuchal en Nueva York (1966) and El curandero del pueblo (1968). PAKIRA also produced En mi Viejo San Juan (1966), Luna de more en Puerto Rico (1967) and two films directed by Fernando Cortés in Mexico. Codazos led by Osvaldo Agüero debuted with Con los pies descalzos (1961) before moving to television. After gathering success with this film, he produced another hit in drama Lamento borincano (1962). Rosa would then join José Díaz and co produce military drama Nuestro regimiento (1964) and drama Cuando quiere un borincano (1967), neither of which achieved the same success. 1966's romantic drama Bello amanecer (1964) and thriller Mientras Puerto Rico duerme did well at the box office. Rosa would then produce El jíbarito Rafael(1968) based on the life of Rafael Hernández, which gathered favorable reviews but fared poorly in sales. Barreras would also produce Huellas (1961) and La canción del Caribe (1963). Cooperativa de Artes Cinematográficas only managed to produce two films including Más allá del capitolio (directed by Tirado) after the film failed to meet projections and loss money. PROBO alumni Jerónimo Mitchell would create Mitchell Productions and produce melodramas Vencedora de Amor and Amor perdóname, noir Heroína, detective film La venganza de Correa Cotto and a film adaptation of hit television series La criada malcriada. Tony Felton would produce detective film Aroch y Clemente (directed by Miguel Ángel Alvarez) to close the decade. Correa Cotto was also the subject of Argentinian Orestes Trucco's Correa Cotto: Así me llaman. The film sold around 1.5 million, but was also subjected to a lawsuit by actress Betty Ortega. His other productions La virgen de la calle (1965), Contrabandistas del caribe (1966) and Antesala de la silla eléctrica (1966) were filmed in part locally. In 1968, Arturo Correa would produce the comedy El derecho de comer, which was sponsored by Fomento Económico. During the 1960s, several short films were produced in Puerto Rico including Efraín López Neris's El Corral (1963), Amílcar Tirado's Zapatos nuevos (1963), Ramón Barco's Angela (1966) and Maggie Bob's Laguna Soltero (1967). José Soltero engaged in experimental cinema with El pecado original (1964) and Jeroví (1965). DIVEDCO's Amilcar Tirado directed Mitchell Productions and Columbia Pictures' Ayer amargo (1960). After his political comedy El gallo pelón was met with controversy, he incursioned into mainstream cinema, eventually returning with La noche de Don Manuel (1965). DIVEDCO would experience a sharp decline, with Tirado as its main director and Ricardo Alegría's script of La buena herencia (1967) being among the last before it systematically disappeared following the change in administration that took place the following year. Its format would later be adopted in Cuba's Cine móvil and Nicaragua's INCINE. Of the collection of over 137 films, several are preserved at the General Archive. A government sponsored initiative, TURABOX, produced La venganza de Margarito. Founded in 1968, Cine Pueblo began filming projects of social interest, including Los barrios se oponen an environmentalist piece about mining in Puerto Rico. Co productions with foreign producers were common during this decade and actors involved in these markets were also involved in their production. Fernando Cortés would produce Mr. Dollar (1964), En mi Viejo San Juan (1966), La mujer del cura (1967) and Vírgenes a go go (1967). Jorge Mistral produced La fiebre del deseo (1964) and La piel desnuda (1964). Other include Alfredo Crevenna's Una mujer sin precio (1965), Juventud sin frenos (1965) written by Tony Rigus, Alfonso Corona's Las pecadoras (1967) and Juan Bueno's Mulato (1967). Spain was a frequent collaborator leading to the production of Sebastián Almeida's Vacio en el alma, Federico Curiel's Juicio a un ángel, José Díaz Morales' Los que nunca amaron (1965) and Miguel Marayta's Joselito vagabundo puertorriqueño. Mexico was another, leading to co productions such as Cuando los salvajes aman, Operación Tiburón (1965, Mexico) by José San Antón and Braulio Castillo, Morir en Puerto Rico and Preciosa. 1965's Caña Brava was a collaboration between local and Dominican investors. Ramón Peón produced Bajo el cielo de Puerto Rico. Argentinian producers also participated in this exchange with Aldo Sambrell producing La última jugada and Leopoldo Torres La Chica del Lunes and Los traidores de San Ángel. Also notable are the Bob Hope comedy The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968) when Hawaii was unavailable for Department of Defense cooperation and a film adaptation of William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies.

During the 1970s, changes in the markets and costs combined with the emergence of new technologies, mixed with social unrest to impact the cinema industry. In Puerto Rico, skepticism by potential investors lead to a shift from the commercial to the documental, influenced by political topics. The company grew with the integration of several figures including Marcos Zurinaga, Luis Collazo, Alfonso Borrell and Luis Soto. Completing a documentary about Sandino himself, the company also produced Culebra (1971), Piñones va (1972), Julia de Burgos (1974) and Alicia Alonso y el Ballet Nacional de Cuba (1979), but left several projects inconcluse. Sandino also participated in the production of Roberto Ponce's A Step Away (1980) and a two episodes for Realidades named GI José II (military) and Ochú (about the Caribbean religion of santería). The company also participated in the filming of foreign films such as Maten al león and Dino Di Laurentis' Triumph. Sandino ceased to exist with the turn of the decade due to internal issues. In 1979, Texera went on to film the activities of the Salvadoran guerrilla for a documentary titled El Salvador vencerá. During the 1970s, at least 24 full length films were produced. During this decade, Rosa would produce the comedy Fray Dollar (1970) with the collaboration of Vic Winner and Columbia Pictures and Adiós, Nueva York, adiós (1974) which flopped and ultimately distanced him from cinema after collaborating in the foreign co production La noche de San Juan (1975). Rubén Galindo produced the romantic musical Un amante anda suelto (1970), another co production with Mexican interests. The media presence of criminal Antonio García López (also known as Toño Bicicleta) led to competition between producers to secure rights and a number of low budget films that received only limited release. Dominicans Glaucoma del Mar and Víctor Hugo López produced La leyenda de Toño Bicicleta starring Colón Riozama and Alida Arizmendi among others.

During the early 1990s, production of full length film was inconsistent. Una voz en la montaña was awarded in the Edinburg Film Festival. El Puente won an honorific mention in the same festival. In the 2000s, another filmmaking boom began. 12 Horas enjoyed a decent, six week theatrical run in 2001, and ever since then, the number of films made by Puerto Ricans has increased dramatically. So has the variety, including documentaries, short films, and animation. Voces inocentes (2004) co produced by Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States, won several international awards. Both the Puerto Rico Film Commission and the Corporation for the Development of Arts, Science and Film Industry in Puerto Rico promote local and international film making, including loans and financial incentives. Other recent films that have garnered praise are Celestino y el Vampiro, Ladrones y Mentirosos, Cayo, and Jacobo Morales' Angel. Unfortunately, people in Puerto Rico see most of these films as art house material and they don't get the box office reception as many American mainstream films. One notable exception to this trend of lukewarm reception at the box office occurred with the film Maldeamores. Starting with its sold out, one week Oscar qualifying run in late 2007, this film became a benchmark in Puerto Rican cinema for its combination of excellent critical reception, decent box office reception, and actual theatrical exhibition in the U. S. Nevertheless, in July 2009 the Puerto Rico Film Commission reported that Maldeamores had only recovered about 50% of its costs. Nevertheless, it did yield two theatrical releases: Que Joyitas, directed by Eduardo 'Transfor' Ortiz, which ultimately grossed over $700,000 at the box office, and Mi verano con Amanda 2, written and directed by Benjamin 'Benji' López. Other releases included The Caller and The Witness (El Testigo). In 2012, the short film Mi santa mirada, directed by Alvaro Aponte Centeno, became the first Puerto Rican short film to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Locally, 2012 marked the two week theatrical release of the film Los Condenados and the seven month theatrical release of Broche de oro, directed by Raul Marchand.

Tenor Antonio Paoli was the first performer to be filmed performing an entire opera when his rendition of Pagliacci at Milan was recorded in 1907. During the silent film era, Puerto Ricans and Latin American actors gained success, with Fernando Cortés, Armando Calvo, Blanca de Castejón and Alberto Morin performing at Europe and South America. Alberto Morin was the first actor to become established abroad, appearing in Hollywood films since the 1928. The first actress to do so was Blanca de Castejón. Other contemporaries include Evelyn del Río, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Juano Hernández. Some Puerto Rican actors (such as Castejón) left Hollywood to continue their careers in Latin America and Europe, gathering local success and retaining presence in North America through dubbed films. In 1938, a co production between local and Mexican interests lead to Mis Dos Amores, featuring Blanca de Castejón and Evelyn Del Río among others. That year, Mapy Cortés and composer Rafael Hernández were involved in Teoduro Llamas' Ahora Seremos Felices filmed at Habana. The HUAC era directly affected Latin Americans including José Ferrer and Dolores Del Río (who was not allowed to film in Hollywood for aiding those previously affected by the initiative). Juano Hernández headlined one of the few productions that defied the HUAC, 1949's Intruder in the Dust. In 2016, the chair of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), Alberto Bacó, announced that investors were interested in building such a project in Santurce, Guaynabo or Dorado, but no further announcements were made.

Anna Navarro made attempts to bring inversion to the local industry, but did not gather much attention.

Law No. 362 of 1999 and No. 121 of 2001 provided a tax credit of 40% for films produced locally. The Lucy Boscana Fund (WIPR) is used to assists local productions. Changes in political administration have also affected the continuity of initiatives, de prioritizing, transforming or cancelling them. This combined with direct competition of foreign markets have affected the local industry, leaving it with weak support from the public.