Two of the films playing in 3 Mexicanas en Hollywood (Deseada and La Zandunga) and the gorgeous images you see above come care of a very special outfit based in Harlingen called the Agrasánchez Film Archives. It was a labor of love begun by Rogelio Agrasánchez Sr., a film producer in Mexico in the Seventies and Eighties; AFS hosted a program in 2005 of several films – wrestlers and mummies and the border patrol, oh my! – from Agrasánchez’s long and varied career (see “Sleaze, Camp, and Social Justice,” by Rachel Proctor May, March 11, 2005). Curatorial work is now carried on by his son, Rogelio Agrasánchez Jr., who tends to a collection of films (numbering 750) and poster art that spans 60 years of Mexican cinema. Agrasánchez Jr. also authors studies on el cine Mexicano, including one co-written with University of Texas professor Charles Ramírez Berg titled, natch, Cine Mexicano: Posters From the Golden Age 1936-1956. Film art, including posters, stills, and lobby cards, as well as Agrasánchez Jr.’s books, can be purchased from his website at www.mexfilmarchive.com; a full-color catalog of available merchandise can be purchased for $10.

This article appears in December 28 • 2007.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...