American Icons Resources

The Massacre of Tlatelolco

It was a rainy October afternoon, when more than 5,000 students and demonstrators gathered around in the Plaza De Tres Culturas. They had come together on this day to demonstrate to the Mexican Government, that students had rights, and that schools should have their autonomy. they wanted to let the government know, that they will not withhold any more damage to their education, and that the government was not to hurt the student movements, instead they should protect the people from corrupt governments.

These students had no idea that their own government, who had built their schools, was going to destroy their passion that day. "Right around sunset, the army and police forces surrounded the students and the people of México. They closed every exit and enclosed them together."3 The helicopters put spotlights on the students and from the air, they gave the order. Police men from the riot squad fire the first round. Targeting not only the students and professors, but everyone walking by, including children.

It now seemed like a river of blood, it kept on raining and the bodies now filled the streets. The army forces didn’t stop to the killing on the streets; they also entered every house near by, and killed anyone that had witness the scene.

Perhaps it was their love for education, their passion for unity or their bravery to stand against the cruelest government, in order to defend what’s theirs, that draws me closer to them. When I remember their story, read their quotes I feel like I was standing with them, walking the roads that were filled with laborers, students and mothers. I cry when I think about their struggle, and my mind worries, with the thoughts that ran trough their heads, when they heard the shots, when they felt the wounds. I know what its like to love education, to love every single thing that I learn, and I know what it feels like to suffer when your education is being threatened. They lost their lives to it, and I envy them, because they had the guts to fight for it, they got to experience what its like to be surrounded by your companions, defending what you love most.
La noche de tlatelolco, the night of tlatelolco, will be an event I will never forget, an event that every student should know about, the event that has made my education my only priority. I owe these students my education, because they made me realize that if I don’t value it enough, I will never know what I’ll be missing. To the students who died that night, I respect, admire, and salute you.

1The book, "La Noche De Tlatelolco," by Elena Poniatowska is narrated by the author, but includes images, interviews and quotes from students.

2"Rojo Amanecer," a film made years later, explains more in details what families where suffering through, it shows the governments movement against the students and it wraps around a family to show a narrower story line.

3This article explains more, on the massacre and it goes deep into the government’s determination to stop the student’s movement.
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/239-october-2-is-not-forgotten-upsurge-and-massacre-in-mexico-1968-part-1-the-youth-revolt

Matilde Landeta

It’s her passion and bravery that captivated my attention, when I first saw one of her films. “La Negra Angustias,” is a dramatic story focusing on a young Mexican woman, who kills a man that tried to rape her. She then escapes to join the rebels during the Mexican Revolution, in order to support justice and equality between women and men.

Matilde Landeta was one of the few women to enter the world of cinematography. "Not everyone believed women could be capable of producing international recognized films. Landeta was boycotted twice during the production of her first film. It took her, 3 years to release her movie."3

Mexico finally closed the doors on her, after she produced her second film.

It wasn't so much that she was a women cinematographer, at a time when women were not allow to have a career, but it was because she was the first to portray women who could think, feel and love. During this period of time, women were shown in films as prostitutes, and it wasn’t an easy thing for women to be accepted in society.

I have always been a rebel myself; I never try to follow what society has expected me to believe, but this black and white film opened my life to a whole new world. The way every scene was shot, the dialogue it carried and the emotions that jumped out of screen and into your heart, it made me realize that there are many other ways to show resistance against injustice. It was because of Matilde that I want to become a cinematographer; I know that there are many other injustices that need to be resolved. I don’t intend to change everyone’s idea on certain issue, but I do want to express my opinion in beautiful way.

1The book by, Julia Tunon, Matilde Landeta, hija de la Revolucion focuses on her, with the title named translating to "...Daughter of the revolution," it is an incredible book the really explains why she is the daughter of the revolution, the pioneer of women cinematographers that is.

2In this interview she describes what it was to live and work in México, especially when you were a woman who was doing jobs that belonged to men. http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/msem.2002.18.1.189?cookieSet=1&journalCode=msem

3This is more of a biography and it also touches upon all her films, most of whom where made years later, when she finally returned to Mexico.
http://cinemexicano.mty.itesm.mx/directores/matilde_landeta.html