Nov 13th, 2019, 02:05 PM

Angelica: A Pearl of the Andes

By Sofia Quintero
Image Credit: Martin Avalos  
Film Directed by AUP Alumni Premiers in Ecuador

AUP's community is proud to present and applaud one of its many successful alumni, Martin Avalos. This past September, he released his first movie as a professional film director. The movie titled “Angelica: A Pearl of the Andes”, was originally a script written by Dina Calderon Erazo, who became inspired to write the plot when she visited the town of San Luis de Aloguincho, in Ecuador, where she met a young girl named Angelica Pila and her family, including her adoptive mother, Mariana de la Cruz. The movie focuses on Angelica, and the journey of her life living with a physical disability. In the script, one of the main themes is how the love and dedication of an adoptive mother manage to prove that “no obstacle is too big, and no dream is too high” for Angelica. 

Image Credit: Martin Avalos  

The main objective of the movie is for the audience to change their perspective regarding disabilities, both mental and physical. The film “allows us to make ourselves think, approach other realities, understand different points of view.” The film is set in the same town Angelica was raised in, which is Puellaro, Aloguincho, and San Luis de Aloguincho, which are all areas located in the Andes region. Avalos explains that he aimed to “film the landscapes of the three towns within the plot, which is based on a real story but with touches of fantasy.”

Another incredible and very unique element Avalos decided to add to the movie to make it even more exciting was the addition of the Ecuadorian sign language so that people who were deaf could understand the message of the film. He decided to integrate this because the main theme of the movie is to promote the belief that any person with a disability can achieve their dreams. 

Image Credit: Metro Ecuador

Avalos mentioned that before the release of the movie, the producer, screenwriters, and directors attended many interviews on both television and radio. As the meetings passed, “the expectations of the upcoming premier rose.” When the day finally came on September 16, 2019, the film had a double premier, which was not expected, but “due to the number of people that attended which was over 700,” it had to be done.