La Linterna Mágica

A particular reading of the forties and fifties in Spain, the hard years of famine and repression after the massacre of the Civil War, through popular culture: songs, newspapers and magazines, movies and newsreels.

After a long career as a detective in the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Police of Puerto Rico, José Rafael Prado takes office work before retiring. The murder of a coworker creates a vacancy Prado quickly wants to fill in order to "retire with honor".

Explores through interviews, photos, and old movies, the development of the tobacco industry in Puerto Rico, focusing on the role of women in their family environment, work, and community.

The longing and critical review of the copla is lived through the history of the marqués de Almodóvar, a passionate ambassador who organized Franco's folkloric festivals; generous, womanizer, excessive, wasteful, himself the protagonist of his own copla. In love in his youth with a Concha Piquer chorus girl, he dedicated his life to collecting fetishes and memories of all the cante divas with which to organize a sentimental museum in his decaying castle, filling it with showcases where he could store his longings. When he died, destitute, in the pension of his last mistress, also a cupletist, she disputes her legacy with the housekeeper who took care of him and her picturesque collections all her life. family castle. A dear diplomatic friend recalls his fanciful existence emotionally. An aesthetic that is part of the feeling of the Andalusian people. And as a common thread "Ojos Verdes", the most beautiful song of songs of his rich songbook.

In Puerto Rico, Art Deco was a very popular architectural style in the 1930's and early 1940's. Through interviews with architects and historians and the presentation of documents and photographs, this documentary highlights the historical and aesthetic importance of this construction style in the country.