The Mexican documentary feature The Charro of Toluquilla / El Charro de Toluquilla, the directorial debut by José Villalobos, will have its world premiere this weekend at the Guadalajara Film Festival, followed by its international premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this April.
Written and directed by Villalobos, El Charro de Toluquilla follows Jaime García who appears to be the quintessentially machismo mariachi singer, yet beneath his magnetic confidence lies a man struggling to maintain a relationship with his estranged family while living as an HIV-positive man. In Villalobos’s remarkable cinematic debut, he utilizes vivid tableaus and stylized perspective to paint a beautifully unique and emotional portrait of a man divided.
El Charro de Toluquilla will participate in the official Ibero-American documentary competition at Guadalajara, and it is also in the competition for the Mezcal Award for Best Mexican Feature. At Tribeca, the film will premiere in the Viewpoints section, which is the festival's home for films with bold directorial visions, and embraces underrepresented perspectives, styles, and characters.
El Charro de Toluqilla won funding from the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund, and the Tribeca Film Institute Latin American Media Arts Fund.
