Does my moustache intimidate you?

Went to the movies last night to catch an educational film on the myth of the Porfiriato, the thirty-year period in which Porfirio Diaz ruled the country. When we arrived, we discovered the evening's entertainment consisted instead of this little gem, a film called "El Rayo de Sinaloa: II."

This movie had all the subtlety of a sucker punch, with considerably less clarity. But if you like incompetent villains, mustachioed heroes and a leading lady who can bat her eyelashes while coquettishly spearing a slab of beef on a meathook, then I can say with all sincerity that this is the film for you.

Our group got a bit giggly during a few scenes, my personal favorites being the man who, having been "shot" carefully located the stunt mattress before gracefully leaping from the roof, and a romantic scene that involved both a tuburcular coughing fit and horseback canoodling -- because evidently nothing says "romance" like hacking up a lung on the dusty trail.

So the film was a bit of a wash, but it was an interesting experience. Heraclio was evidently a Robin Hood-esque figure who believed in the redistribution of land and money--a major theme in the history of Mexico. After the film, some of us went out for ice-cream and others went for tacos, so clearly it was an evening of high culture all around.