Nuestro Cine: Remembering Romero

Next week marks the thirtieth anniversary of one of the darkest days in Central American history: the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Despite depth threats and pressure from El Salvador’s elite Romero fearlessly spoke out against the oppression and violence carried out by the government. "One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives," said Romero in his March 24, 1980 mass only minutes before being gunned down by a sharpshooter.

Today Romero is viewed as a martyr who courageously defended the rights of El Salvador’s poor and most vulnerable people. His countrymen hold him in very esteem and some even tried to get him recognized as a saint by the Vatican.

In 1989 the Archbishop’s actions were portrayed on the silver screen in the film “Romero”. The late Raul Julia played the titular character in a performance Roger Ebert called “restrained and considered.” The entire film is available (illicitly?) on YouTube; for now here is the trailer to the great film:

Online Sources- Tim’s El Salvador Blog, BBC World Service, Roger Ebert’s Blog, YouTube, Wikipedia