Abstract

ARRATIA REYES, Ana Karen. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST HOMOSEXUAL MAIN CHARACTER IN MEXICAN CINEMATOGRAPHY: “LA MANUELA” IN EL LUGAR SIN LÍMITES BY ARTURO RIPSTEIN (1977). Tzintzun. Rev. estud. históricos [online]. 2022, n.75, pp.181-211.  Epub Aug 08, 2022. ISSN 2007-963X.

The construction of the first homosexual leading role on the big screen of Mexican cinema began in 1970 “La Manuela”, a character played by Roberto Cobo in the film El lugar sin límites (1977), by Arturo Ripstein, based on the homonymous novel by José Donoso (1966). Both works are known as early examples of a discourse on homosexuality within Latin American homophobic societies. This film not only allowed the emergence of new themes and characters around homosexuality in later decades, but also addresses issues of homophobia, repression, and the beginnings of sexual liberation. The present article aims to show the iconographic analysis of selected scenes from the film, to identify the physical, psychological gestures, clothing, and social stratum of the homosexual characters: “La Manuela” and “Pancho Vega”. The methodology used was based on the theories of Erwin Panofsky and Aby Warburg, which consisted in carrying out an analysis of the image of the homosexual character based on the image of the protagonist, the staging, and the narration to observe the construction of the homosexual characters.

Keywords : Mexican cinema; homosexual characters; iconographic analysis.

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