Cinema of Puerto Rico

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Romance Tropical is the first Puerto Rican film with sound and the second Spanish-speaking film in the world.

The history of the Cinema industry in Puerto Rico predates Hollywood, being conceived after the first industries emerged in some locations of the United States, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, France, Great Britain and Germany.[1] During the US invasion of the island in 1898, American soldiers brought cameras to record what they saw. By 1912, Puerto Ricans would begin to produce their own films. After the early images recorded by the American soldiers in 1898, most of the films produced in the island were documentaries. It wasn't until 1912 that Rafael Colorado D'Assoy recorded the first non-documentary film titled Un drama en Puerto Rico. After that, Colorado and Antonio Capella Martínez created the Film Industrial Society of Puerto Rico in 1916, producing their first film titled Por la hembra y el gallo. Other film companies formed during the time were the Tropical Film Company (1917) and the Porto Rico Photoplays (1919). Puerto Rico was the second Latin American market to produce a sound film, filming Luis Pales Matos's script for Romance Tropical (1934).[2] The film featured Jorge Rodríguez, Raquel and Ernestina Canino, Sixto Chevremont and Cándida de Lorenzo.[2] In the late 1930s Rafael Cobián produced films starring Blanca de Castejón such as Mis dos amores and Los hijos mandan at Hollywood.[3] In 1951, he would produce Mi doble with San Juan as its setting. Mapy and Fernando Cortés would also participate in the Hollywood industry, as well as throughout Latin America.[4]

1986's La gran fiesta was the first attempt to formally compete in the Academy Awards.[5] Starting in the late 1990s the Puerto Rican film industry saw significant growth and the number of local productions has been on the increase every year. The island has produced several actors and actresses and one Academy Award nominated film (see List of Puerto Rican Academy Award winners and nominees). A number of Puerto Rican actors and actresses, led by José Ferrer and Rita Moreno, also established themselves in the foreign film industries.[4]

  1. ^ Ortiz 2007, pp. 10
  2. ^ a b Rivera 2010, pp. 21
  3. ^ Ortiz 2007, pp. 55
  4. ^ a b Ortiz 2007, pp. 56
  5. ^ Rivera 2010, pp. 28