"I think that this film talks about what happens if you really want to be yourself and perceptions of society," he said. Society is the real villain here,” Herrera said, citing the example of Díaz appointing de la Torre to Congress in exchange for making his daughter happy. “I think the main villain is not a specific character, but it’s the lines and the regulations that society puts. Herrera said it was important to portray de la Torre as the important businessman he was but at the same time show this "need that he had, which is represented by Evaristo." "That was a very important answer for me to understand the character and to battle the scenes." There’s a phrase in Mexico, 'Más vale ser cabeza de ratón que cola de león,' it's better to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion," Herrera said about de la Torre. "He loved power he loved the position where he was. Ignacio de la Torre y Mier sits by his wife, Amada, played by Mabel Cadena, at the dining room table. He arrived late to the house, all of the family was at the table waiting for him, and Porfirio Díaz said, ‘Ignacio, cars run with gasoline, not with cognac,’” Herrera said, adding he still has that scene “very present in my mind.” 'He loved power'Īs Herrera worked to better understand the mysterious man he would later embody, he found himself wondering the same thing on more than one occasion: Why didn’t Ignacio de la Torre use his economic power to leave Mexico and build a new life for himself? The answer, it seems, was quite simple. “Ignacio was an alcoholic and he was one of the first guys in Latin America who owned a motor car at that time. "What would have happened if Ignacio was not discovered as a gay man? He would have been one of the important Mexican figures from our history, but he was taken away from that because he was gay." “You need to go to the past in order to understand who you are as a person or who you are as a society," Herrera told NBC News in an exclusive video interview last week.
MEXICO GAY BAR SHOOTING MOVIE
Herrera, 37, who is best known internationally for his work in “The Exorcist” and “Sense8,” said he immediately jumped at the chance to work with Pablos, who directed the award-winning 2015 movie "Las Elegidas." Growing up in Mexico City, lead actor Alfonso Herrera said it was customary for the people around him to avoid the number 41, but it wasn’t until he was much older that he came to understand the negative “connotation and meaning that this number had for the Mexican society.” But a scandal ensued when initial reports placed a 42nd man in attendance, and the story spread that it was de la Torre, the president’s son-in-law, marking the first time homosexuality was openly discussed in the Mexican media. The official report was that they found 41 prominent men dancing together - half of whom were dressed as women. 17, 1901, when police raided a private home in Mexico City. The film’s title - its original in Spanish is "El Baile de los 41" - refers to the night of Nov.