By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Costa Rican documentary "Irazú 63: The
Gray Night of the Reventado River" was
selected for the International Festival of
Environmental Film of the Canary Islands,
which will take place in May in the
municipality of Garachico in Tenerife*, Spain.
The movie is a historical documentary that
tells what happened 55 years ago when the Irazú Volcano* in the
provice of Cartago, underwent an intense
eruption.
The eruptions surprised both the Costa Rican
population and the then president of the
United States, John F. Kennedy, who was
visiting the country.
During this documentary, different
protagonists and heroes, until now
anonymous, tell everything that happened on
December 9, 1963.
That day, a lahar in the Reventado River
destroyed entire villages, leaving death and
destruction in its wake. A lahar is a
violent flow of water, mud, debris, and
pyroclastic material that flows out from an
eruption.
According to Javier Poleo, public relations
manager of the festival, he said: "the Costa
Rican documentary will be screened in the
Vulcanalia show that presents the festival
every year, due to the volcanic origin of
its archipelago."
The film is a co-production of the
organization Volcanoes without Borders in
association with Novum Films, directed by
journalist Iván Meza and vulcanologist Gino
González.
"We seek to rescue through a historical
documentary the experiences of the
people in Cartago of that December 9, 1963, and
that these facts remain in the memory of the
population," said Gino Gonzalez, President
of Volcanoes without Borders. "If it
happened on one occasion, I could repeat in
the future. That is why it is important to
highlight the latent dangers and raise
awareness in the field of prevention. "
For his part, co-director Iván Meza said it
is very important to be part of
international festivals that have a greater
reach with works of "non-fiction," which
seek to educate the population.
The XXI International Festival of
Environmental Film of the Canary Islands
will have several categories and five types
of juries that evaluate the film according
to the category in which they specialize.
"For Ticos is a great opportunity to project
the work they can do, in addition to making
known a story that marked the lives of
thousands of people that gray night," said
the organization in its statement.
Part of the documentary can be seen on the
Volcanoes Without Borders Youtube channel link*
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Have you heard about the eruption of the
Irazu Volcano in 1963? We
would like to know your thoughts on this
story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to reach the place map.
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