Amilcar Tirado

Amílcar Tirado SANTIAGO (1922–2004, Puerto Rico) was a Puerto Rican filmmaker active mostly during the 1950s and 1960s. Working for the Puerto Rican Division of Community Education in the Audiovisual Department, Tirado created socially-minded films, often using local jíbaros (farmers) as actors. Throughout his career, he produced more than 50 works, many of which were short educational films that have since been lost. Los Peloteros (1951), El Puente (1954) and El Gallo Pelón (1961) are his best-known films. He collaborated on works with numerous other artists from DIVEDCO (the Puerto Rican Division of Community Education), having well-known Puerto Rican artists like Lorenzo Homer create posters for him. His films are sometimes compared to those of the Italian Neorealists, which also featured untrained actors and were filmed on location, focusing on the everyday lives of ordinary people.

Filmography

(selection) Los peloteros (1951), El puente (1951) Una voz en la montaña (1952, short), El Santero (1956, short), El gallo pelón (1961), La casa de un amigo (1963), La buena herencia (1967)