Proceso Magazine
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The JC Chávez Film
By Beatriz Pereyra
22 April 2007
On Thursday,
April 26, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York,
the full length documentary JC Chávez will be presented
that tells about the life of the person that is considered the
best Mexican boxer. It is the first film by Diego Luna as a
director. “It is a film about the fanatics of the boxing, but
also for those that don’t know about this sport or that don’t
like it,” specifies Luna, who accompanied by Chávez, announced
to Proceso [magazine] the particulars of the movie.
Tijuana, Baja
California – Diego Luna traveled specifically to this city to
meet with Julio César Chávez. It could not be any other way, the
ex-champion of world boxing had to see the film JC Chávez
before anybody else. And the novice director brought him the
material on video that took him two years to make.
The afternoon
of Wednesday, April 18, Diego Luna and the producer of the film,
Pablo Cruz, made the lightening trip leaving and returning the
same day to Mexico City. Julio César Chávez, accompanied by his
family and boxing promoter Fernando Beltrán, received them at
his house, where a couple hours later this correspondent came to
chat with the director and protagonist.
Chávez is
seated on a brown upholstered couch. He wears lightweight denim
trousers with a sport coat, tennis shoes and limps a little when
he walks which is why there is a crutch placed next to him. He
needs it to walk securely.
Diego is
seated on the floor, also wearing tennis shoes, and with a cap.
His wide smile gives him away. He is happy. But his eyes also
expose him and one sees that the final adjustments to the film
have him stressed out.
Next Thursday,
April 26, at the Tribeca Film Festival New York, he is
presenting his full length 120 minute documentary in which Diego
Luna tells the story of Julio César Chávez González, the boxer
born 44 years ago in Obregón City, Sonora, that was six time a
world champion in three different divisions and whom the
director conceives as the ‘last Mexican hero’.
“The idea grew
shortly after I met him in person during a José Luis Castillo
fight. Fernando Beltrán presented him to me; he seated me next
to him. I thought then of doing my first movie on the life of
the one who is considered the last hero that Mexico has had,
about the boxer who was my idol since I was six or seven years
old, because I grew up seeing him win. Because I belong to this
generation that saw how for 11 years nobody conquered JC; 11
years in which he was the best in what he was doing. Imagine
what that is?”
”They were 13 [years], right?,” Julio César Chávez interrupts.
“Well, they missed 6 days so that 13 years were fulfilled
unbeaten.”
“Oh! The fact
is that (José) Sulaimán (president of the World Council of
Boxing) told me it was 11,” Diego explains with face of fright.
But if the
official records are not wrong, Chávez stayed seven days
fulfilling 14 years without adding a defeat, the period that
spread from February 5, 1980, when he supported his first
professional combat against Andrés Félix, until the historical
night of January 29, 1994, when before world alarm the Mexican
left the ring for the first time in his career and ended up
loosing, in controversial divided decision, the crown went to
American Frankie Randall.
“Well, JC
Chávez is a film about the fanatics of boxing,” details Luna
seated next to the boxer. “But it is also for those that don’t
know about this sport or that don’t like it; for those that know
and that saw Julio fight, and for those that he has not already
touched. What I want is to leave a record of what he did, of
which he was the best, and I wanted to do it so that generations
to come will know, so that we never forget this man, because
sometimes Mexicans forget those who are our heroes. There is Ann
Guevara for example.”
The ex-world champion laughs nervously when he is asked if he
knew who Diego Luna was that night that they presented him to
him. He does not want to say no, it makes him sad in front of
the actor who comes to the rescue…
“No, how was
he going to know, he was occupied with more important things.”
Chávez grieves more and immediately denies the veracity of the
words of the one who has acted in 29 films and in the
multi-winning film Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón,
2001) where he played Tenoch.
“Yes it was
known that he is famous. When I met him he told me that he saw
my fights and it felt good,” Julio clarifies begging with the
look and facial expression as if saying, hey, don’t ask me any
more, although he keeps at it.
And now that
you know him, what impression do you have of Diego, the director
of the movie of your life?
“Since I
already quarreled with him on the phone. Nothing serious.”
And he turns around to see Diego, who nods his head. Chávez
seizes his hand and embraces him affectionately. Luna does the
same, grateful for the gesture. They do not give details.
Why? Did not
you like the movie?
“Sure I liked
it. Everything is good, very good. It thrilled me to see myself.
It gives me pleasure. I never thought I’d have my own movie,
that is I am used to seeing myself on television as I see the
videos of my fights and interviews, but this is different. The
feeling is different. I see it as a legacy to my children, to
the nation of Mexico.”
He adds, “And also a legacy to Latinos and the Hispanics that
live in the United States and that have always demonstrated me
that they love me.”
15 persons
in one
Diego Luna,
who turns 28 next December, has always declared himself football
[soccer] supporter; a Puma fan. But boxing turned out to be a
sport of his debut work that deserved to have its space in the
cinema.
“Boxing as a
sport that is practiced in an individual way. When Mexicans are
called on to work as a team, we don’t do it, for something that
I do not know what is, but it is the case of football at the
national level selection, then successe comes to us in an
individual way. In case of boxing they are two men that often
times don’t even know each other and that simply have their
fists as weapons as they face each other, for pride, for the
urge to want to be, and that is amazing.”
Chávez is not late in giving him the reason. “It’s like this.
Boxing has given many glories to Mexico and I am very proud to
be a part of that. We are men that leave nothing, that rise up
fighting for it in a ring. I myself recommended children to
study and not devote themselves to this because of much risk.
You can loose your life, go out injured by a blow to the head…
Nevertheless, I have two sons who devote themselves to boxing
and I can only support them.”
How did you
describe Chávez in your movie? What part of him are we going to
see?
“Beyond the
sensationalism and many things that they have said about him, I
wanted to present the idol, the man who was and is in and out of
the ring. What I liked the most was the love that he has for his
sons, the coexistence with his family. I wanted to show the
person, the human being of flesh and bone, common and ordinary.
But also it is
not only what he says to me about himself or what I see in him,
but there are some 15 people about him, that know him very well
and that tell him who he is. There was a moment in which I said:
cameras away, and I enjoyed Julio César Chávez as a person,
which was the day of his birthday.”
Julio, how did
you take part? What did you have to do specifically?
“Nothing, they
were going to see me already. The truth is that what they asked
me to do was no bother, nor was it very often we did things in
Culiacán… We spent my birthday together, but at the celebration
there were no cameras (he laughs), that could not go out.
I think the most difficult
thing was me not drinking,” he jokes once again.
In addition to
the interviews, in JC Chávez Luna will present movie
material in different formats, like super 8, 16 mm, HD (high
definition) “because it’ss not the same material of fights like
in the one that (Mario) Azabache Martínez faced against (Héctor)
The Macho Camacho. There are many photos of Julio, of his
family.”
Meanwhile
Julio returns to the game, “They missed that I see myself as
very handsom, not as I am now!”
Diego Lna
refuses to talk about his favorite scene, jealously guarding
each detail of the film. But he does mention that the scenes
that he likes most are at the beginning and end. It gives him
emotion and he narrates the happy day where he took aerial
shots.
“We took these
shots in a helicopter that was flying over Culiacán. That was
the best thing about Sinaloa. And at the end I got so excited
that I ended up handling the helicopter as if it were a
joystick” (the lever that controls video games).
Are you
satisfied? Did you like your movie?
“Oh wow! I
don’t want to be conceited.”
“The important
thing is that I liked myself,” intervenes Chávez, “because it
was a pleasure for me, or not? I am grateful for Diego for what
he did, we are already friends…”
In Mexico, JC
Chávez will premiere May 18 in approximately 80 theatres.
Translated
by Heather~
