''Santo Luzbel'' is a 1997 Mexican drama film.

Plot

The film takes place in a remote region (Cuetzalan and Yohualichan in the State of Puebla) of present-day

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

where a majority of the population speaks Nahuatl as their mother tongue. The movie's plot exploits a historical mistrust and conflict between Native Inhabitants of the region, represented by the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

-speaking inhabitants and the Spanish-speaking

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

who identify themselves as being of higher social class and call themselves "Gente de razon". Intertwined in this main conflict there is a second conflict which opposes the view of a traditionalist priest (Ignacio Lopez Tarso) who sides with the Spanish-speakers and a more liberal priest who better understands the synchretism between

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and Indigenous beliefs. Both priests are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

in charge of the parishes of the neighbouring towns. The main conflict in the film explodes when the Mayordomos of Yohualichan decide to present a Theatrical representation of an ancient text, part in Nahuatl and part in Spanish, called the "Colloquium of the Adoration of the King". The Catholic priest of Yohualichan accuses the Nahuas of blasphemy since the text is over the discussion between the Archangel Michael and Santo Luzbel, seeing them as equals instead of good & evil. The Nahuas want to perform it in full costume in the town's church, much to the dismay of the everyone else.

Cast

* Director Credit Miguel Sabido Director * Cast Credit Rafael Cortes Emeterio Victor Perez Melchor Roberto Alvarez Cirilo Agustin Aviles Agustin Ignacio López Tarso Father Leopoldo Santos Higareda Antonio Monroy Olegario Carlos Pichardo Delfino Gonzalez * Production Credits Credit Dulce Kuri Executive Producer Gabriel Romo Alpuche Producer * Production Companies Credit Mexican Film Institute Production Company Producciones Nuevo Sol Production Company * Distribution Companies Credit Desert Mountain Media Domestic Video Distributor * Writer Credit Miguel Sabido Screenplay Julio Palaez Screenplay * Art Department Credit Julio Pelaez Art Director * Film Camera Credit Arturo De La Rosa Cinematographer - cinematography Jorge Suarez Cinematographer - cinematography * Film Sales Financing Credit IMCINE Foreign Distribution Sales

Awards

It had 8 Academia Mexicana nomination.

Home video

Released on DVD in 2006. Special features include English subtitles.

External links

* * 1997 films Indigenous cinema in Latin America 1997 drama films 1990s Spanish-language films Mexican drama films 1990s Mexican films Spanish-language drama films Nahuatl-language films {{1990s-drama-film-stub