1958 Santa Ana, El Salvador

Juanita Mina
Born 1946
Santa Ana El Salvador
Interviewed on 02/09/2024
by Kymberlee Corleto

Kymberlee:  What is the first movie you remember seeing? 

Juanita: Before coming to the United States, going to the movie theaters was rare. The first movie I remember seeing was a Pedro Infante film,  Escuela de Rateros. It was a huge deal for me. As a teenager growing up in El Salvador, I had been begging my dad to take me to the theater in the downtown area of my town for the longest time. My friends had been talking about this movie too which is why I was going to go see it, no matter what. 

Kymberlee: How old were you when watching this film?

Juanita: I was probably around 15 or 16 years old. I wasn’t too young, my friends had gone to see movies at younger ages. 

Kymberlee: What do you remember about the movie?

Juanita: Not much to tell you the truth. Since I was so confused and didn’t go to movie theaters much, I remember being very confused about the plot and just found it difficult to follow the storyline in general. It may have been because I was overwhelmed by the idea of being in a movie theater for the first time. I do remember finding myself laughing a lot with the audience. It was a comedy mixed with drama at the end of the day. I’m also pretty sure that the film itself had music which was expected since Pedro Infante was also a famous singer. He sang so many songs that ended up becoming my favorites. 

Kymberlee: Do you remember the songs? Do you have a favorite one? 

Juanita: There were a lot of songs that were played that I remember. Pedro Infante would sing to Paloma, the girl in the film. Every girl looked forward to his serenade scenes. I remember wanting to be the girl being sung to so badly. I’m pretty sure Te Quiero Asi was sung in this film. It was sung outside of the film of course. The songs of Pedro Infante I got to know thanks to my mother. Infante was an artist that everyone knew, so seeing him take the role of the main star was so amusing and memorable to see.

Kymberlee: What did you think of the storyline?

Juanita: I don’t remember much about the exact events that went on in the film. I remember the friendship among the characters, even though they were up to no good. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was this infectious energy in the theater that had everyone laughing along, myself included. Pedro’s romance with Paloma had me rooting for them, despite their circumstances. It was one of those films that made you laugh and made you fall in love with the characters at the same time.

Kymberlee: You mentioned Pedro Infante, what do you remember about him in this movie? 

Juanita: My father used to talk about Pedro Infante all the time and like I mentioned before my mom would listen to his songs all the time. I had also known about him from the way people were talking about him, the women especially. I was so excited to see him in the film, but then getting there I just found myself getting lost in the plot and just staring at his mustache. He was handsome. Very handsome. In the film, I remember that he was the main character of course, and that he was trying to cover up for a killer if I remember correctly. He brought that character to life, even if I can’t quite recall all the details of the plot. His expressive eyes and infectious smile seemed to leap off the screen.

Kymberlee: Who was with you?

Juanita: It was me and my father and my older brother. I think there was a certain age limit to watching movies back then which is my two younger sisters had to stay back with my mother. 

Kymberlee: How did you get to the theater/venue? 

Juanita: To get to the theater, we took our local bus, which went by the central side of our city. 

Kymberlee: Was there a concession? Did you have a favorite candy?

Juanita: I don’t remember food being there in our theater. I heard from my friends that when they would go to one in the capital, that they would have snacks but I don’t remember there being any for me. But I did enjoy any snack that was sour at the end of the day. 

Kymberlee: Do you remember the name of the theater? Were there ushers? 

Juanita; I don’t remember the name but it was the main and I think the only theater in Santa Ana since we were so small. 

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Juanita Mina is my great-aunt! She’s the sister to my grandmother on my father’s side. She grew up in El Salvador and immigrated to the United States at in her late 20s.