Juan Carlos Oganes' film-making and work blog.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Found the location to shoot the famous Bolognesi response

Found a location to shoot the famous response Francisco Bolognesi gave to the Chilean enemy in 1880, two days prior to losing his life...and it's right here in Lima!! As any Peruvian and knowledgeable person about the war should know, he said to the enemy officer: "Sir, tell your commanding officer that Arica will not surrender. I have sacred duties to fulfill and I will do so 'till we shoot our last cartridge".
An example to every Peruvian or others who loves his country and has a healthy sense of patriotism.

The first time I went there (Arica) was back in 1982 and visited it again in 2005.
Now, I know that a real life replica is here and I'm able to use it!!

The real one is in Arica (picture below) and used to be later the Peruvian consulate in that city until 2000. Now it's a museum.


















Inside, there is a reproduction of a picture taken the same day that the famous answer was given by Bolognesi.



UPDATE: It's has now been questioned to not be a picture of the actual "response" moment but a theater play just a few years later depicting the battle. It was in the posession of an old man living in Tacna and was bought by Genaro Parker (owner of Panamericana Television) in the early 90's while making a documentary about this topic. The theater play is assumed to be from the early 20th century, just about twenty years after the war. This is the digitally retouched version as the orginal was in poor condition and if you can see closely, some beards and faces look altered. Also there are give-aways of its fake authenticity as the light in the room doesn't resemble the actual lighting of the Bolognesi headquarter. It was only lit by candlelight and from windows but here it is well illuminated. Another fact is the Commander's uniform which doesn't match the original one (deep blue and red like the rest of the officers). In here it looks if it was of a clearer shade.

Here are the top officers uniforms that I'd be able to use so far. Just a matter of being given the green light by the peruvian army.

















And this is the replica here in Lima. I'm so excited about it. The only problem is that the surroundings are scattered with modern buildings and stuff. Seems that computer effects and digital replacement will have to be used to erase them out for the shot.



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