FLORO MANCO, PIONEER OF THE CINEMA

JOSÉ NIETO, Colombian Historian

JOSÉ NIETO Historian (Barranquilla, Colombia)

"Floro Manco. Pioneer of the Cinema" (Uniautóma editions, April 1997). it is the product of an investigation that rescues the figure of this Italian one as pioneer of the documental cinema in our country.

This profession photographer, born in Scalea, Italy, arrived in Barranquilla in 1905 coming from Venezuela where there were fungido like very prestigious photographer, inclusive in the high spheres of the society.

In Barranquilla it founded a photographic study in the Walk Bolívar (Then Wide Street), in 1913. He/she carried out 4 documentaries. That is: "The Carnival of Barranquilla in 1914"; "Of Barranquilla to Cartagena" (1916). he/she refers to the first trip in car Cartagena for the youth, Arturo of Castro Palacio, next to others as José Victor Dugand).

The documentary allows to see the difficulties that these venturesome boys had when carrying out that journey when the didn't still exist later noted highway of "The Cordiality". Also, the intrepid ascent to The Stern carried out by the characteristic of Castro, before the horrified look of thousands of from Cartagena astonished by the tremendous feat.

The third documentary: "The Victory of the Faith", carried out in 1918 by gift responsibility Julio Gerlein Güells, he has the merit of being the first recording fílm of a commercial propaganda; because indeed it was to promote the new mark of cigarettes "Ideals" of the factory of tobaccos The Faith, gift property Julio located on the street 30 or of The Cows, with street of The Peace (old alley of the Tannery).

Their argument is very interesting, because two individuals appear being given bumps by the sides of the jetty of Port Colombia for the sake of being able to reach a fallen butt of cigarettes on the black sands of the beach.

Then, Julio Gerlein appears in scene gift and he surrenders to the packages of cigarettes "Ideals" and he makes them desist of that fight. Very happy they walk hugged by gift Julio and they go aboard in the train that will take them to Barranquilla and of there to the factory where the wait a cortege headed by the Spanish writer, of Cuban origin, Zamacois. The rest is a tremendous party that was also filmed.

Their room and last documentary was carried out in 1923 and he called himself "the Poet's Coronation Julio Florez" when this bard was about to die. He made it then for responsibility of the governor from the Atlantic, the general Eparquio González who to make him a homage before he/she died, organizing an enormous caravan that traveled from Barranquilla until the population of Usiacurí. Unfortunately, that documentary was never projected; but they were the pictures of the civic event.

This is, in a succinct way the content of this book. It was published by the Autonomous University and their most enthusiastic promoter was the missing rector of that entity: the Doctor Mario Ceballos Araújo. Their foreword was written by the historian, sir Alfredo de la Espriella. It is for sale in the cellar of that University.