Year 1800... and a few
Spanish, Portuguese, British, Dutch
and French
still kill... still die to rule over
the peoples of South America
Taking advantage of the
Napoleonic invasions
that have put Europe
upside down
in the ransacked colonies, those who
seek to end the domination arise.
And it's in the South,
around Montevideo
that the creator myth
of the Uruguayan nation, is born.
Artigas
Year 1800... and a lot.
From him, they remembered some
thoughts, some sentences,
but there was no image to
represent him.
This is the story of how Blanes,
the renowned painter
created, based on the legend
of Artigas, his portrait.
...and it ceases before your
sovereign presence.
My authority...
My authority comes from you!
...and it ceases before your
sovereign presence!
Montevideo, 1884
My authority...
Here...
My authority comes from you...
My authority...
Mercy forthe defeated!
Quotations... quotations...
My authority comes from you...
...and it ceases before your
sovereign presence.
I won't sell the rich heritage
of the Orientals...
...at the low price of necessity.
You'll have to sell the heritage,
and other stuff...
Rent's two months overdue.
Quotations...
Master! Did you even ask how much
are they going to pay us?
I won't sell the rich heritage
of the Orientals...
...at the low price of necessity.
And... Who is Artigas?
He's got only quotations...
Just quotations...
lt needs something more
tangible...
Ah! Here's something.
Drawings!
What are these drawings?
They look like a letter U.
Master, what does it mean?
U... lt doesn't matter!
They're drawings!
Now we're talking.
BUENOS AIRES
Buenos Aires, 1812
72 years before
A soIdier of Spain...
Your soIdier...
Lost in the mess that is this
Iiberated Buenos Aires,
a city that betrayed Spain.
A loyaIist soldier here
makes no sense,
he has no fIag anymore.
My onIy sense now...
...is win you back.
House of Government of Buenos Aires
Goodbye, my Iove.
Don't let them torture me
any more, Father...
I already told everything I know.
I am no priest.
Surely, you know me.
I am Manuel de Sarratea,
one of the three who rule
this territory,
free from Spanish rule for
two years now.
But you'll understand...
this was the only way
I could meet you.
We finally have your real name,
Don lgnacio Caldern
de la Segua, christian,
born in Madrid in 1777.
Joined the army at seventeen
and served with honor in
the war against Napoleon.
Ln 1809 was appointed
Captain of Cavalry
and sent to the Colonies...
to do special services in
military information.
Well... a spy...
So far, everything's logic,
a qualified, loyal soldier.
But then the unexpected happens:
You assault, rob and kill the
most important courier
that the artiguists had.
Lt's clear as water you
want to desert.
And you need moneyforthat.
But, precisely that money?
Today, we face very few options.
One, we deliver you
to the artiguists,
along with the proof that you
killed their most prized courier.
They cut yourthroat.
Two, we submit you to
summary justice.
And we hang you ourselves,
on account of being a murderer,
thief, spy and traitor.
What do you want?
Listen to this:
"My authority comes from you...
...and it ceases before your
sovereign presence."
You know who wrote this?
Jos Artigas.
And who gave him that authority?
Aband of brigands,
an army of rotten teeth.
Astep back in History.
This man decided to withdraw with
his miserable troops,
to a camp seven days
north of Montevideo
leaving a trail of destruction
on theirway.
What do you want me to do?
Put this on.
Look, Caldern...
this man is a permanent threat
an authoritarian centaur,
sitting on ignorance
of the most unhappy,
as he calls them,
who listen to him as if
he were a Prophet.
He's the kind of people that
will always get in the way
of any plan to build a rich, powerful,
prosper and just nation.
Amad dog
will create a mad society.
But, when the dog is dead
the madness is over.
And besides, you're an
amateur artist, you draw,
and you're not bad at it.
In this Iast effort to
redeem myseIf,
I'll carry you in my souI, my beIoved,
bound tight in my dagger.
I've hit bottom,
I can't get any Iower.
This is my Iast assignment,
and our Iife depends on it.
If aII goes weII,
coIIect the reward
go back and start
everything aII over again,
no past, no recriminations.
I can't go back,
I can onIy escape going forward.
WHATWOMAN COULD UNDERSTAND
What woman could understand?
Montevideo, Iast bastion
of our crown
and the most distant.
Not even our uniform! Roor them...
Six months enduring
the siege of the artiguists.
Doesn't matter, for I'm not
one of them anymore.
I'm no Ionger Captain Ignacio CaIdern.
Now I am...
Larra,
Guzmn Larra, at your service, Miss.
Madam.
Look, mister Larra,
I understand you.
Well, I'm very honored
you've come here
to ask that of me, a humble
subject of the Crown, but...
I ask of you to understand me,
I just can't.
No matter how close I had
been with that person...
he might've been my suitor,
but...
I'm afraid a letter
from me to Artigas
could make your entrance in that
camp even more difficult.
You don't know what the artiguists
have done to our lives.
But God has blessed us.
He sent us those Portuguese
imperial soldiers to end this pest,
much worse than the yellow fever.
And tell me...
How is him, this Artigas?
Aresentful, the black sheep
of a good family.
He teamed up with that rabble
because with them he's someone.
They listen to him when he speaks,
worship him. Typical.
He'd rather be a mouse's head
than a lion's tail.
Lf he were right here with us,
he wouldn't know what to say.
He'd say trivial nonsense,
he'd feel out of place, even.
Apermanent threat...
demon...
an authoritarian centaur...
the demon...
but dead the dog,
the madness is over.
An authoritarian centaur.
What?
Nothing.
Now, what interest could an
American newspaper possibly have
in a character as
insignificant asArtigas?
I'm interested in...
his life, his ideas,
his trajectory.
Artigas's little sister stayed
behind taking care of
the family house, just around
the corner. Take this letterto her.
Did you say you're writing
a book about my brother?
Not a book, a newspaper article.
That's my intention,
to write about
his life, his past,
his youth and most of all
about his ideas.
And what sort of thing would
interest you?
Knowing a little about the way
he grew up, his environment.
Understand... why did he
developed those ideas.
HIS CHILDHOOD
Jos... Jos...
Jos...
Jos... Jos...
HIS BOOKS
I wonder if I'm not making
this long journeyto find him
only to end up empty handed
in the end.
Why?
I understand there's an official
in your brother's service
who doesn't allow foreign
journalists to get in the camp.
Who told you that? Rest easy,
go there, present your credentials
and you'll see,
they will let you in.
I'm sure they will.
So long.
Where are you going
with that sow?
Lt's forthe Governor.
Cowardly Goths!
I Ieave anyway.
Without the Ietter, but
with determinatlon.
Nothing wiII stop me.
In the battIefieIds of Europe,
I have kiIIed enemies of Spain.
My enemies.
In this America I kiIIed traitors,
Iike this Artigas.
But that doesn't make this
mission any Iike the others.
This one has a reward,
so I can come back to you...
...and win you back.
Stop!
Are you in a hurry?
I'm European, like you.
Lf you just let me show you my
documents...
Guzman Larra... journalist.
That's right.
Take this to the lieutenant.
Let's see what he says.
Where are you headed?
North.
Alone?
Alone.
Be careful. The indians are just
across the river.
Lf they get you, they'll eat you.
They saythey eat the liver...
lt's like a ceremony.
They take the liver out of a living
person, leave it in the sun to dry
and then they eat it.
Lf they lay eyes on you, dressed
like that, the artiguists...
They might take you for a
porteo, from BuenosAires.
Do you know Artigas?
No.
The lieutenant...
Artigas was a smuggler.
After that he was appointed Captain
of the Blandengues Regiment,
and he and the lieutenant used
to hunt smugglers forthe Crown.
What do you think of him?
Agood soldier of the King,
as I understand.
Atraitor! As I understand.
We're under orders of chopping his
head off if we see him.
Being a Captain wasn't enough for him,
he wanted to be
the king of this misery.
So?
Everything all right.
Everything's in order, Don Guzmn.
Good luck to you.
Thank you.
And watch out forthe
Portuguese patrols!
Dressed like that they might take
you for an artiguist creole!
My uniform...
Where is the border?
What woman couId understand her
beIoved in this end of the worId?
What woman could understand
this upslde down worId?
Buenos Aires hasrebeIled
and now wants to ruIe over
this part of South America.
To that end, alded
by the artiguists
they Iaid siege to our
waIIed Montevideo.
We resisted, and they
marched up North
On the other side, those
cowardIy Rortuguese
running away from
the mess that is Europe,
and fearing their King wiII
end up just Iike ours did,
and faII into NapoIeon's
hands, run away.
They instaII a tropicaI empire
in Rio de Janeiro,
and intend to expand
their borders.
And this Banda OrientaI,
this city of Montevideo,
this territory I wiII cross,
is what the Rortuguese,
Buenos Aires and Artigas
want to conquer.
What woman couId understand it?
If I can bareIy understand it myself.
Damn with that black!
Mister Larra.
On second thought, I have
decided to trust you.
I'm sure you wiII teII a
good and truthfuI story
about mi brother Jos. Let me
introduce you to Joaquin Lencina,
known as Ansina.
With him you'II be abIe to enter the
camp at Ayu without troubIe.
Adrink?
Have a safe trip and
may God be with you.
Martina Artigas.
What service do you do for him?
I'm his shadow.
This man decided to withdraw
with his miserable troops,
to a camp seven days
north of Montevideo.
They added everyone
theyfound on their way
to their numbers.
Raping, Iooting, Ieaving behind
a traiI of destructlon on the way.
And everything
under his command.
How many days are left?
Five.
Master, his Excellency,
President Mximo Santos.
What do you mean with
"it's advancing slowly"?
Excellency, it is an honorto
receive you. Lt means, simply
that we lack some materials in
orderto... avoid mistakes.
What materials?
Just invent him!
Do you know of a nation without
forefathers, mister Blanes?
Who was the founder
of our nationality?
This man said:
"Tremble the tyrants for
having aroused our anger."
"I am not for sale, and I don't want
other reward for my efforts
than to see mi nation free".
Excellency, those are
just sentences.
Lt's very difficult to paint a
portrait based only on quotations,
no matter how pretty they might be.
This is all we were able to find
about General Jos Artigas.
I think this, plus what we already
gave you should be enough.
After that, your imagination.
Lt's enough, right?
Plus, what we're paying you.
Do you know what you're doing?
You're painting our Fatherland.
You're creating the very cement
of a nation!
Anation that will reverence,
like all the rest.
Everyone will reverence Artigas.
All the children.
What children?
All the children. Mine, yours,
everyone's.
But forthat we need an example
of orientality.
Areferent, a hero. All the great
nations have one.
Do you understand?
I ask for a face, not a
philosophical treatise!
And I want it on time!
On time!
BIessed you are among women,
HoIy Mary, Mother of God
WHY?
No, no, no, no!
That water is poisoned.
So the Portuguese can't take
advantage of it.
I beg to the famiIies,
do not emigrate.
Wait.
We wiII come back for you.
Jos Artigas.
For my dear son,
with Iove from yourfather,
ZomiIdo.
Zomildo...
Manrique:
Our Iives are rivers that
end up in the sea.
Lope de Vega:
Dying is the root
of every passion.
CaIderon de Ia Barca:
Life is but a dream...
and the dreams,
dreams are.
Come on, CarIos!
Leave those books!
They're my Iife!
My father used to read them to me!
Burn them!
WHY?
WHATFOR?
I'm starting to feeI it, and it
entices me, it sharpens me...
It had never happen before.
I've never feIt this way.
In objects, in traces,
in the pages of these books,
I'm starting to know him,
Iike a woIffeeIing the scent
of his victim.
How many days are left?
But, and them? His victims,
the owners of those books,
who are them?
Lambs at the mercy of
another wolf?
What dld he promised them?
Why did they Ieave
everything behind?
It's hard to imagine a caravan
of nine hundred wagons.
How hard it must have been,
five months in the open...
dispossessed, with chiIdren,
women, eIderIy peopIe...
Eight thousand peopIe.
Going away not knowing lf they
couId ever go back.
How did he trick them?
Who's Artigas's worst enemy?
The Spanish? The Portuguese?
BuenosAires? The British?
Traitors.
InsoIent bIack man!
Traitors.
Artigas saying it himseIf.
What has he done,
besldes betrayaI?
HIS BATTLES
When he wanted the merit
he defended us and stands out
but when we're vuInerabIe,
in disarray
he attacks us and prevaiIs.
He doesn't cut
the prisioner's throats,
because he can't stand
to look at them in the eye.
It's not for cIemency.
It's because in their eyes he sees
that he's a traitor himseIf.
That's why he hates them.
BRITISH INVASIONS
LAS RIEDRAS
Two battIes.
A two-dime Captain.
Tomorrow at noon we'll arrive
to the Ayu river.
To our Redota.
What Redota?
You mean defeat, you ignorant.
You defeated yourseIves when
you retired to that camp.
But not me.
There won't be any more
defeat for me.
Tomorrow I'II stand in front
of him and fuIfiII my mission.
The wait is over.
I'm there.
Light my fire, love.
Ansina!
Ansina is here!
Ansina is here!
What do you bring, friend?
Ansina!
Ansina has arrived!
Give me your credentials,
I'll introduce you...
Do you know that a man,
one singIe man, can end it aII?
The deviI.
Pancracio! What's that Goth
doing standing there?
Get him settled! And deliver
those letters, please!
Come with me, sir.
I work for an American newspaper
but I'm Spanish. Sorry.
Oh, I see. All right...
Get yourself settled, then.
Anything you need, you know...
you just have to ask.
And surely here you won't be
lacking things to write about.
- Excuse me.
- Thank you.
Lady, good afternoon.
There's mail for you.
Good afternoon.
You want a piece of bread,
partner?
Want some water?
Let's move along.
Pancra... Pancracio is your name,
isn't it?
Yes, Pancracio.
Pleased to meet you.
Couldn't you put me
somewhere else?
I don't think I'll be very
comfortable here, you know?
No. This is the best, most
comfortable place I got, because...
is good people. You have water,
you have food. Everything.
Isn't there a place
closerto Artigas?
Because that would be very
important for my job, you know?
Artigas stays anywhere,
whereverthe night finds him.
People! Would you help me make a
tent forthe partner here?
Where, Pancracio?
Here!
Yes, over here, exactly.
Cut it first.
The tent is ready.
You like it?
I sure do, Pancracio.
Let me put my stuff inside.
All right, let me help you.
It's perfect.
Perfect then. You rest easy.
This is your home.
But, what do we Spaniards came
here to do in the first pIace?
Here there is neither the siIver
of Rotosi nor the gold of Mexico.
Just some Ioose cattIe and this
human waste, this sub-species...
What do we get from here?
It doesn't matter, I have
my own way to "make the America"
Here, just Iike in Mexico and Rotosi,
we came to get rich and get back.
And I wiII do just that.
Wait for me.
Eat...
Thank you.
Eat, you'll like it.
Just don't ask what it is.
They alreadytold me.
Lt's yamb, isn't it?
You'll see miss, I'm a journalist.
Yes, I know, from North America.
Well, yes. How did you know?
News travel fast around here.
I'm sorry...
Do you want some?
...assault and take the city.
French losses are total.
They duplicate those of
the allies.
There are no more doubts,
the British crown
seeks to regain the lost colony.
Widow, looks for a guy
who can fish.
Here we have...
Who can fish, here?
Here we have a fisherman!
Fishermen we have plenty, mate!
Stay still.
Stay very still.
Don't move a finger.
Do you know how we deal with
traitors around here?
You know, don't you?
I'm talking to you.
Countryman!
Come on, my man!
Don't look at me like that,
it's all a joke.
Lt's not me you have to fear.
I'm just interested
in your dagger.
Good handle, good blade.
I never dreamed of having
one of these, countryman.
Maybe you could give it to me...
No, I can't.
Why not?
Lt belonged to my elders, and...
Really? I was joking... here,
have your knife.
And welcome to the town,
countryman.
Hey kids! Take this one
to meet Ferreira.
Pleased to meet you.
Good luck.
(Guarani) One, write it.
Plus two. There's three.
Guzmn Larra, from The lndependent,
a newspaperfrom Boston.
Miguel Ferreira, from the family of
the boss, and his secretary.
Priest Fernando.
Have you eaten yet?
No, not yet.
Aplate here, please!
Thanks.
Afine newspaper. How interesting!
ASpaniard writing for them.
Well, yes. Apart of the world
crumbles, another raises.
There are many subjects here
for a writer.
The food...
Thank you very much.
My thing is drawings, really.
I'm expected to turn out a text
to go with them, but
I'm paid forthe drawings, mainly.
I try to capture what's
going on here.
Tell me... I imagined
Artigas somewhat older.
He must be, if I'm not
mistaken, around fifty.
Yes, that's right.
When did you meet him?
Afew hours ago, when I got here.
No, you came from overthere.
That's odd, the boss hasn't been
around here for a few days.
I saw a commanderwhen I arrived,
I thought it was him.
You must be talking about
Captain Martinez.
The boss...
Excuse me, please.
Here anyone is Artigas.
Are you asking of me to?
Just invent him, dammit!
I'm authorizing you to create
our Fatherland!
Or maybe aII of them are Artigas?
Does he exist?
He exists. In the imaginatlon
of aII this peopIe.
This Iost, cornered peopIe.
When they feIt betrayed
Ieft to their own resources,
they needed a boss.
In these peopIe's simpIe head,
Iike chiIdren's,
it works Iike a myth,
for them, instructive,
...for us,
a waII that stops the future.
Now I'm afraid if you kiII one,
Iike the seven-headed hydra,
another six wiII turn up.
It seems this hydra
is caIIed Artigas.
He is the gaucho, the bIack,
the creoIe, the indian.
Now I want you to know
one of our campfires.
The Council, as we call it.
Excuse me...
There's no danger here,
this is a military camp.
Yes, but we have families. We want
to know if there's any danger.
There is no danger! Besides,
an armistice has been signed.
Lt will be respected.
Martinez, you're the one
talking nonsense now.
Since when the Portuguese
have respected any treaties?
We need to know the real
situation we're in.
We are like we are.
And Artigas, will he come today?
I wouldn't know.
Captain Jos Artigas,
you son of a bitch!
(Guarani) Where have you been?
What's going on, woman!
I wasn't born to share my man
with an indian whore!
Hush, hush...
Not you, Goth!
So, you're the journalist my
sister wrote me about.
Did you find her well?
Yes. Yes, very well.
L, uh...
I don't know if someone told you,
but I've come to...
To tell all about this, I suppose.
Yes... yes...
I wanted to talk about several
matters with you.
With me?
Yes. You're the General, here,
after all.
I am whateverthey want.
Ask them.
Don't be mistaken.
Lf you're going to tell the truth,
talk to them.
Coming!
I hope you have everything,
food, shelter.
Have a good night.
La Redota - The still exodus.
Traitors! What are
they doing here!
Bastards!
Traitors!
Fucking Portuguese!
Fucking Portuguese!
Want some?
Thanks.
I already ate.
I thought you were hungry.
No, thank you.
Do you like horses?
Yes, a lot.
Did you know these?
No.
These are from the Portuguese.
Artigas captured them,
with the help of the
natives.
He goes to the tribe,
And there they give him all
the information, when and where.
Ln the creek, or in the pass,
they tell him...
Here's another camp, with
five hundred horses.
To go in the early morning,
and capture them.
He's part of them.
How he tricks them!
He teIIs them he went out in the
morning to steaI horses.
When he was reaIIy hunting
hostages.
Those Rortuguese hostages,
to use as a shieId.
He's trying to protect himseIf.
Roor peopIe!
How they have been deceived!
- Come on, CarIos! Leave those books!
- They are my Iife!
WHY?
Or I wonder why?
Why dld they Ieave it aII behind?
Why did they foIIow him?
Because we were afraid, Jos.
That's whywe chose you
as our leader.
They aren't ordinary soldiers.
Didn't you see the badges they had?
Sort of like dragons.
Those dragons will be of use
heating waterto drink mate, right?
Always with your silly jokes, you.
Obviously you've never saw the savagery
those Portuguese are capable of.
You don't care about anything!
What do you mean, I don't care,
Carlos? I'm here, am I not?
We've gone into a dead end.
What are we going to do now?
Ask for help.
Let's draft a request...
I asked you.
I told you clear as day!
You shouldn't have emigrated!
You're civilians.
You should've never gotten
mixed up with an army!
What's that about a request?
I think we could say
something like...
Seeing all the troubles we have
been trough since
the invasion of Spain by
Napoleon Bonaparte...
Not Spain! Put "our Motherland",
it's more respectful.
...and the abdication of our King
Ferdinand Vll...
God save him!
Our King Ferdinand Vll,
may God save him...
our King Ferdinand Vll,
may God save him...
and seeing that, according to
the armistice, the Portuguese
were supposed to withdraw from
the Banda Oriental
but instead of doing so...
I don't understand.
What's the point of this?
To send it to whom?
What's the point?
What do you mean, what's the point?
To send it to the High Courts.
Lambs, at the mercy of a woIf
in Iamb skin.
RIaying the buiIders. Of what?
What we need to do is
to appoint an ambassador.
An ambassadorwho goes...
we are a country, aren't we?
Who goes to represent us,
to Rio de Janeiro
and talks to the Portuguese,
and grants us... an armistice.
But how are we going to negotiate
with Portugal? We are Spanish!
Our capital is Madrid.
How are we going to
make a deal with Portugal?
We were Spanish, Carlos! Were.
Now we can be whateverwe want.
We can be British... or French...
Orwe could be us.
What "us"?
What do you mean by "us"?
Americans.
Like Buenos Aires?
And who will be our King?
An American king?
ARepublic.
Without a king!
That would be... anarchy!
Carlos, I thought you would have
more trust in your people.
Gentlemen... we are a little country
at the edge of the world.
We are alone.
We're not alone, LuisAntonio.
We're surrounded!
Surrounded by many provinces
that sufferthe same as us.
This time I'm not mistaken.
It's him!
He is the setback of History.
Of course! Like this, a camping
people, we're fragile.
Vulnerable.
But together...
lmagine!
We could be a continental army!
Gentlemen.
We are a power!
We'll get the reinforcements
from Paraguay.
And we'll besiege Montevideo again!
Demagogue.
He says he respects the King,
but is anti-monarchy.
Says he abides by Buenos Aires,
but he disobeys it.
He doesn't know who his
enemies are,
but I know who's mine.
This is perhaps my Iast drawing.
WiII anyone ever see them?
It doesn't matter.
This is my ticket to find you.
Today I fulfiII mi mission...
and be on my way.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
But, when the dog is dead...
the madness is over.
Do you know how we deaI with
traitors around here?
Ready the platoon!
Company! March!
Larra!
Follow me!
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
My General invites you to see...
How do you do?
How are you?
I'm fine.
Would you like a piece of asado?
Yes, please. I'm hungry.
Aim!
Fire!
HIS CHILDREN
Of Iooking for you
over and over...
of trying to find and
put together aII your pieces,
of not being abIe to see you whoIe,
of aII that...
I'm tired.
I'm fragiIe, I Iost my bearings,
I have no sense,
and thus I faiI.
That's why I am
what I have become.
What is it?
Let me see you!
Let me know about you!
Let me know of my Spain!
Don't lower your eyes, Fernando.
Lt can't be!
Listen to this!
The General Court of Spain,
with the King being a prisoner,
have just promulgated
a First Constitution!
They call it La Pepa...
La Pepa?
The Spanish Nation is free
an independent.
And it is not, nor can it be
the property of any family or person.
Listen to this other!
"Those who advise or help him
in any attempt of these acts
are hereby declared traitors
and will be prosecuted as such".
God damn it!
But this is a revolution!
This will change a lot our plans.
This complicates things a lot.
With a revolution in Spain,
the Portuguese
won't stop until the Andes.
My friends, it's urgent,
now more than ever
to send a peace mission to
deal with the Portuguese.
We negotiate, get our lands back,
and nobody loses anything.
Here, the only one who has
anything to lose is you!
You just care about your lands, you!
No, we all lose.
Were are you going to work?
We want freedom,
while you care about
your cows and stuff.
The best protection for our people
is a Constitution like this one!
One that would guarantee them
their rights as citizens!
Right you are, Miguel!
We are in dire need of that
legal certainty too,
to secure the lands we
labored so hard to maintain!
These lands have always
been our lands!
Please, LuisAntonio!
All of you have gone crazy!
We can't go anywhere!
Lf we go back to Montevideo
they'll hang us fortreason!
Lf we stay here, the
Portuguese will kill us!
And you keep arguing about...
papers!
Did you get any information
out of the Portuguese prisoners?
Do we know when the weapons
from Paraguay will arrive?
When will they arrive?
This protest must be
a proclamation.
Like this one, inspired by La Pepa?
Like La Pepa, orthe Constitution
of the United States
Or France.
Let's learn from those who know,
the civilized peoples.
Not like the ones here,
where we are surrounded by
brutish gauchos, indians,
illiterates
Not gauchos, Luis Antonio!
There are no gauchos here.
There are peasants.
Get that through your head!
Prove it, Jos.
Prove it to me!
What has this people done?
Besides killing a few cows
and a few royalists.
We are all here together because
we destroyed something, Jos
not for creating something.
No one here has created anything!
Look, LuisAntonio!
Here, neitherthe poorest...
northe richest...
is betterthan the other!
Here...
no one is more than other!
No one is more than other!
With that freedom,
I don't offend norfear.
Pity of the people who depends
on a name...
or on a man.
Poor wretched soul!
HIS CHILDREN
House of Government of Buenos Aires
Do I leave these over here?
Yes, leave them there.
News from Artigas?
Nothing, my lord Sarratea.
Nothing yet.
Yeah... just with a knife
it will be difficult.
We have to find anotherway.
Send him a gun.
What kind of gun, sir?
Agun, a small gun!
Comfortable, easy to handle.
Agun!
Send it with someone!
Those musicians maybe.
General! Pepe!
Ten Paraguayan carts!
Must be ourweapons!
Yes! Let's go meet them!
Should I have your horse saddled?
No, no! I'll just grab
whichever horse is available.
(Guarani) Who is GeneralArtigas?
I am!
How do you do, my General?
I am Lieutenant Vega
I bring you salutations from
Captain Fulgencio, and from
the President of the Paraguayan
Ruling Junta.
How are my brothers
from Paraguay?
I don't understand
the Paraguayans!
How can they do this to us!
We asked for guns,
ammunition, powder...
And look what they brought us!
Ten carts full of tobacco,
of yerba mate!
What do they think we are?
They are friends, General.
They send us what they can.
Friends! But we don't need any
friends, Martinez!
We need allies!
Allies, god damn it!
A toast!
To our Paraguayan brothers
and to theirwise government!
Tonight there will be singing
and dancing
in every corner of this camp!
Sir! I know you, don't l?
Your name is Calderon, right?
Military, right?
No, journalist.
Ah, from BuenosAires.
No, I'm Spanish. Can't you tell?
I thought...
You're mistaken.
Excuse me.
Before you leave, you'll have
the head of the culprit.
So you can deliver it to
his Excellency.
That will be my act of reparation.
And also a letter, thanking him
forthe yerba and the tobacco.
Why did you do it?
What did I do?
Don't fuck with me, Pancracio.
Don't fuck with me.
I didn't do anything...
Martinez!
What's this?
Lt's... my knife.
What is on it?
Blood...
My blood!
What did you do last
night, Pancracio?
I don't remember anything...
I was... so drunk...
So who should I ask, then?
Your knife?
Will it remember betterthan you?
But I'm... innocent.
I don't know if I carried a knife,
I don't remember anything.
Prepare the platoon.
Wait Martinez!
You know what you mean
to me, don't you?
Yes.
Get out of the camp.
I don't want to go...
I have nowhere to go.
Don't fuck with me anymore,
Pancracio!
I don't want to go...
I have nowhere...
Go away, Pancracio!
Now!
They'll throw me to the
Portuguese!
General... I'm leaving.
How many men are
you taking with you?
Fourteen men, with
their horses, sir.
Don't look down, Martinez.
What weapons are you carrying?
None, sir.
The weapons rest here with you.
You'll need them the most.
I appreciate it.
I hope l don't see you
in the battlefield.
Never!
Never, sir!
How many men think like Martinez?
How could you let him go?
He told me he wasn't going to take
anything with him.
And you believed him,
about the fourteen men?
He was a man of my confidence.
He took an entire troop, Jos.
Men, horses, weapons.
And our money.
The army's money.
Of our army, Jos!
Don't look down...
(Guarani) lt's Pancracio's body!
The Portuguese tortured him badly.
May he rest in peace... in the name
of the Father
the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen.
Our Father, who is in heaven
Holy is your name
Your kingdom come,
Yourwill be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us ourtrespasses,
as we forgive those who
trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
In the name of the Father
the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen.
Father.
Do you have a moment for me?
Of course.
I need to confess.
Come with me.
People!
What have you done that you
want God to forgive?
I have killed, father.
I am not whom l claim to be.
In truth, l don't know
who l am anymore.
Since you have taken life...
give life to this people!
In the name of the Father
the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen.
I am whatever they want.
Ask them.
Easy, easy. The payadas are
about to begin.
Two payadores came from Buenos
Aires, to face two locals.
Each one will defend the ideals
of their land.
With your applause, here they are...
Go ahead, payadores!
Excuse me if I am too forward
I came to the Banda OrientaI
because I find it is wrong
what you guys are doing here.
Excuse me if I offend you
in your defeated spirit
I just want to get sIeepIess
this artiguist payador.
This porteo payador
sureIy thinks high of himseIf
acts just Iike if he owned
this Iand and what is on it.
Artigas toId me a dream
It's caIIed FederaIism
You sing praise to CentraIism
but even if we have less
the peopIes must have the right
to be ruled just by themseIves.
Don't you start now digging, mate
because I came here to teII
to the rhythm of what I feeI
you have to have self confidence
and you have to Iook for hope
so, joining us is the way.
I'm not singing out of spite
but Iet me be very cIear
with this, my forward stanza
and I hope you won't suspect it
He who was burned with hot miIk
just by seeing the cow, cries.
I'm fromright here, from the Ayu
I teII you for aII I'mworth
and that I have strong cIaws
that a woman must have here
I'm not going to mistreat you
I'm not going to demean you
But be sure that no porteo
wiII come here and humiIiate us.
You taIk about a free MotherIand
And where has the freedom gone?
Don't taIk me about this Artigas
in this our IyricaI contest
You need to bring here a girI
so she can be your defense.
You know weII what we have
gone through
You know weII what we have Iived
AII these countrymen they know
the importance of how we feeI
and we have to move on forward
and we have to persevere
if we foIIow our ideaIs
giants is what we'll become.
An emotion over me
it makes my heart pound the chest
With aII these women and chiIdren
it just makes me want to cry.
House of Government of Buenos Aires
Things are getting complicated.
The Spanish that remain here
in America are getting desperate.
We need to conquer Montevideo.
Just imagine...
this new Captain General of
the Banda Oriental,
Governor of Montevideo,
has ordered the capital punishment
for those who get
a letter from Buenos Aires!
We cant besiege it by sea.
We must do it by land.
We will need help.
Who better than...
...Artigas.
And what do we do
about the Spaniard?
(Portuguese) Where do you take us?
To fight for your freedom.
Portuguese bastards!
Let's see who's willing to fight
to go home, here!
How do we know you're not lying?
Here we fulfill our promises.
I'm in!
No!
I'll go!
It's insanity!
Make them pay for Pancracio!
Make them pay!
Make them pay for Pancracio!
Come on, you coward!
Let's go!
Come on, god dammit!
Portuguese son of a bitch!
Look me in the eye, you bastard!
Piece of shit!
Bastards!
(Portuguese) Sir! I'm European
like you...
Help me, for love to
our chivalry!
I am Marquis Ricardo
de Albuquerque.
These savages stabbed my brother...
He's dying, losing a lot of blood.
We need land... land...
l need this land...
we have rights...
And until when?
What is the role of the women
in la Redota?
Well...
Jos! Why did we do la Redota for?
We need land, for us,
for ourfamilies.
That's how we're going to
build the new Motherland!
The land should be for those
who deserve it.
But we're going to give a chance
for everyone who's here
All who are here will have
the same
opportunity to work.
The land was ours.
They took it over.
Took it away from us.
Me and my family...
no one ever gave us anything.
Everything l have l earned working.
As long as inheritance exists,
it's going to be the same.
They'll inherit the land to their
children, and grand children.
We want freedom.
We must learn from
our natives.
They are teaching us how to live
in harmony with the meadow
for thousands of years.
Inheritance is immoral,
and unfair!
Inheritance delays
the advance of History!
We need to protect the
port of Maldonado!
All we produce and sell
goes trough it!
So, l broke my back working
all my life
for the sake of my children, and you
want to take my land away when l die!
Right! They need to
start all over again!
And what will be of my land?
Lt'll go to people like him!
Who's going to rule the
other provinces?
GoId... gold... gold!
GoId and siIver, that's what
we came here to find.
That was our EI Dorado,
the one we Iooted for.
And in exchange we gave them
the bIood of their own chiIdren.
The same land they have
is the one we should have...
more divided!
GoId... goId and more goId!
It's shining bIinded us,
and we didn't see it.
Without king, without a king,
who's going to rule overthem?
To defend our land!
As Artigas had toId me...
it was them.
The reaI weaIth of this Iand is...
this peopIe!
This mix! This chaos!
A muItitude of ideas, of contrasts!
Confused desires!
Dreams!
We all deserve to have
a piece of land.
Each one will do whatever he wants
with the inheritance.
I'm not going to work the land!
These ones over here are the ones
who will work the land!
Like this, they will work!
- Only one says he doesn't want
to work! - Yeah, yeah
- Who of us doesn't want to work?
- We do want to work!
But, how to get together aII
those dreams?
How to harmonize this chaos,
aII these desires?
Without the use offorce...
without the gaIlows?
Without bIoodshed?
How to do it without kiIIing
ourseIves in the process?
Here, we have the monarchy.
The House of Bourbon,
the one we served,
the one we fought for.
And we did it because we thought
it was the best system.
We didn't know any other.
Up to here there was only one
religion allowed.
And we thought all the rest
to be infidels.
And we thought that
would never change.
Up to here we believed
in a central government,
strong and almighty.
Here we have the woman.
Used by the man, only
allowed to speak whispering.
And we thought that
to be the truth.
Up to here we held the firm belief
that Europe and the settlers
knew betterthan our
aboriginal peoples
and so, had right over their lives.
Here we have the unfair world,
where one people work for others
who believe themselves superior.
And we thought it would never change.
Up to here, the world
as we know it!
Here lies the border!
But beyond that,
we know nothing!
HIS BOOKS
And that's the world
we have to reinvent!
That's the world
we have to conquer!
Where the most unhappywill be
the most privileged!
And nobody is more
than anybody else!
La Redota!
No one is more than other!
Long live the Motherland!
REDOTA
(Portuguese) General!
Aweapon, please!
Mercy!
Aweapon, please!
By God!
You go, Guzmn...
This Spaniard is a spy.
Sent by the Crown to kill Artigas.
His name is Caldern.
L have the proof there.
Months later, the artiguists and
BuenosAires forces...
laid siege to Montevideo
once again.
Spain, defeated, left that region
of South America for ever.
For a couple of years, Artigas ruled
a quarter of South America.
But, unyielding and betrayed, he had
to go to the exile in Paraguay.
There he lived on for thirty years.
There he died, forgotten.
Until many years later,
when the painter Blanes
brought him back from oblivion.
Gold...
GoId and more goId.
The reaI weaIth of this Iand is
this peopIe.
This peopIe.
And those civiIians?
It was them, this peopIe,
this mix, this chaos.
What's with these lice ridden folk?
The muItitude of ideas,
of contrasts...
This vulgar people!
But why is he in that wilderness?
Lt is his universe, Excellency.
Gauchos, indians, blacks,
women, creoles, horses, trees...
Where did you get this from?
From the material you took
to my studio, Excellency.
Those were the only portraits
contained there.
And here you have it.
All right, Blanes.
Now, it is no more.
It is gone. Disappeared.
I won't stand forthis
bullshit, Blanes!
He is the General of the Fatherland,
not some filthy rebel!
And l want that painting done
in a month!
One month Blanes.
VuIgar peopIe!
Lice ridden!
Lice ridden...
Bullshit...
General...
VuIgar peopIe...
VuIgar peopIe!
Reo-pIe...
Lice ridden!
FiIthy rebeI...
Vulgar.
FiIthy rebeI...
FiIthy rebeI... fiIthy rebeI...
Filthy rebel.
General... general...
Master...
Master...
REDOTA
U!
U!
And this is the worId we
have to conquer!
Books...
His books...
Utopia!
HIS BOOKS
UTOPIA
"Utopia" by Thomas More
U!
General...
"Artigas in the Citadel of Montevideo"
By Juan Manuel Blanes (1884)
Today, thousands of reproductions
of this portrait of Artigas by Blanes
decorate schools, public
buildings, embassies, consulates...
While the one who inspired the painting,
the Artigas each one imagines
lives on in the hearts and minds
of all the Uruguayans.
Artigas - La Redota
President Mximo Santos, painted by Blanes
"The review of the troops", 1885 (detail)