Author: Pozo, Jorge González del

Source: Hispanic Research Journal, Volume 11, Number 2, April 2010 , pp. 144-156(13)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

Abstract:

The film Báilame el agua (2000) by Josetxo San Mateo is set in the city of Madrid that has overcome the convulsive post-Franco years during the 1980s. Drugs, especially heroin, were common in those days of liberalization, having a strong and terrible impact on youth. Although nowadays heroin is well known in Spain and there has been a decrease in the consumption of this drug, there are still a considerable number of users, particularly in the underground context. Báilame el agua revisits the impact of heroin in a contemporary atmosphere by depicting two street-wanderer young lovers who are unable to adjust to a 'regular' life. Their ups and downs due to heroin addiction will take them on a journey where they will lose their innocence, commitment, and, more importantly, their love. This essay presents the connection between poverty and drug addiction as one of the critical issues in contemporary society that this film addresses. The movie by San Mateo rethinks those convulsive years after Franco's death in order to project an alarm and, therefore, denounce the usage of a hard drug such as heroin that is far from being eradicated in Spain and that causes more pain than pleasure.

Spanish
La obra Báilame el agua (2000) de Josetxo San Mateo se ambienta en un Madrid que ha superado política y culturalmente la movida madrileña vivida durante los años de la transición y la década de los 80. En cuanto a la heroína, la ciudad también ha superado la avalancha y desconocimiento de esta droga durante aquellos años. No obstante, esta sustancia no está ni mucho menos erradicada y sigue proliferando entre los estratos más bajos de la sociedad. La obra de San Mateo recoge la entrada y caída al mundo de la heroína de sus personajes de la mano de la pobreza y la subsistencia en un Madrid individualista donde no hay espacio para el amor. Este trabajo plantea la conexión entre miseria y drogadicción como una de las lacras de la sociedad contemporánea. Partiendo de esta premisa, este estudio interpreta la obra de San Mateo como una revisión de la movida madrileña en un entorno actual, centrándose en los bajos fondos, así como en la propagación de esta droga, entendida como desterrada de la sociedad por su poca visibilidad por parte de la opinión general, para finalmente presentar un filme que denuncia los estragos que causa la heroína.

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Keywords: SOCIAL CINEMA; MADRID; CONSUMERISM; MOVIDA; HEROIN

Language: Unknown

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174582009X12608792134218

Affiliations: The University of Michigan-Dearborn, Department of Humanities, 3011 CASL Building (CB), 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, Michigan, 48128, USA;, Email: jorgegdp@umd.umich.edu

Publication date: 2010-04-01

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