Javier G. Corona (April 20, 1927 – July 19, 2003) was a former diplomat and restauranteur born in Mexico who helped promote American arts and artist in Mexico.
He received the Superior Honor Award from the United States Department of State for his accomplishments as a promoter of the American arts during his 28 year career at the American Embassy in Mexico City.
Before his career with the¯American government, Corona earned degrees in accounting and advertising and studied art in Mexico City and New York City. He then worked for the Foreign Service at the Mexican Consulate in Montreal, Canada for several years.
After his career as the cultural attaché in Mexico City, Corona retired from the American Embassy and moved with his family to Austin, Texas where he and his wife Amelia Corona opened a Mexican food restaurant, which aimed to bring authentic Mexican interior food dishes and cuisine from all the regions of Mexico. Corona incorporated his wife’s recipes into the restaurant’s menu. At the time, the majority of the local Mexican restaurants were offering Tex-Mex food. His restaurant (Las Palomas) opened its doors in 1983.
Plot
The newly-named Emperor Maximillian, the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire, arrives in Mexico in the early 1860s with his wife Carlotta to face popular sentiment favoring Benito Juarez and popular demand for democracy. With an elite group of Mexican monarchists, Maximillian tries to appease the democratic Mexicans but he fails. Abraham Lincoln continues to support Juarez and asks the French to withdraw support for Maximilian. Carlotta goes to France to plead with Napoleon III, to no avail.
Keywords: 1860s, american-civil-war, army, assassination, based-on-novel, based-on-play, battle, battlefield, bayonet, betrayal
A Mighty King . . . A Proud Queen ! . . . pitted against a humble man who had the courage to defy the throne !
See It Now ! You'll Remember It Always !
Emperor Louis Napoleon III: Democracy! Government of the cattle, by the cattle, for the cattle!
Emperor Maximilian von Hapsburg: [as he is being led to his execution by firing squad] "Distribute this money among your men and tell them to aim for my heart."
Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg: More than an empire is in danger. My husband's life. And knowing this, you could abandon him? Answer me, sire!::Emperor Louis Napoleon III: Regardless of my personal sentiments, I am, as you see, Madame, in the hands of my ministers.::Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg: In the hands of your ministers! Was it you or your ministers who conceived the plan to mask your infamies behind my husband's noble name? Who tricked him into accepting the throne by means of a pretended plebiscite? Who assured him of French troops and French funds until the day that the Empire of Mexico could take her place among other nations? Answer me, sire!::Empress Eugenie: Carlotta, please...::Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg: What are the names of your ministers which are affixed to the Treaty of Miramar? Did your ministers sign this letter: "I urge you to count upon my everlasting friendship. You may rest assured that my support will not fail you in the accomplishment which you are so courageously undertaking." Answer me, sire!::Emperor Louis Napoleon III: It is useless, Madame. Not another franc. Not another man. We are through with Mexico.::Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg: What else might a Hapsburg have expected from the word of a bourgeois Bonaparte? You charlatan! But you will not dare let him die! I will denounce you in every court in Europe for what you will be: a murderer! A murderer!
Emperor Maximilian von Hapsburg: [to Diaz in his prison cell] I want to talk to you.::Gen. Porfirio Diaz: What have we got to talk about?::Emperor Maximilian von Hapsburg: Much, I think. I deeply regret that this neeting had to take place in a prison cell.::Gen. Porfirio Diaz: Where else could it take place but in a prison cell or on the battlefield?::Emperor Maximilian von Hapsburg: Then from all accounts, sir it is well that we meet here. If my generals are to be believed, you are the best soldier in Mexico.
Benito Juarez: Virte is a formidable weapon in the hands of an enemy.
Benito Juarez: [to Diaz] You see, Porfirio, when a monarch misrules, he changes the people, but when a presidente misrules, the people change him.
[last lines]::Benito Juarez: [as Juarez views the dead body of Maximillian lying in state] Forgive me.
Gen. Marechal Achille Bazaine: [to Uradi] If you dare to jeopardize the cause for your own political ambition, I'll let the breath out of your throat.