Crónicas

Crónicas is a 2004 Ecuadorian thriller film, written and directed by Sebastián Cordero. The film was produced by, among others, Guillermo del Toro, director of Pan's Labyrinth, and Alfonso Cuarón, director of Children of Men. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Overview

Set in rural Ecuador, the movie follows a television journalist named Manolo Bonilla (played by John Leguizamo) as he investigates the rape and murder of children in the area. The film also stars Leonor Watling and José María Yazpik as Manolo's producer and cameraman, respectively. The film was the official Oscar selection from Ecuador in the Best Foreign Language category.

Plot summary

After traveling to a small village in Ecuador, Miami tabloid news reporter Manolo Bonilla (Leguizamo) witnesses the death of a local boy after Vinicio Cepeda, a traveling salesman, hits the boy in his pickup truck. When Cepeda attempts to back his truck away from the boy, a mob, led by the boy's father, Don Lucho, pulls him from his car, severely beats him, and sets him on fire before the local authorities intervene. After both men are arrested, Cepeda is examined at the jail infirmary and taken to his cell where, later that night, he is attacked by Don Lucho and severely injured.

Ecuatoriana de Aviación

Empresa Ecuatoriana de Aviación, more commonly known as simply Ecuatoriana, was the national airline of Ecuador. The carrier had an operational hiatus in September 1993, but was reactivated in August 1995, resuming operations on 23 June 1996, after VASP became the controlling shareholder. The airline folded permanently in 2006.

History

Compañía Ecuatoriana de Aviación

Compañia Ecuatoriana de Aviación (CEA) (English: Ecuadorian Aviation Company) was established in May 1957, after a group of American and several Ecuadorian investors decided to set up the airline. At first, 50% of the airline was owned by Americans. Operations started in August 1957. Serving a relatively small country, the airline had a varied fleet that consisted of Curtiss C-46, Douglas DC-4, Douglas DC-6 and one Junkers K 16 aircraft. The Junkers airplane was a rarity, as Junkers airliners were already considered to be classics at the time.

Ecuatoriana began serving both domestic and international destinations immediately after they started flying. International routes proved to be rather long trips: there were jets already in operation when Ecuatoriana began flying (before the Boeing 707 made its first flight), but these were predominantly used by European airlines, and Ecuatoriana's equipment necessitated a stopover in Panama City for their first international route, from Quito to Miami. Likewise, routes from Quito and Guayaquil to Santiago de Chile included stopovers in Lima, Peru.