“ADVENTURES IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA“ 1950s AMATEUR MADE TRAVELOGUE FILM 47844

Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference. This epic reel of beautifully shot, silent home movies, entitled “Adventures in Mexico and Central America“, were created by Sam Arner during the 1950s. The films show a trip from the border at El Paso, Texas and across the length of Mexico to Mexico City and then Central America, and include scenes that are a mix of culture, archaeology and vacation / tourism. One shot in the film appears to show Diego Rivera at work (20:00). Unfortunately, we do not know much about filmmaker Sam Arner, but presumably he presented and narrated this film in person on the lecture circuit. The film begins at El Paso, Texas as a PCC trolley car rumbles near the border (:41). Still shots and pans of desert landscapes and towns in Mexico. Men in hats tend herds of goats and ride donkeys. Shots of ruins. Cars and people move through the streets of a small town. Wide shot of small brown pyramids, apparently part of a Zacatlan pyramid hotel. Montage of landmarks including the lion arch in the City of Leon (6:35). Pan of a town full of white buildings. Shot down a hallway lined with mummies in Guanajuato, Mexico (8:01). Close ups of the mummies. A procession of people in native outfits move down the road with musicians. A bus loaded with people inside and on top drives down the road. A man in a hat uses a pick axe then points to a rock in the soil and begins to dislodge it. Close up of small statues of what looks to be dragons or lizards. A man drives a donkey pulled wagon loaded with hay down the road. People swim in a pool at a hotel. El Jacal Restaurant (12:51). An old man uses two canes to walk on cobblestone road (13:18). Two boys in hats walk towards the camera and smile, one has a cigar in his mouth (13:46). A man poses in front of a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe (14:04). Two white men dig in the desert. One of them holds up bones that they excavated and points to his lower back (14:42). A man sits on top of the ruins of a small pyramid in Tula, a Mesoamerican archeological site. Close up of an Atlantean figure, which is a statue of a Toltec Warrior (15:17). More close ups of relief sculptures in the stone of animals. A man operates a large loom. Shot up the front of a pyramid from the base. Close ups of sculptures on the pyramid. Shots of the statue of a Diana The Huntress drawing her bow and arrow in Mexico City. Cars drive among more modern buildings in Mexico City as well as the old cathedral (17:30). Very wide shot of Mexico City from a rooftop (19:26). People bustle by on the sidewalk in professional 50s outfits. Quick shot of who appears to be Diego Rivera painting a mural, followed by a still photo of him painting next to a woman (20:00). A woman makes tortillas under an umbrella. A man in a beret sits and sketches. People paddle their small boats on the water of the Xochimilco Canals (22:19). Men flood into a bullring surrounded by a large crowd. A matador waves his flag for the bull, bull fighting continues. Shots from a horse race. A man takes photos with a medium format camera of race (27:22). People perform a dance in indigenous outfits. Wide shots of green valleys. Beautiful shots of landscapes and a sunset. A boat cruises down a river. Stills of a small child holding a puppy on the beach. Shots of the jungle including thatched huts. Shots of a city and cars. People recreate by the water. A man dances with a girl in a white dress. A woman plays with a parrot while it does flips. Neon lights shine in a dark street. Shots in an outdoor market. A man walks towards the camera on stilts (37:50). A group of women and children are interested in the camera. Shots of the Izalco volcano in El Salvador spewing smoke into the sky (39:00). A man rows around in small boat with a fishing net. Upward tilt of the interior of a red church. Shots of ruins. People stand behind a waterfall in the jungle. Donkeys and people traverse the cobbled streets of a small town. A woman peers into the camera while balancing a large parcel on her head. Shots of beaches and sunsets. Two people scramble up a jagged cliff side and dive into the ocean. A speed boat pulls two people on water skis. Shots of the hotel pool by the ocean. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit