The “really” people of Saltilla carry indelible images of our city in our hearts: corners, streets, buildings, houses, public places, schools, squares, churches… and we keep memories and images of the places even when some no longer they exist physically or only a piece remains, even a faint trace of their existence. Victims of the time that ate away at them, some succumbed to its onslaught, while others fell prey to phenomena sometimes attributable to man, sometimes to nature, and other times for no apparent reason. Time has shown that the disappearance of places and buildings immolated at the hands of men, demolished and sacrificed for the sake of what was called progress, in the end it was only a great attack against the identity and urban landscape of the city.
And then one of the buildings in Saltillo that survived all kinds of attacks for years returns: the Cine Palacio, until at over 65 it was emptied until leaving only the shell to enable a shoe store in its front part. Gone is our Cine Palacio, that of the youth and maturity of several generations of Saltillenses, which since 1941 functioned as a movie theater, and later and occasionally hosted some shows and concerts on the corner of Victoria and Manuel Acuña streets, arteries both of which in the past played a much more leading role in life in Saltilla than is entrusted to them today.
The memories of the Cine Palacio revive intensely and with different reasons in generations of older adults and young adults. Ever, Americo Fernandez published a beautiful and well-written article paying homage to our cinema. A passionate moviegoer, he wrote: “Cine Palacio has remained an icon of a ritual way of watching movies, it has been held up as proof that the cinematographic epic must be sung on a stage with high walls and imposing columns, and as proof of that the essence of the seventh art lies in its potential to create heroes and myths”.
Cinema has always been a reason for fun, learning and entertainment. For this reason, the Cine Palacio has formed a natural part of our lives. His graceful presence in the city has been a source of pride, while at the same time it is a source of joy that despite the ups and downs suffered in his more than 65 years of life, he was able to fulfill the destiny that was initially assigned to him: to project on its gigantic screen the tapes that transport the viewer to other worlds, other lives and other battles.
Who does not remember those warm armchairs covered in red velvet! Who does not remember the performances at two in the afternoon on Sundays! Packed with girls and boys dressed for Sunday. And the popular shows on Fridays in which they showed three films for $1.50 with voluntary permanence. All the students from Saltillo would meet at the Palace, those from the Ateneo, those from the Tec, the Normal, the Narro, even if we had to run away from afternoon classes to go to the movies. There we lived the cinema and fell in love. How many romances were born in the Cine Palacio! How many whispers remained in the old shell!, between the clock that marked the time of the return home on the right wall and the red curtain that closed when the projector was still throwing the word “End” onto the screen.
I don’t know if his old dressing rooms and his hall of seats exist. I don’t know if the old clock still hangs on the wall. What’s more, I don’t know if the old wall is still standing. What I do know is that the show has not ended, because the spirits of the great actors eternally starring in the film that brought them fame live there, and the spirits of many generations of people from Saltilla who live their films by enjoying them and mourning them in their room, as well as live personal experiences that helped us grow, enjoy and mourn our own lives.
The old and beloved Cine Palacio de Saltillo keeps in its shell something of all of us, those of us who were actors and spectators in its room.
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