Salvador Toscano

Vocation

Notable

Mexican director, producer and distributor of early Mexican cinema films, who was his country's first filmmaker. He used a Cinematograph camera and projector which was first introduced in France in 1895. It was introduced into Mexico a year later when the first presentation of film in Mexico was made on 15 August 1896. Toscano opened Mexico's first public movie theatre at 17 Jesús María Street in Mexico City in 1897. Toscano began his movie career by filming local scenes in Mexico and local news events. Some early short film titles of these, made in 1896 and 1897, were Men in Scuffle on the Main Square and Rural Police Riding Their Horses. Toscano began full length production filming in 1898, directing and producing his own movies. They were mostly documentaries pertaining to Mexico. Toscano was the producer of the first full-length film in Mexico. It was fiction based on the play Don Juan Tenorio. The film was made in 1898 starring the Mexican actor Paco Gavilanes. Toscano had a rival named Enrique Rosas who also produced films in Mexico at the same time. Salvador Toscano died in Mexico City at 1 PM on 13 April 1947, on the eve of his 75th birthday. Since 1982 the movie industry of Mexico has awarded the Salvador Toscano Medal in recognition of outstanding contribution to Mexican cinematography. Link to Wikipedia biography