It’s Christmas Day 1492, and the sailors who accompanied Columbus on his conquest of America are celebrating in Santa Maria. No one wanted to miss the party, so they sent a young boy to control the party … Rudder. However, something happens that causes him to fall asleep above the ship’s controls, causing it to veer and run aground on the rocks. The caravel will be completely destroyed. This means that even 39 sailors will have to remain on land While Columbus returns to Spain carrying news of the discovery and the riches he found. He will return, of course, but perhaps too late, because what he will find upon his return will be a dancing spectacle. What really happened in his absence?
This is the starting hypothesis “The 39”, the new series by Roberto Serrano, directed by Max Lemkestarring Pablo Dircí, Hugo Silva, and Victor Ripoll, among others. He presented his heroes in Barcelona, at the Serializados Festival, one of the strongest bets of Spanish fantasy in the new season, which wants to go beyond historical reconstruction and approach horror, adventure and thriller films. “In Ridley Scott’s 1942 film, I followed Columbus on his voyages and wanted to know what happened to the sailors who had to stay on Hispaniola. It’s a story rarely told. “It’s hard to find documentation, but it’s a great story,” Lemke says.
Filmed in Colombiain a farm with vegetation so abundant that it gave the sensation of a Dantesque hell, the same sensation felt by those Spaniards in the fifteenth century when they landed on the Mediterranean coast. Hispaniola, today the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. “We know that most of these sailors left the galleys. They were strong, powerful men, and suddenly this new world was like they were on Mars. Everything was new to them, gold, women, etc. “This led to all kinds of abuse,” says Lemke, who got the idea to make the series ten years ago, after speaking with a Mexican anthropologist about what these sailors experienced.
Filming was not easy. Heavy rain flooded the set and every day two professionals had to make way to clear the paths of potentially deadly insects and animals so that the actors and technical crew would not encounter any surprises. The cast was mostly Colombian and Mexican, as well as the actors playing the Taíno. “We had 300 people working on one of the most ambitious photo shoots I’ve ever been involved in.. We were bitten by all kinds of insects and endured windy weather, extreme humidity and stifling heat, but it was worth it,” admits Lemke.
The forest as one of the heroes of the series
with The remains of Santa MariaColumbus ordered the construction of a fort, which they called “Christmas.” There they took refuge from the dangers of the island, which included five different bosses facing each other, all kinds of dangerous animals and plants, and a city of cannibals. The series describes the suffering of these men and the internal conflicts they face in the process. “This was the first European settlement in America, and when Columbus returned he found the fort destroyed. The only thing I found about what might have happened to these men, which was also not reflected in Columbus’s writings, is A novel by the writer Jose Luis Muñoz. “We built the script from that original story,” Lemke admits.
These pioneers were baptized as “Christmas” Its history, despite its epic nature, remains a mystery. But the series doesn’t want to be just a Western vision of the Taino “savages” and the dangers of the jungle. There is also an honest reconstruction of the indigenous point of view and their power struggles.. There were five Taíno chiefs on the island Everyone longed for the technological power of the Spanish to dominate their neighbors. “We didn’t want to repeat the stereotypes, that old idea of stupid Indians and Spaniards who fawn over them with a little mirror. “We wanted to describe the real complexity of the region and the power struggle between the leaders,” Lemke says.
At the time It distorts the historical character of Columbus Spain was asked to apologize for the “plunder” and violence that occurred during the invasion of America, and the series wanted to deal with this issue with great sensitivity. “It costs nothing to ask for forgiveness. This is my opinion. What is clear is that the Taíno no longer existed and everything became part of the Spanish occupation. “From here, everyone can draw their own conclusions,” the director emphasizes. The series has already been watched on Amazon Prime in Latin American countries and will arrive on Spanish television in January.
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