Machismo Laid Bare in Dominican Jose Maria Cabral’s ‘Tiger’ (‘Tiguere’)
variety.comAnna Marie de la Fuente Among the Copia Final titles in Ventana Sur, the Dominican Republic’s “Tiger” (“Tiguere”) by lauded filmmaker José María Cabral (“Woodpeckers”) casts a harsh light on the machismo culture of the Caribbean nation and by extension, Latin America.
Shot in a lush mountain retreat, “Tiger” is set in a boot camp where families drop off their teenage sons with the hope that they learn to become “real men.” It is led by boot camp head Alberto, who decides that his son Pablo, an aspiring artist, is ready to join the camp.
Naturally, Pablo rebels, which leads to some dire consequences. Drawing from his own personal experience at a similar boot camp and inspiration from such classics as “Beau Travail,” “The Rider” and “Honey Boy,” Cabral co-penned his semi-autobiographical drama with Cuban writers Arturo Arango, Nuri Duarte, Xenia Rivery and Alan González. “Towards the end of the ’90s, my parents sent me to a camp called La Clase de Tigueraje.
I was a very introverted child, bad at sports, shy, insecure, sensitive, and all that was a red alert for Dominican society,” Cabral recalled, adding: “Boys couldn’t be like that, so there was a camp that aimed to turn us into “Tígueres.” “Tígueraje is a concept used in my country to describe people who are wise, opportunistic, but also often associated with many macho characteristics,” he explained. “Obviously, since it’s a personal experience, it led me to reflect on what is expected of men in our society, both in Latin America, the world, and in this case, the Caribbean,” he mused.
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