Spanish director Luis Buñuel's house opens to public

MEXICO CITY - Reuters

Luis Buñuel

The house of famed Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel has opened to the general public for the first time in Mexico City.

Luis Buñuel arrived in Mexico in 1946 after a spell in the United States following the Spanish Civil War. He remained in Mexico for the rest of his life, and made 20 films in that time.

The house was built by Arturo Saenz de la Calzada, a former classmate of Buñuel. The two studied at the University of Madrid where Bunuel also befriended painter Salvador Dali and poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

Buñuel received many Republican and exiled friends at the house and hosted parties for intellectuals such as Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

"It's incredible to be able to visit the house and learn different anecdotes about Buñuel's house. To learn how he lived, where he held his parties, where his guests arrived. Getting to know the house is the best thing about coming. To see the details, walk in the garden and see where he cooked his paellas. I think the house is the main attraction of this exhibition," said exhibition curator German Rostan.

The exhibition also featured one of Bunuel's most famous films, "Viridiana."

Viridiana was made in Spain in 1960 after dictator Francisco Franco told his culture minister to invite Bunuel back to the country to make whatever film he pleased. Nevertheless, once the film was completed, it was banned in Spain while the Vatican said it deeply offended Catholicism.

"This exhibition was set up in Mexico City because that is where Luis Buñuel spent the last years of his life and this exhibition, not only the exhibition but also the house, were acquired by Spain's Culture Ministry and it was inaugurated at the beginning of December this year. There is no better way to discuss Buñuel's films other than from his home turf," Rostan said.