A Great and Complex Romance About Love, Ignorance, Corruption and Intolerance. In 1928, in a revolutionary Mexico, in the small village of Progreso nearby the harbor in the district of Yucatan, Eliseo (Daniel Acuna) is the son of a violent stevedore, who is one of the founders of the local Union. The boy has a sister, mother and two friends, and is not a good student. He frequently lies, specially to avoid the physical aggressions of his father. His teacher Felipa (Blanca Guerra) decides to help him to assume responsibilities and asks him to clean her house daily before going to school. Felipa is in love with a sailor. One day, Eliseo arrives wounded due to the beating of his father and stays at her house in the night. The solitude approaches them and the boy has an intercourse with her, becoming the favorite student of Felipa. Their affair ends when her beloved sailor is found drowned and Felipa moves from Progreso. The main story continues in 1937, when Eliseo is a married young man, and Felipa returns to Progreso. This film is excellent, having a screenplay with many characters, all of them very well defined for the viewer, and many plots and sub-plots. This romance is about love, ignorance, corruption and intolerance. The direction is superb and the actors and actresses have a magnificent performance in this very credible story. Carlos Carrera directed this Mexican drama that begins in 1928 when 13-year-old longshoreman's son Eliseo (Daniel Acuna) dreams of leaving the southeastern port of Progreso like his sister Magda (who escapes with charismatic circus acrobat Roy). Eliseo loses his virginity to his schoolteacher Felipa (Blanca Guerra), but she becomes the target of accusations and is driven out of town. Eliseo then becomes a twosome with Lupita, daughter of his father's boss. The story flashes forward to 1937, when the adult Eliseo (Mario Zaragoza) has married Lupita. After Felipa returns to the town to build a school, she and Eliseo once again become intimate, and problems erupt. Full symphonic score by Cuban composer José Maria Vitier. Shown at the 1998 Toronto film Festival and in competition at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival.